SO New York

Sometimes the only way to describe my experiences in the City is the phrase "so New York." That pretty much defined my weekend.

Thursday night, Brittany and I went to a musical on the Upper East Side called "Give a Man a Mask." It's a brand new production, so we viewed it in the "working stage." The cast members were all Equity members (actors union), though, so their performances were still outstanding and polished. In a little underground black box theatre, the production consisted of only three men: one drag queen narrator and two gay guys who fell in love. So New York. I loved it, obviously. The actors took a rather abstract script and turned it into something relatable and thought-provoking, which was really interesting to me since they were developing original characters. Another cool note: one of the actors was the voice of Gaston in Disney's animated Beauty & the Beast! Whenever he sang, all I could think of was "No one's slick as Gaston! No one's quick as Gaston! No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston!" So much for being a focused, mature Upper East Side theatre goer.

I spent that night at Jim and Lindsay's apartment so that Brittany's friend who was visiting could take my bed. Friday morning, Linds came into their guest room to get some clothes for work (she keeps some of her stuff in there) and my first thought when I stirred was "Linds! It's like Christmas! Dad and Jean come today!" Then I passed right back out until 8:15, when I had to go to my promotion. As you can tell, I was really excited for the weekend with Dad, Jean, and Drew. My high expectations were definitely met.

Drew and me at Mars 2112

Dinner on Friday was a two part ordeal. First, Mars 2112 to show my little brother the restaurant Jim and I loved when we were his age and visited New York. There, the adults just ate appetizers and made fun of the aliens running around. So New York (in the touristy way). After our fair share of alien dance performances and the first round of martinis, we relocated to a really nice place on Restaurant Row for the delicious cuisine New York is known for. After the second half of our dinner outing, everybody went next door to Don't Tell Mama, the piano bar I sang at a few weeks ago. Jacob, Justin, and Brittany met us there for more festivities. We had a blast- Jim even got up and sang two songs with the pianist! If I was better at impromptu performances, I would've done the same, but I still have a fear of unrehearsed presentations...maybe I'll get over that one day. Around 1 or 2 a.m., we called it quits for the night in preparation for our big day on Saturday. Not to mention Dad and Jean have an 8-year-old who wakes them up at 7 a.m. whether they like it or not. I am not ready for children.

Jim, Lindsay, and I got to bed around 3 a.m. after watching the first half of Beauty & the Beast, no doubt inspired by my Gaston experience. The next morning, Linds woke me up earlier than my body would have liked so that I could get home and shower in time for lunch at noon. Brittany joined us for the pre-show meal in Times Square, then the family went on to see "Anything Goes." Sadly, Sutton Foster stopped playing Reno Sweeney a few weeks ago, so we just missed her Tony-winning performance, but her replacement was phenomenal.

The plan was to go to Jim and Lindsay's after the show for Happy Hour drinks because Dad and Jean have yet to see the place. Theoretically, we would then go to dinner in Brooklyn and call it an early night. One little problem: all trains running to Jim and Lindsay's neighborhood were under construction this weekend. The only way in and out of their area was by car. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. Cabs change over shifts around 5 p.m. every night, right when we were trying to catch them in Times Square. With the swarms of people, Times Square is not the easiest place to hail a cab in the first place, much less during a transition time. To make matters worse, the few cabs that were on duty got claimed even faster since anyone needing to get to Brooklyn had to take one. After a series of unfortunate events, the gang made it to our destination over two hours later. I won't get into the details of that expedition to save my brother a heart attack if he reads this...I don't want to put him through those painfully frustrating hours a second time.

Martinis to the rescue. We were all much happier after settling into the restaurant an hour after our original reservation. Drew told knock knock jokes and led a great game of Simon Says, which I'm sure was humorous to the employees and other customers in the upscale restaurant. One host even started playing Simon Says with us. Party table!

All the siblings!

Due to the miserable trek to Brooklyn, we hadn't made it to Jim and Lindsay's apartment before dinner. So despite heavy eyes and throbbing feet, everybody headed there afterwards. No matter bad travels, exhaustion, or any other hindrance, Dad and Jean still are absolutely wonderful to be around. Chatting with them on the couch was a lovely conclusion to the weekend. Well, not exactly the conclusion to my weekend.

On their way back to Manhattan, Dad, Jean, Drew, and Susan (Jean's friend who had joined us) dropped me off in Chelsea. By this time, it was already 11:30 p.m. and I could hardly keep my eyes open, but Conor and I decided to go see the movie J. Edgar. I somehow managed to stay awake until 5:30 in the morning. I don't know what has gotten into me lately! When I walked into our room, Brittany rolled over and mumbled, "What time is it??" "Erm..uhh, 5:30." I'm going to have to revoke my self-proclaimed Grandma status if I keep this up.

From a liberal black box musical to alien tourist trap to Broadway show to Restaurant Row to an outrageously late night...I'd say I had a very New York weekend! It's the city that never sleeps...yep, I'm definitely helping that reputation.