I’d been reading about the exceptionally good season the Broadway theaters are having, and it reminded me that I haven’t visited New York City in a long time. So, early last week I decided to go up for the weekend and see a few shows. I made an Amtrak reservation to head north on Friday afternoon and return Tuesday. I booked into the Hilton that’s near the theater district and bought tickets to a couple of well reviewed shows, all without giving it a lot of thought.
My life in DC has been unusually filled with people and activities lately. Even though I have a couple good friends in New York, I decided to make this a solo, recharge-the-batteries weekend. (Sorry to miss you, Jim and Bonnie.)
Then, as has happened so often in my life, serendipity struck. Friday night the Republican-controlled NY Senate surprisingly passed the state’s Gay Marriage law and Governor Cuomo signed it. As fate would have it, this legislative landmark coincided with NYC’s Gay Pride weekend. And, in another coincidence, the plays I’d signed up for had a particular relevance to my life.
I want to comment on some of this later. For now, please check out these photo highlights of my weekend adventure in the Big Apple:
Here’s the show I booked for Friday night:
I hadn’t been to NYC since the city opened much of Times Square to pedestrians. It’s now crazier than ever:
Leading the parade — a long-standing tradition — were “Dykes on Bikes”:
Fortunately, I’d brought along a back-up battery for my camera and ended up draining both batteries in shooting photos. Here are just a few:
On the way back to the hotel for my needed nap, I stopped off at the Times Square TKTS booth to see about a half-priced ticket for that night. I picked a winner:
I’d seen the original 1995 production of Terrence McNally’s Master Class with Zoe Caldwell portraying Maria Callas as the retired diva conducting a “master class” for aspiring opera singers. Somehow I’d missed the show’s revival last year at the Kennedy Center with Tyne Daly as Callas. (Daly does revivals well. She got a Tony Award for her portrayal of Mama Rose in a revival of Gypsy.) She was terrific as were the other singer/actors.
After Sunday’s events, Monday naturally was much more low key. I spent several hours at MOMA (the Museum of Modern Art), one of my favorite art galleries (although I actually prefer DC’s Phillips Gallery for its ambiance and modern art).
Then a stroll down 5th Avenue to revisit St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller Center and do a little window (or doorway) shopping:
Back to TKTS to pick out a show for my last night in DC. Since I’d seen three Broadway dramas, I decided to get a ticket for an off-Broadway political-satire musical — The Nusical Musical. It was OK (barely).
Tuesday morning before catching my 2pm train back to DC, I went for another walk in Central Park. As a sort of bookend for this photo journey, here’s a picture I took Friday night of one of the many performers in Times Square:
And I came across him again on my Tuesday morning walk in the park. Another coincidence, seeing the same guy in NYC twice in four days.
A terrific trip. I love getting a NYC high but three or four days is enough. It’s good to be home.