Frau Blucher?

So, it was an average Thursday evening and I thought to myself, “Hmmm, I haven’t seen Chris in a long time. Maybe I’ll visit him in Harrisburg this weekend.” Thirty six hours later I found myself in New York City. I do love when that kind of thing happens. Chris, J., and I decided we needed some Broadway, stat, and Broadway accommodated us.

Saturday Matinee: Xanadu

I saw this show a while back with Melis and I have wanted to sit in one of the on-stage seats ever since. They have 29 seats right on the stage and it is such a cool perspective. I convinced the boys to sit on stage with me, with the whole theater looking at us. (Melis, we were in the seats right in the middle where the actors turn around and offer you popcorn during that one song!) It was fairly fabulous. Cheyenne Jackson isn’t in the lead role right now, but Curtis Holbrook (Dean Hyde from All Shook Up, people!) is filling in and he is just the most cheek-pinching-est adorable man. I want to squeeze him like the Pillsbury Doughboy and then wrap him up and put him in my pocket.

When we arrived at the theater we were given instructions for sitting on the stage: Don’t chew gum, don’t rifle through your purse, don’t reach out and touch Curtis’ hair, etc… (It’s possible that last one is just a rule I made up in my head for myself.) Then they handed us glowsticks and told us that the actors would cue us when to light them up and they’d cue us when we were supposed to stand up and dance around while waving them. Dance around. On stage. J. looked mortified and Chris turned to me and hissed, “If there’s anything else you haven’t been telling us, you’d better spill it. Now.” Truly, I had not remembered that part. But then! During the song “Strange Magic,” the actresses singing it were standing right over us and one of them leaned over Chris and started rubbing his head like a crystal ball and touching him and playing with his shirt collar. He promptly turned the color of a raspberry. It was his Broadway debut!

There were no further snags until the final number when we were standing and dancing around and waving our glowsticks. My glowstick flew out of my hand and rolled into the middle of the stage, and these actors are on roller skates, people, (Seriously.) and for one brief moment I had a vision of Kerry Butler skating over it and breaking her ankle, followed by me being escorted from the theater as I gave my hasty regards to her understudy. But one of the other actresses saw it and tossed it back to me before it took anyone down. Crisis averted. But you should definitely see Xanadu and sit on the stage. You get a free glowstick! Just don’t touch Curtis.

Saturday Evening: Spring Awakening

This won the Tony in 2007 for Best Musical and it was much deserved. It’s easily some of the most beautiful music I ever heard trip off a Broadway stage, and I haven’t stopped listening to the CD since. However, a warning: this show has some very mature themes. It’s not for kids. In fact, there was a school group sitting near us and the kids were 12 – 14 years old and I could literally see the chaperones mentally composing their resumes for the jobs they would most certainly be searching for Monday morning.

Sunday Matinee: Young Frankenstein

We followed up the 2007 Best Musical winner with the 2008 Best Musical winner. J. won the ticket lottery and then we bought a third seat in the balcony and Chris and I split the acts between the balcony and the front row. Gary and Lisa, you are correct that this show is fabulous, but I cannot agree with your assertion that it’s as good as Wicked. I think we need to get some perspective here.

We also did our usual NYC stuff: lunch at John’s, Central Park, Jamba Juice, walking along the Hudson. And we discovered an Amish Market, right in the heart of the Financial District. Being Pennsylvanians, of course we had to inspect it for veracity. Turns out, it was just a regular specialty food market. Nothing Amish about it. I was incensed. I thought about walking up to the counter and announcing to the ladies behind the register that I was from Pennsylvania and that there was not an ounce of authenticity in this parading charlatan of a market. But instead I walked up to the counter and plunked down $2.92 for a German candy bar. I’m so weak.