#1
Posted: 3/24/06 at 8:37pm
Ok my friend Jason and I went to NYC for Spring Break. I'm an actor looking to move out there in the summer. Within the first two hours in the city we had been onstage talking to the light crew head for the load in at the Jacobs for THREE DAYS OF RAIN, gotten free tickets to Letterman, met the entire cast of Sweeney Todd, and bought cancelation seats in the 8th row Center Orchestra for the Color Purple. ALL IN TWO HOURS and all by accident! We stayed at the jacobs chatting for about an hour and continued to check back in with them through the week as the load in prgressed. We got to know some of the crew people by name. Monday night we saw a sold-out performance of Forbidden Broadway. We made frends with the box-office guy who gave us standing rooms seats that he is not allowed to sell normally. They had just put in a new Sweeney bit and the cast of the real Sweeney Todd was there. We talked at intermission. I think my favorite part of the show was the Robert Goulet section though. I laughed my ass off!
Tuesday we went to Letterman which let out at 6:30, which left us a half hour to go back to the hotel and change before going to DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. 3rd Row center orchestra. Norbert and Greg were out, but both understudies were great. And Pryce was definately the best performance I have ever seen on a Broadway stage, musical or otherwise. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Simply magnificent. He has the Tony for best replacement in his pocket, at least he should... He was very quite but also very polite at the stage door.
I worked it out before I came for the two of us to get a private backstage tour of the Brooks Atkinson theatre. So Wednesday morning, Joe, the house manager at the Atkinson gave us a very complete tour of the theatre including backstage. We had our pics taken on the set and he showed us how the set moves to make the quick change from messy apartment to clean apartment. And then we hung in his office and the non-existant green room before leaving. We made friends with Pat, the stagedoor man there and he gave us his 10th row house seats to the Sat Matinee! TIP:He loves A. Hepburn! And he's really nice and talkative if you take the time to get to know him.
Wednesday afternoon was SPAMALOT from 8th row center orch. Everyone was in! FANTASTIC SHOW. Loved every minute of it, possibly the favorite of the week. Lady of the Lake was a little weak, and can't compare with Sarah, the original. Simon Russel Beal as king Arthur was good, but kept looking at the audience with this "laugh-that was funny" look beofre the jokes were over. At the stage door we got Azaria and Hyde Pierce.
That evening we went to THE COLOR PURPLE from gorgeous seats in the center orch again. This show is so beautiful! Every performance was spot on and perfect! "What about Love" and "I'm here" had people in tears. After the show I bought the book for my mom to have the cast sign. They all came out but some were still waiting for their cars so they went back in after signing. This was easily the NICEST CAST I have ever met! I realized I forgot to have some of them sign the book so I knocked on the stage door and they let me in. Ended up talking to some cast members and being shown onstage before I got a bumch of big hugs and signatures! Pricessless experience and my second backstage Broadway experrience in one day!
Thursday was spent in the library watching archive videos of La Cage and A New Brain. That night we saw AVE Q. Great show. Second row seats. Treekie was out and his understudy was in. I ran into an old proffessor who knew Christmas Eve who in turn intorduced me to Matt, the casting director for the show! We talked about my auditioning for it and I gave him a copy of my CD. He said to give him a call when I come to town in the summer. Afterwards we chatted with Barrett Foa about the show. Ya know, he's a really NICE guy!!!!
Spent Fri in the library watching City of Angels. Then we used our connections at Nederlander to get a one on one backstage tour at the Lunt-Fontanne, where Beauty and the Beast is playing. We saw everything there. They were getting ready for an understudy rehersal that afternoon so the stage managers and even some casting people were there. I broke into the final verse of 'If I Can't Love Her' at full voice on stage with all those people watching. They offered me an audition next month! Then dinner at Sardi's, finally the performance of SWEENEY TODD. I loved it, it's my favorite show. This is the other really nice cast on Broadway. The show was very interesting. It impresed the crap out of me. I can't believe the talent on that stage!
Saturday we went to the matinee of THE ODD COUPLE. I loved the show SOOOOOOO MUCH. Nathan and Matthew were great but the rest of the cast kinda sucked and made me wonder what it takes to get into a Broadway show. Obviously not much... But after having had the tour there it was really cool to watch the show in the theatre. This was my first straight play on Broadway. Great experience. Nathan and Matt are always mad when they come out the stage door.
That night we went to 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. Beyond funny! Don't ever miss this show. I could go into detail about all these shows but this post is already long enough. One audience member got a word right that he was clearly supposed to get wrong so they all laughted and looked at each other for a while and he came up with some really off the wall word that nobody in the world could spell. It was a priceless experience.
Then Sunday we left. This was the best trip I've ever had to NYC. I left with two audition offers, and the memory of 8 GREAT shows!
Tuesday we went to Letterman which let out at 6:30, which left us a half hour to go back to the hotel and change before going to DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. 3rd Row center orchestra. Norbert and Greg were out, but both understudies were great. And Pryce was definately the best performance I have ever seen on a Broadway stage, musical or otherwise. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Simply magnificent. He has the Tony for best replacement in his pocket, at least he should... He was very quite but also very polite at the stage door.
I worked it out before I came for the two of us to get a private backstage tour of the Brooks Atkinson theatre. So Wednesday morning, Joe, the house manager at the Atkinson gave us a very complete tour of the theatre including backstage. We had our pics taken on the set and he showed us how the set moves to make the quick change from messy apartment to clean apartment. And then we hung in his office and the non-existant green room before leaving. We made friends with Pat, the stagedoor man there and he gave us his 10th row house seats to the Sat Matinee! TIP:He loves A. Hepburn! And he's really nice and talkative if you take the time to get to know him.
Wednesday afternoon was SPAMALOT from 8th row center orch. Everyone was in! FANTASTIC SHOW. Loved every minute of it, possibly the favorite of the week. Lady of the Lake was a little weak, and can't compare with Sarah, the original. Simon Russel Beal as king Arthur was good, but kept looking at the audience with this "laugh-that was funny" look beofre the jokes were over. At the stage door we got Azaria and Hyde Pierce.
That evening we went to THE COLOR PURPLE from gorgeous seats in the center orch again. This show is so beautiful! Every performance was spot on and perfect! "What about Love" and "I'm here" had people in tears. After the show I bought the book for my mom to have the cast sign. They all came out but some were still waiting for their cars so they went back in after signing. This was easily the NICEST CAST I have ever met! I realized I forgot to have some of them sign the book so I knocked on the stage door and they let me in. Ended up talking to some cast members and being shown onstage before I got a bumch of big hugs and signatures! Pricessless experience and my second backstage Broadway experrience in one day!
Thursday was spent in the library watching archive videos of La Cage and A New Brain. That night we saw AVE Q. Great show. Second row seats. Treekie was out and his understudy was in. I ran into an old proffessor who knew Christmas Eve who in turn intorduced me to Matt, the casting director for the show! We talked about my auditioning for it and I gave him a copy of my CD. He said to give him a call when I come to town in the summer. Afterwards we chatted with Barrett Foa about the show. Ya know, he's a really NICE guy!!!!
Spent Fri in the library watching City of Angels. Then we used our connections at Nederlander to get a one on one backstage tour at the Lunt-Fontanne, where Beauty and the Beast is playing. We saw everything there. They were getting ready for an understudy rehersal that afternoon so the stage managers and even some casting people were there. I broke into the final verse of 'If I Can't Love Her' at full voice on stage with all those people watching. They offered me an audition next month! Then dinner at Sardi's, finally the performance of SWEENEY TODD. I loved it, it's my favorite show. This is the other really nice cast on Broadway. The show was very interesting. It impresed the crap out of me. I can't believe the talent on that stage!
Saturday we went to the matinee of THE ODD COUPLE. I loved the show SOOOOOOO MUCH. Nathan and Matthew were great but the rest of the cast kinda sucked and made me wonder what it takes to get into a Broadway show. Obviously not much... But after having had the tour there it was really cool to watch the show in the theatre. This was my first straight play on Broadway. Great experience. Nathan and Matt are always mad when they come out the stage door.
That night we went to 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. Beyond funny! Don't ever miss this show. I could go into detail about all these shows but this post is already long enough. One audience member got a word right that he was clearly supposed to get wrong so they all laughted and looked at each other for a while and he came up with some really off the wall word that nobody in the world could spell. It was a priceless experience.
Then Sunday we left. This was the best trip I've ever had to NYC. I left with two audition offers, and the memory of 8 GREAT shows!
You are young, life has been kind to you. You will learn.
