The Big Apple - Day 2 (Evening): Getting Totally Wicked

It has finally arrived! The Night! One of the most special nights of my trip. Tonight we go to see Wicked! Hang onto your pants, folks, I'm about to take you on a little ride to the Land of Oz. 

Casey, Nika and I at the start of our big night

 After getting back from shopping we scurried around to get ready.  Once the three of us finished getting all dolled up for our big night, we are scooting out of the hotel to round up a cab.  In the cab and off we go to the infamous Gershwin Theater to our (well, at least my) first Broadway musical -- Wicked.  Our cab ride is only about 15 minutes, and we could have walked it, but I have high-heeled boots on and Nika has high-heeled shoes, plus it is raining.  Not time to think about exercise.  It is time to think about comfort, warmth and not ruining our hair!  After all, I am on vacation!

Our usher at the Gershwin Theatre

Here we are -- at the Gershwin Theatre.  We've finally arrived and our astute usher has guided us to our seats.  The seats I picked were perfect.  Aisle seats with just the right height to be able to see down to the stage.  I could have picked seats that were down below but, I was told, then you have to sometimes fight to see over heads and find yourself always looking up.  And, our usher couldn't have been more nice.  He joked with us and was happy to do his job.  It made our big adventure even more fun. Looking around, I find that the inside of the Gershwin is magnificent.  While we are here, let me give you just a little bit of information and history on the Gershwin.

Nika and I after being seated

Gershwin Theater:  The Gershwin Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 51st Street in midtown-Manhattan in the Paramount Plaza building. The theatre is named after famed brothers, composer George Gershwin and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It has the highest seating capacity of any Broadway theatre, with 1,933 seats.

The Gershwin is situated on the lower levels of a towering office complex built at an estimated cost of $12.5 million on the site of the historical Capitol Theatre. It opened as the Uris Theatre in November 1972 (named for the building developer) with the musical Via Galactica starring Raul Julia.  You may not have heard of that musical but you most certainly have heard of Raul Julia.  No?  Oh, just think for a moment.  Hasn't come to you yet? Okay, now think Gomez Adamms of The Adamms Family.  Yes, now I see the wheels turning in your mind.  Unfortunately for the musical Via Galactica, the venue's start proved to be the first show to lose a million dollars and closed after only seven performances.   The American Theatre Hall of Fame is located in the lobby.  

Casey and Nika

Making history, Wicked achieved the box office record for the Gershwin Theatre. The production grossed $2,228,235 over eight performances, for the week ending January 2, 2011. This was also the highest grossing week for any musical in the history of Broadway theatre.   

And What, Pray Tell, Exactly Is Broadway Theatre?  Well, I am glad you asked.  Simply put, Broadway Theatre, or more commonly known as Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center in Manhattan. The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York. What do you think gets spent in a year for attendance to Broadway venues?  According to a theatre rag called The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.037 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2010, compared to $1.004 billion for 2009.  That, my friends, is a lot of dough!  

I could have been saying "Scotty, beam me up" at this point as I was a beaming beacon from head to toe, so enthralled with the pure notion that we were now seated in the largest theatre on Broadway.  Oh, what a moment! Oh, what a night!  

And, lookee here -- do you see what Casey is holding in the picture above -- the playbill for Wicked.  Cuddle up, because next we're going to talk a teeny, tiny bit about Wicked.  In case you don't know the whole story about this musical, here is an appetizer.  (Don't worry, I am not going to spoil the story for you by telling you anything too in-depth or ruining the ending).

The Stage and Set of Wicked Before the Opening Curtain

 Wicked:  Wicked is an award-winning (35 major awards including a Grammy Award and 3 Tony awards) musical about the untold story of the witches of Oz.  When Dorothy famously vanquished the Wicked Witch, we only heard one side of the story.  In fact, if you think you know the Wicked Witch of the West, think again. Because long before Dorothy dropped in, there is a significant meeting of two other girls in the land of Oz.  One, Elphaba (later better known to viewers of The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West) was born with emerald-green skin, was smart, feisty and simply misunderstood.  The other, Glinda, is beautiful, ambitious and popular.  Her personality and character, who seemed to magically glide about, reminded me a lot of Reese Witherspoon.  It tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, and how these two unlikely besties grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and Glinda the Good. 

Partial cast during the end of the musical

In essence, what you have heard before in the story of The Wizard of Oz is just the medial part of the long-told tale.  Wicked is the actual beginning.

This musical tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but intense friendship between two girls who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl, Elphaba.  What a sight the two together are!

Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda The Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West.  Let me tell you, it is a great story and I was so glad to view it in person.

The entire cast

Above, in the picture to the left, the extra cast members who mill around during the production, come out to take a bow.  Without them, the production would be but a blank slate.  If you take a peak at the picture to the right, in the front row, you will see Glinda in the white and to the right of her is Elphaba (Wicked Witch).  Yes, she really was green! Surely I can vouch that their beautiful voices filled the theatre with song and tale. 

While I am thinking about it, as long as I mentioned the Wizard of Oz, above, did you know that this familiar story written by L. Frank Baum was first published as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900.  That is over a decade ago!  As you can see, this tale -- from the previously untold beginning -- is a favorite to be able to hang around that long and still be enchanting to young and old alike. 
 

Casey and I posing by the billboard outside the Gershwin

Nika and Casey striking a pose

After finding our way out of the Gershwin, I wanted to memorialize our theatre-going follies by posing next to the billboard.  This proved a wee bit difficult as many others had the same thought.  But, eventually, we were able to sneak in to snap a couple pictures.  

Dinner: Our original plan after leaving the theatre was to grab dinner at a swanky Manhattan dinner club.  One of Casey's co-workers has some connections, so he made us reservations for 10:30 p.m. right after the musical.  This restaurant was a reservation-only hotspot, with bookings hard to get and needing to be booked months in advance -- unless you have connections and know somebody who knows somebody.  Unfortunately, we did not get out of Wicked until about 10:50.  Thinking that we had blown the reservation, we figured we might as well mosey on back towards the hotel and catch something to eat right around there.  [Little did we know until the next day, though, that Ron had changed the reservation to 11:00, calculating that we wouldn't make a 10:30 reservation.] 

Off we headed to fetch another cab.  As we were walking across the lot next to the Gershwin, we could see that there were limos and towne cars lined up all along the street.  While assessing the view, suddenly, I was approached by a gentleman who asked if we needed a ride.  More specifically, he asked if we wanted a limo ride.  Huh!??

Our Limo Driver - One of the Nicest New-Yorkers

Limo Ride: My response?  "You are too expensive for me."  As Casey and Nika were following, I think they were getting a little chuckle out of our conversation.  This gentleman then said, "where do you have to go."  I had Casey give him the hotel name and he said that was do-able.  $100, he said.  What? Do I really have that look like I just dropped out Hicksville?  Umm, whoa, big boy, that is exactly what I had in mind when I said, too-expensive-for-me.  Then he came back at me with, for you, how about $75? Nope, and I kept on walking with him by my side like a little puppy.  Then he uttered, "look, I'm not making any money sitting around.  Tell me what you are willing to pay."  I said, $20.  Shocked, he replied, "man, you are killing me here" and I voiced, "well, I'm not willing to pay much more than that."  So we haggled some more, he: $50; me: $25; he: $40; me: final offer and bottom line is $25.  He finally retorted, "okay, we have a deal.  You seem like nice people, so I will be nice enough to oblige."  

Nika and I hanging out in the limo

I think that Casey and Nika were somewhat stunned as they were looking at me like "serious?" and Momma said, "yes, I am serious; this is my first trip to New York; my first Broadway musical/play; my first airplane ride; and tonight will be my first limo ride!"  At first, they both were a little taken aback by the fact that this was my first limo ride.  But, not just mine, as it turned out; it was also Nika's first, too.  Now, the next step -- this black stretch limo was so perfectly spit-shined on the outside and if he was willing to bargain on a cheap fare, what were we in for on the interior of the limo. 

They say that you can never tell a package by its dressing.  Well, in this case, yes, you can.  The immaculate, glistening, leather inside was a sight to behold.  I was glad I made this decision.   And our driver was so great, he said he would even drive around just a little bit, too.  Now, you can't get much better than that.  Who said New Yorkers weren't nice people?

Casey and I Feeling Like Movie Stars

Late Night at the Deli: Back at the hotel and after missing our late night dinner reservations, we headed up the street to a local deli.  What is so amazing is that the delis in New York City stay open 24 hours a day.  It is 11:30 at night and off we go hunting up some grub.  What an amazing buffet spread we find!  I can almost say that there is everything from soup to nuts -- literally, seriously!  There are different kinds of salads, fixings for a tossed salad, soups, breads, hot casserole dishes, hot meats, desserts.  There must have been at least 30 individual warmers, etc., holding foods.  And then maybe I am off the mark some (on the low side).  You help yourself to whatever you want, put it in containers, it is weighed and you pay by the pound.  So we loaded up and grabbed some drinks, and headed back to the hotel to feast in our room.   To walk away hungry from this enormous offering would be crazy.  I fixed one of the biggest salads I have ever attempted to eat, plus to make sure I got my carbs, I grabbed some hot casserole-type foods and some bread and milk.  But it is getting late, and Casey has to work tomorrow. 



Tonight's Curtain is Closing:  And it is a big, big night of firsts for me.  My first Broadway play, and to experience it in New York, is extra, extra special.  And my first limo ride.  This trip is not even half way over with and I have been blessed with some many adventures, I am almost without words.  (Okay, you know me, never without words!! haha!). Well, it is only the end of Day 2.  It is getting late and by the time I finished posting my pictures from the day, it is going on 2:00 a.m.  Everyone else is sleeping, so I best be heading off to dream land, too.  We had three more days left in New York and I need to make sure I am well rested to handle all three head on.  


What's next?  Day 3 is coming your way soon.