NYC and all that

So I'm back from the trip with all the darling cherubs. It wasn't that bad, I had lots of fun, I got to see some friends, good shows and fun shopping. Tuesday we left the school at 6 AM. Yes, that's right, 6 AM. I was at the school at 4:30 to get things opened and start checking in the kids and their luggage. The bus showed up at 5:15, we loaded and were ready to go by 5:45. We had to wait while the bus driver (Bernice) was on the phone with a mechanic because the bus had no heat. Whatever, we got going and were in the city by 11:30. Picked up our tour coordinator Marla, dumped our luggage at the hotel and went to have lunch at Rockefeller Plaza. Then the first class at Ripley-Grier Studios at 1:30; Stage Combat. A little beginner for some of our kids, but fun nonetheless, and a different technique than they had learned from Janine and Scott. Then back to our scenic hotel; The Skyline on 10th and 49th to change for dinner. Dinner at 6:00 at Swing 46. It was fun. A buffet; but good food. And they had some local performers do a little something and talk about living and working in NY as a performer and took questions. It was fun.
Some of our kids on the stage learning a dance combination. FUNNY!



And this was Michelle Citrin, one of the performers; guitarist/songwriter/singer. I liked her stuff, warm tone, good songs. She has a Myspace if you want to check her out.


And then after dinner back to Rockefeller Plaza to go to the top of the Rock. It was gorgeous. We couldn't have asked for a better nite. Sky was clear, and the view was fantastic, and not too windy. Better than the Empire State I think. Ok, so maybe not the best picture reduced down, but it looks really good on my computer at home. So then we locked the kids back in their rooms at the hotel and life was good. The best part of this tour company was that a security guard was included every nite to sit in the hall and make sure the kids didn't sneak out of the hotel. Worth it!!!! I did get to spend time with my friend Tom Wallace that nite and Wednesday nite. It was good to catch up and talk etc.etc etc.

Ok, so Wednesday was a visit to Equity with Amy Dolan Fletcher to talk about "what is Equity and why did it start and why is it a good thing". It was fun, they had good questions and we all got materials to take home;) Then we went and took a bus tour, but had limited time before we had to be at our matinee of Hairspray. We went to Greenwich and Chinatown. I bought a Prada purse and several pairs of sunglasses, One for me, one for Jeni and one for Donielle. Yes girls, I got your white Chanel glasses. And of course they're all REAL!! I went to great lengths to purchase them, through secret doors and stairways and all that. :)

Then Hairspray. I hadn't seen it, but I was familiar with the music and the story, of course. We had great seats in the front of the mezzanine. The new Edna is........funny, but I didn't always think he was into it, but it was a matinee. The Penny whats her name was the Degarmo(sp? Mark correct me please) chick from American Idol. I didn't know that til after, but I thought she was pretty good. She sounded great, and was geeky and cute. What else did she need? We took up a collection and bought one of the signed posters for EC/BFA and I'll get that framed and hang it in the Thespian case. Then the kids (and myself) had 3 hours free til we went to Drumstruck that nite. The tour coordinator thought I was crazy to not have the bus meet us at the theatre after the show to take us 5 blocks to 47th so the kids could have dinner in Times Square and then have the bus pick us back up to take us to Dogers on 50th for Drumstruck. And she thought I was crazy to let them on their own for 2 1/2 hours. We had chaperones, it's not like I was just cutting the cord and saying "See ya!!". I took some down to DramaBookshop and then back to Times Square so they could eat. I went and ate at Federigo's on 50th with Eric Hoefler. He was up visiting friends and met up with us for the show that nite. Great italian food and they always are so nice to me. I had the chicken saltimbocca and tiramisu for dessert. Tiramisu not as good as at Tempo, but tasty nonetheless. Then on to Drumstruck. It was a load of fun. Each seat has it's own 2 foot African drum and they show is very interactive. The performers are from Johannesburg South Africa, and they sing dance drum and tell stories. They teach the audience songs and it was just a ton of fun. WE also had great seats for this, the front few rows. And the men did some traditional African dance in loin cloths. Interesting to sit in the 2nd row for that;) No pictures tho, sorry. And then back to the hotel.

So now it's Thursday, and we have to be on the bus at 7am! UGH!!!!!!! We went to the Statue of Liberty and to Ellis Island. I'd never been to Ellis Island, so that was kind of cool. And my Great grandmother and fathers names are on the wall there.

My grandmothers name is Apollonia, and she married both Alexander and Frank. They were brothers, when one died she married the next one. A little weird to my thinking, but hey it was the Depression. I guess she at least knew what she was getting;)







We had lunch at South Street Seaport where I met up with Sabra. She's back in the city after the cruise ship and is free and easy. So she hung with us for the rest of the afternoon. We had another class at Ripley-Grier; The business of Theatre. It was ok. I was really hoping he would go more into agents and headshots, but I think the kids enjoyed it. Then back to the hotel to change for dinner at Playwrites Tavern on 8th. We all ate together; another buffet. Chicken fingers!?!?! I mean COME ON!! and they were so slow, we did not get dessert because we had to leave to get to Altar Boyz. Ok, Altar Boyz was a riot. I LOVED it. And our dear friend Ryan Duncan is coming back to the role he originated, "Juan", in three weeks. He's only doing it for 2 months, so go people, go and see him. And I know the kids loved the show. After we got the kids back to the hotel and settled, I met up with Mark Runion and chatted for a bit in the hotel lounge. He's running sound for a show called "Devil Land" and it opened on Friday. It sounds intriguing and I can't lay my hands on the promo card he gave me or I would tell you where it is. But it only runs for a few weeks.

And then it was Friday and we were checking out of the hotel at 9. The guys at the deli I went to for breakfast were very sweet and didn't charge me for my coffee that morning. Nice. I love NY. We went to Central Park and dropped the kids off till 12:30. They could stay in the park or go shopping down Fifth Ave. It was fun. I went with a few of the girls shopping. Of Course to Tiffany's, and Trump Tower, Louis Vuitton, all the fun stores. And Abercrombie was having a promotion...........................meet the new face of Abercrombie. Let me tell you, no one was looking at this boys face.

I am sorry that it is not more in focus than this. I, obviously, did not take the picture, one of the students did and I'm so sure she wasn't looking at the screen;) Let me just tell you how soft his skin was! And I got a kiss on the cheek. The high school girls were all very jealous. Ok, enough of the Abercrombie model. I've never shopped in A&F before, but if that's the sort of stuff that goes on, I may have to start;)

Then we went to Lincoln Center for the tour. BORING!!!! Avoid this at all costs! They have dreadful tour guides................ok, I should ammend that. We had to split our group in 3 and the group I was in had a dreadful tour guide. She mispronounced Martha Graham's name. AND Elia Kazan. She called him Eliza. The best part was sitting and watching part of a put in of Light in the Piazza, but she hustled us out of there. BAD!!! But we did get a nice group photo in front of the fountain.

It was the only time it rained the whole trip! Figures. Then we took them off to their last classes. The theatre kids went to a scene workshop and the dancers to a dance class. I went with the dancers and their teacher was from Beauty and the Beast. She's the Babette understudy and she's a napkin. She taught the girls the can-can section of Be Our Guest. It was really good and our girls were great. They did amazing actually. She taught the combination like it was an audition and they did great. And the warm up she did was pretty intense. They loved it.

And then we went to Times Square and had dinner. I went to the Blue Fin with 2 of the chaperones. There was an accident on the Turnpike (I know I know, big surprise) so we had an extra hour for dinner. That was a nice bonus. And the desserts we had were fantastic(as were the cocktails). So just for Mark I have included the only food picture I took the entire time:)

It was the perfect way to end the trip. We hit no traffic on the way home and I was in bed by 1:05am. Lovely.

It was a good trip. I didn't kill any of them, no one got hurt or mugged or lost, and I think they all had a good time. I think that our tour coordinator did not agree with some of the decisions I made to not use the bus as much as she wanted and give the kids as much free time as I did, but hey......it's our trip. I also realized that I do miss going up to the city a lot. I really do love it up there. Ah well,

So I hope you enjoyed the Reader's Digest version of the trip. I missed the Encore show (believe it or not) and some of you faithful readers.

From the Jersey side before we boarded the ferry to the statue. It was 8:20 am.