hello friends! so I just got back home after about three weeks in New York City, and now I'm sick and bored and figured I'd detail all the fun stuff I did here because you guys have enjoyed hearing about it in the past so. here we are

so the first week was completely encompassed by a musical theatre intensive I attended, so not too much crazy stuff happened BUT I did see The Prom, and it was SO. GOOD. It was so much better than I thought it would be and I love it so much and so should all of you.

also that week, something super (not) fun happened that I'm sure you all heard about, the New York City blackout!! me and my group were in Times Square on our way to see Ain't Too Proud when about half of New York City lost power and shut down. as you can imagine, being in Times Square during that time was . not the most fun thing. we stood there for maybe half an hour, 45 minutes, before it was officially announced that only four Broadway shows (Ain't Too Proud not included) would be performing as scheduled. so we all made our way back to our hotel, where we stood in the dark, non-airconditioned lobby (bc elevators weren't working) with a bunch of strangers for about three and a half hours until the power finally came back so. that was a fun night that I never want to live through again.

so after that my intensive was over, which meant the beginning of doing all the NYC things we could possibly do. so the first show I saw after that was Chicago, a musical I, for some reason, had never seen before and I thought it was.. okay. the talent was great but the plot was confusing me, and the actress playing Roxie was from Japan and with her accent, I couldn't understand most of her lines BUT it was Broadway and it was great!

the day after that, we went to 54 Below (my first time going for not a Broadway Princess Party) and witnessed one of the best non-Broadway shows I have ever seen in the form of Twohander with Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Renee Scott. Sherie composed it and wrote the script, it's a show about their relationship and the ups and downs they went through, starting with RENT and The Last Five Years and ending with Twohander, and it was one of the most raw, beautiful pieces of theater ever performed, and realizing that the two people onstage actually lived through the story they're telling was amazing. it was super good. you should all love Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Renee Scott.

the next day, I went to go see The Prom again, because my parents bought tickets for me as a Christmas present before we realized I was going to see it with my intensive, so I just saw it twice, and I still loved it, it was still wonderful, I love The Prom.

then we found ourselves on a Wednesday, which on Broadway means a two show day! so for the matinee I saw Waitress with Shoshana Bean and Erich Bergen from the 5th row, sobbed profusely, and fell back in love with it. this was the day after their closing was announced so I'm pretty sure everyone there on and off stage was extra emotional, it does not deserve to close. I love Waitress so much (also Shoshana Bean. wow.)

for the night performance we saw Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which we bought tickets for when we thought Kara Lindsay was gonna be in it but then she got pregnant so we didn't see her rip but IT WAS STILL GOOD. Beautiful is one of those shows that I desperately wish got the love and attention it deserves from teenagers. I feel like a lot of younger people write it off because it's set in the 60s/70s, or because it's 'oldies' music, but it's genuinely one of the best shows. it hits me hard in so many different places in so many different ways, it's such an amazing show. and it's closing was announced approximately two minutes before I saw it so I was really sad. everyone go find a bootleg of Beautiful and watch it and cry.

the next morning, it was raining and gross, but I didn't care and got up super early and went to Bryant Park because Broadway in Bryant Park was happening and I was absolutely going to stand (there were no chairs because the lawn was closed because it was too wet) in the rain for two hours to witness Broadway. the shows performing on that particular day were Waitress (which I had just seen the day before, I remained in love with that cast), Chicago (which I had also already seen, but Desi Oakley was Roxie at Bryant Park and I'm obsessed with her), Beetlejuice, Come From Away (one of my all time favorites) and Jersey Boys (another one of my all time favorites). So we stood for two hours and watched all of soundcheck and all the actual performances, and I was in actual heaven, it was amazing.

skipping around a little because after that we went to Massachusetts to stay with family for a few days because NYC is expensive, we return, and we're planning to get tickets to The Phantom of the Opera from the TKTS booth because it's been three years since my family's seen Phantom and we all love it. BUT sad day, Phantom was sold out, so we made a last minute decision and got tickets to see Pretty Woman!

I was very skeptical about Pretty Woman because I hadn't loved the songs I'd heard from the cast recording, and I'd never seen the movie (and still haven't). also, Andy Karl and Samantha Barks had left the day before, and all I knew about the new leads was that Brennin Hunt played Rogert in RENT Live! and broke his foot. but guys. it was SO GOOD. the music is so much better in person and in the context of the show, and the show itself is an absolute joy to witness. and Jillian Mueller and Brennin Hunt killed it every time they were onstage, they were amazing. debuts are always fun to watch, and Pretty Woman was wonderful.

the next day we had a pretty full day, we went to the Disney store (their Marvel section was pitiful) in Times Square and then found out that some friends from my old dance studio were in the city, so we all went to Madam Tussauds (the wax museum) and it was great, there's an Andrew Lloyd Webber exhibit which was great, and their Marvel section was NOT pitiful, they had all the Marvel sculptures and a 4D ten minute Marvel movie which was incredibly cheesy but fun! yay!

that night we saw Tootsie, poor, controversial Tootsie, and I'm just gonna go ahead and say that I did not think it's transphobic at all, but everyone has their opinions and that's fine.

Tootsie was a REALLY good time. I thought it was a really good, really fun show, and I loved it a lot. the cast was BRILLIANT, particularly Santino Fontana. I love that man and he absolutely nailed it in this show. (I also got to meet Santino afterwards and it was unexpected because the security guard told us no one else was coming out and then he came out anyway, and I hyperventilated in front of him but he was really sweet and I love him. yay Santino) also! Britney Coleman of Starkid was in it! and she was amazing! yay Starkid! yay Tootsie! yay musical theatre!

then came our last day in the city, which just so happened to be Wednesday, AKA two more shows! at the matinee I saw Wicked from the second row, it was my eighth time seeing Wicked and I cried my eyes out as usual. my fav Ginna Claire Mason was Glinda and she was amazing, everyone in the cast was, there's a reason it's my favorite show, and it was so magical.

and! there was an understudy on for Fiyero, and at the stage door he came out with a whole slew of his friends cheering for him and taking pictures of him, and apparently his agents were there and gave him a bottle of wine and he looked like pure joy personified, and when he came up to us he said "this was my Broadway principal debut" and he looked so excited and happy that I wanted to hug him, he was so cute and he did an AMAZING job onstage, I love him and I love getting to see debuts. it was great

then that night. ohh boy. that night I saw Hadestown. and I knew I would love it based on the cast recording but. it was the most beautiful, moving show I have ever seen in my entire life. it made me feel things I didn't know I could feel, I laughed, I cried, I held my breath. it was amazing and deserves every single Tony award it got and every ounce of love and acclaim it's getting. it is a gorgeous show, and Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney, Patrick Page, Amber Gray, and Andre de Shields all give absolutely masterful performance. I wouldn't trade the experience of watching it for the world. it was breathtaking.

and then I left and came back home yesterday and now I'm incredibly sick, so clearly I need to go back to the city so it can cure me. I miss it all a lot but it was a really fun trip! yay! I'll stop throwing all my Broadway emotions at you, I hope someone read all of this, and if you did, I think you for having so much patience. okay. bye!