I am, have always been, a sucker for the Big Apple.
It's Saturday, May 16th, and I'm sitting near the back of a double decker bus, taking a photo of Times Square. (Later, I will change this picture to black and white. It's so Fay Wray, "King Kong-ish." Even with all the modern steel and loony taxi drivers, it still feels like the 20's and 30's movies to me, Empire State Building and all.) LOVE it!
I am not alone - my partner in crime, Miss Jeanna, is back here with me. So is the actress, Joan Allen. We are pretending we have no clue who she is ... after all, everyone deserves a bit of privacy. Jeanna, the wicked one, somehow manages to sneak Joan into the corner of one photo - just to prove to our husbands that we really did see a FAMOUS actress.
We are somewhat bedraggled after the bus tour, and it's drizzly and cool. My hair is not cooperating, but I really don't mind. The plane ride earlier was hell (but who needs sleep when visiting NYC?). These two cowgirls from Wyoming are not wasting any time. We head to Little Italy for dinner.
Jeanna indulges in a glass of wine, while I take some photos directly behind me.
I am drawn to, actually distracted by, this ...
I'm not sure exactly what this once was. At first I thought it was a phone, or perhaps a doorbell. It doesn't really matter. To my eye it could be a piece of abstract art. A face with two silver eyes, a la Picasso. I love the movement. The wires, all curled, twisted, and worn. The outline of the mortar against the brick.
Distraction can be a really good thing. Especially when you have something like THIS waiting for you ...
Seafood! Lots and LOTS of seafood. Enough seafood to swim in. Be still, my beating heart. This is something you will never see in Cody, Wyoming!
Yee Ha!
FABULOUS!
Stuffed to the gills, we hail a taxi to the Gershwin Theatre where we have perfect orchestra seats for Wicked!
I don't know an artist who doesn't love the theatre. The colors and imagery. The music. The spectacle. And the realization that nothing you create - or perform - can ever be exactly the same again. The power to move your audience, your viewer, is a wonderful gift.
I literally cried when Elphaba (the "wicked" witch) sang, "Defying Gravity." The song is much, much more than about the power to fly. It's about the power we all possess to overcome life's obstacles. It's about the freedom to follow your dreams. Realizing your greatest potential. Making a difference. It's about "Becoming."
The only thing to bring us down after "Wicked" is the taxis - or should I say, the lack thereof.
So we walk back to the Affinia Manhattan, right across from Madison Square Garden, head for the bar, and dive into an Apple Martini.
Don't we look WICKED?
