PJ's Weekend in NYC (Gypsy/Mamma Mia!)

[PJ]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 9:42pm

I got home late last evening from what had proved to be not only the best vacation, but the best weekend ever. As some of you already know, I was in NYC for the weekend with my mother. Here's a rundown.

Friday Nite-Mamma Mia!: I may be verbally beaten for saying this, but I loved this show. I had many doubts, and the casts' performance on the parade recently didn't help, but I have to admit that I had so much fun. Dee Hoty was great and had a killer voice. The girl playing her daughter Sophie was great as well. I also loved the Winter Garden. What a great theatre.

Saturday Afternoon-Gypsy: This show stole my heart. Bernadette just completely blew me away with her acting and singing. Her performance was everything that I had hoped it would be. Her singing of the score was fantastic. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the show for some reason. I suppose I was just excited and anxiously awaiting Bernadette to come marching down the right aisle yelling "Sing Out, Louise!" When she finally did, the crowd went wild. The trumpet solo during the overture also received a huge applause from the audience. Which surprised me since I figured the matinee audience would be dead. That trumpet solo made my hair stand on edge. It was shear magic. When Bernadette did finally come on, my heart rate quickened and I could feel the thumpin in the pit of my stomach. Needless to say I loved every second of this show. Tammy Blanchard also won herself another fan that day as well. What an actress. Her "Let Me Entertain You" was beyond words. And speaking of phenomenal music numbers, I can't give a personal review of "Gypsy" w/out mentioning "Rose's Turn." Bernadette sung the hell out of this song. I was worried because early on in "Some People" I felt as thought she was holding back a bit up until the "goodbye to blueberry pie" part. Back to what I was saying, this number gave me chills. During her "mama's talkin' loud" I got this feeling. I was suddenly overcome with emotions and felt my eyes begin to water. This number moved me in such a way that I had never been moved before. You can listen to this song over and over and not get nearly the same effect as sitting in a theatre hearing it and seeing it acted. Her final "me" in the line of her "for me's" was held for atleast a good 10-12 seconds. I honestly nearly wet my pants. I loved it so.

In other words, I had the best weekend of my entire life. I saw 2 great shows and 2 phenomenal performances from each of the shows' leading ladies. But there was one other instance that just took the cake.

Later Saturday evening, my mother and I went back to the theatre's stage door and waited for Bernadette. We of course were the only ones crazy enough to stand out in a blizzard just to meet her. Well we stood there from 10:15 - 11:30. Around 11:30, after standing by the barricades freezing, one of her "entourage" came out and asked us to come on in. We walked in the stage door and stood inside by the staircase. After about a minute, this petite woman, dressed in a beige winter coat and a white sweater w/ a matching scarf came around the corner. I nearly, once again, pissed myself. I couldn't believe I was this close to a woman I'd been admiring from afar for such a long time. I was star struck, as was my mother. But she saw me getting my Gypsy Program out of the bag and said "Would you like me to sign something?" She of course did and saw me holding the digital camera in the other hand. She then asked if we'd like a picture. Well of course we did! A security guard took it for us. It was the best damn 3 minutes of my life. She was so sweet and humble. When I told her that I thought she was fantastic that afternoon gave me a humble "Oh, why thank you" and smiled wide. We said our goodbyes and she got in her Chevy Venture and she was driven away. My mom even threw her a wave. It was great, great, great.

All in all, I loved my trip. Sorry for the long post. Updated On: 12/8/03 at 09:42 PM

[singnyc]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 9:47pm

Sounds like you had a great time PJ! Gypsy is one of my faves too :)

[Phantom2]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 9:54pm

PJ- You wrote so little about Mamma Mia! and so much about Gypsy. Guess we can tell which show you liked more. Tammy Blanchard is outstanding. I loved her "Let Me Entertain You" as well.

[thirdrowcenter]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 9:58pm

I really enjoyed reading about your Gypsy experience. It was very expressive and sweet.

[Amneris]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 10:08pm

::coughcoughdavidayerscoughcough::::
Hey phantom2...go to the OFF TOPIC section.

I adore gypsy pj!!! that is awesome that you got to meet BP.

[cabarethed]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 10:09pm

I'm glad it all worked out well for you! I loved Bernadette too. She gave me the chills as well.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 10:15pm

Are you trying to pick me up, Amneris?

Bye the way, an Understudy is like being a Bridesmaid and sometimes the Bride!

Updated On: 12/8/03 at 10:15 PM

[PJ]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 10:30pm

Why thank you, everyone. I just went through and fixed some typo's b/c I was typing quite fast and botched some things. I'm sure there's still some there, but what can you do other than proof read?

[PJ]

Posted: 12/8/03 at 10:39pm

Crap. I also forgot to add that John Dossett was out at both shows on Saturday, so we saw his understudy. William Parry, I think that was his name. Either way he did very well and got quite the applause at curtain call. Updated On: 12/8/03 at 10:39 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/9/03 at 4:00pm

You did a great job writing youor story PJ. It was a pleasure to read!

BTW: I saw William Parry go on for Richard Burton as King Arthur in CAMELOT. This was the famous performace where Burton was too drunk to continue the show.