Rehearsing in the big NYC felt magical. It's the home of musical theater, and it was an honor to be surrounded by all of the Broadway shows while tapping away in Ripley Grier rehearsal studios. We were in New York for 3 weeks for rehearsals. Day 1 was more thrilling than I could have imagined. Meeting the cast, and starting to tap right away..... a day full of smiles.
I loved every second of rehearsals with this crew, but I also made sure to take time to experience and enjoy the city itself. After all, it is the city that never sleeps.
You will see through my travels that I am a big proponent of trying new things. Here were some of my new experiences in NYC: a lobster roll (oh. my. so yummy) A bialy...if you don't know what it is, look it up. Went to Chinatown, Little Italy, and a NY Jewish Deli- I ate at all of them, obviously. Saw the 911 memorial. Went to the pier and saw the sunset. Went to a real speakeasy.
Thoughts on New York:
While visiting, I met up with my best friend Karissa who lives in NY. She has a blog www.rissieblog.com. We filmed a fun cooking video while I was there. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ9b7zyyhbo
I loved every second of rehearsals with this crew, but I also made sure to take time to experience and enjoy the city itself. After all, it is the city that never sleeps.
You will see through my travels that I am a big proponent of trying new things. Here were some of my new experiences in NYC: a lobster roll (oh. my. so yummy) A bialy...if you don't know what it is, look it up. Went to Chinatown, Little Italy, and a NY Jewish Deli- I ate at all of them, obviously. Saw the 911 memorial. Went to the pier and saw the sunset. Went to a real speakeasy.
Thoughts on New York:
They should provide communinal spray deodorant for the trains.
Soup dumplings in China Town are amazing. Dumplings...filled with soup....(Shout out to Jed, for introducing me to these)
How many people are in Times Square at any given moment?
How many people are in Times Square at any given moment?
Why is there no air in the stations? I think NYC can afford a fan for the sake a millions.
How much is the electric bill of Times Square?
It's nice to find the non-city-like parts of the city. If that sentence even makes sense.
Laundromat's are stressful. Oof.
Grocery shopping is more like playing bumper cars with carts. Never go to Trader Joes on the Upper West Side.
Do:
- Just walk. Explore. Let yourself get lost.
- Buy cookies at schmackerys. You won't regret it. It's a great place to meet a friend and not spend a lot.
- Explore different neighborhoods and don't just stay in touristy Times Square. I really enjoyed Astoria and the Upper East Side and Chelsea Market.
- Dollar Pizza from 2Brothers. Nuff said.
- See shows. Do it. Even if you aren't a musical theater person. I saw "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," "Fun Home," and "Something Rotten." All 3 shows were incredible. There are so many ways to get discounted tickets- rush tickets, lottery tickets, TKTS, todaytix. Look them all up.
- Treat yourself to a nice cocktail (My friend Mike Reckling makes a mean drink. He bartends at a place called Vitae. Just saying.)
- Go see the 911 memorial. I cried. It was very moving.
- Walk around central park.
- Eat street food (within reason)
- Take the trains. It will save you money, and you will see all types of people.
- Happy Hours are everywhere. Just FYI.
- Try a famous chef's restaurant or bakery.
Here is a cast photo after our last rehearsal in NYC. We had a lovely support group of 42nd Street Broadway and Tour Alumni come and watch the run. It was truly special. Then, our director told us they were giving us the next day off to get ready to travel to tech in Washington- we all cheered and cried!! What a great day!