So here we are. I am sitting backstage at work after getting home this morning after 2am. This weekend was spent in New York, which was my first time being there. To save myself blogging time, I just typed each day about the events that occurred that day, so below are my entries. If you've been to NYC, please feel free to share some experiences!

It’s Friday at noon and we’ve just touched down at O’Hare in Chicago. We’ve got just about half an hour layover before boarding for the flight to New York. I dozed off the half hour we were in the air for the flight here, and I’m sure I’ll snooze a bit during the 2-1/2 hour flight to LaGuardia. Not a huge fan of flying, so I have to find ways to distract myself while in flight; what better way than to sleep, right? Since there isn’t much to do nor a lot of time before the next flight, I guess I’ll call it a post and wait for the plane…

It’s now Friday around 4:30. We’ve just checked into our hotel after our second flight. We were delayed on the take-off for an hour, then when we got to the hotel, they said our room was unavailable, so they were going to give us an upgrade. Come to find out, the room was ready, so after a good 20-25 minutes at the check-in desk, we were ready to find our room. We are quickly settling in then heading out! The plans for tonight are to eat dinner at a burger pub called Old Town Bar & Grill, browse the Broadway streets, see Spring Awakening, and then spend some time at a piano/karaoke lounge called Don’t Tell Mama.  This being my first time in New York, I can’t even begin to express my excitement! Ok, time to peace out…

It’s Saturday morning at 1:45 and I’m up doing this post so I don’t forget anything. First off, all I can say right now is WOW. I don’t think I could have asked for a better show to start my Broadway excursion. Spring Awakening was everything I could have asked for plus some. I have known the soundtrack for quite some time, but seeing it in its context gave a whole new meaning to several of the songs. 90 percent of the cast was from the original cast, so that was yet another plus. The lead character, Melchior (usually played by Jonathan Groff), was played by the understudy, Matt Doyle. When I saw this, I was not happy, but as the show went on, I completely forgot. The guy was phenomenal. I got a picture with him after the show and I’ve added it below.

After the show, we headed to Don’t Tell Mama.  As I said earlier, it’s a piano/karaoke bar just a short walk from Broadway. When we arrived, there was a small wait because the place was packed. When we finally got in, I saw why there was a line; the place wasn’t that big. Nevertheless, the aura was great and the spirits high. Several audience members got up and shared a song or two along with some of the bartenders. There were even a few sing-alongs! After about 1-1/2 hours of this, we called it quits and headed for the hotel. Now we’re tucked in and ready to get some shut-eye for tomorrow. Spamalot and La Traviata (with none other than the Diva Renée!) are our plans for the day. As for the rest of the day, we’ll just have to see what happens!

Saturday morning, 8:30am. We’ve just discovered that the stagehands on Broadway are going on strike today, closing all but 8 shows. This fateful event wasn’t supposed to happen until next weekend, but the union decided to take action. Therefore, Spamalot is out of the picture this trip, which is very disheartening. With what few choices we have left, we’re going to check on Young Frankenstein and a few off-Broadway shows. Other than that, we still have La Traviata tonight at the Metropolitan Theatre, which should be quite the production. Oh well, it’s breakfast time; I’ll be back with the rest of the day’s events tonight!

What a day today was! Breakfast was at Murray Hill Diner, a quaint place down the street from the hotel. We then proceeded to find the South Street Seaport and the TKTS booth. At the TKTS booth, you can purchase day-of tickets for a fraction of the price; however, since the strike happened, only off-Broadway shows were being sold, and since Forbidden Broadway wasn’t available, a new plan was devised. We looked up tickets to Young Frankenstein, but to no avail; it was completely sold out. Then we happened across a show called Walmartopia. The idea looked semi-amusing, so we got tickets; the show was worth it. It was all about how Walmart was taking over the world: musical style. Overall, it was brilliant and the cast was wonderful. Before the show, we had a few hours to spare, so we became tourists; we ventured towards Ground Zero to see where the World Trade Centers once stood, visited a few cathedrals, and saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Then came the show. Afterwards, we made our way back to the hotel for just a few minutes to recharge. Dinner was at the Brazil Grill, my first experience with Brazilian cuisine, and it was delectable. It was just a constant bombardment of food until you told them to stop bringing it. Following dinner, we trekked to the Metropolitan Opera House where we saw the one and only Diva Renée Fleming in Verdi’s La Traviata. Even though we had standing-room only tickets up on the 5th balcony, the show was magnificent. How a person can fill a place such as the Met, even over an orchestra, without a microphone, is beyond me. I can’t even begin to describe the set and costumes. 3 ½ hours after it started, we head towards Times Square for some photo opts since it was rainy last night. On the way home, we had to dodge a New York City subway scuffle between two guys while their friends stood around them and laughed. Now we’re back in the hotel, loving the fact we can sleep in just a bit tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow? Pack and check out of the hotel, lunch with several alumni, then finish with a few hours of tourist stuff; possibly the Empire State Building? Who knows, so for now, good night!

Sunday evening, 6:26pm. I’m sitting in LaGuardia’s food court. A pizza has been ordered as we wait for boarding time. As fast as it arrived, my time in New York has come to an end. I’ve been dreading this because it means back to the grinding stone for schoolwork, meaning a 15-page music history paper, a persuasive speech, a speech analysis, a lesson plan for teaching a class, and some music administration work. But instead of focusing on that, I’m going to focus on the weekend experience I just had. My final day in New York consisted of quite a load. Most of the day was spent doing “touristy” things: souvenir shopping, going atop the Rockafeller Building, walking through parts of Central Park, visiting Greenwich Village (where several University Singers alumni and friends gathered), and enjoyed the organ playing at St. Patrick’s cathedral. While I’m not a huge fan of heights, going up the Rockafeller Building was quite the sight; you can see for miles. The Empire State Building was in our plans, but the wait was too long, so we said c’est la vie and moved on. In trying to keep this already extremely long post from getting much longer, I guess I’ll spare some details and finish up. As soon as I can fix my publishing program, I wil get the pictures up (hopefully a day or two). Until then, enjoy!