They say the neon lights are bright...

Last weekend, Melis, Eric, and I took a quick trip to NYC. Melis and Eric wanted to see Idina in If/Then one more time before it closes or she leaves, and Melis and I wanted to see Beautiful before Jessie Mueller leaves. There was nothing to do but head to the Big Apple.

We got there Saturday morning and things went swimmingly. Melis and Eric won the final set of lottery tickets for If/Then, and went to see Idina in all her glory. I got a ticket for my beloved Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, and I must say, it was even better the third time.

For our second show, Melis and I went to see Tony award winning Jessie Mueller play Carole King in Beautiful. Melis had gotten the last single ticket available, and as I waited in the cancellation line, a darling little old man came up to me and sold me a ticket his friend had bought but couldn't use. Sixth row, center. Jackpot. He even went into the theater with me to make sure the ticket scanned so I knew he wasn't scamming me. Delightful.

That night Eric went to On the Town and, sadly, hated it. Poor him. But Melis and I were transported. Beautiful is a music-lover's dream. I was a scene and a half into it when I thought to myself, "I have to see this again tomorrow."

Then the Drifters came out as characters in the musical (I'm just crazy about the Drifters) and I could not have been happier. My mind was definitely made up to see it again.

The next day, an evil British lottery crone denied Melis and Eric a chance to enter the If/Then lottery, even though they showed up with a good 30 seconds to spare. It was too late, baby, it was too late, though we really did try to make it. (I was singing that song and Melis failed to see the humor.) So, Melis and I got cancellation tickets to Beautiful again and Eric got to see the wonderfulness that is Gentleman's Guide, finally. I enjoyed every second of Beautiful and danced out of the theater.

Also, I was sitting right behind the mother and godmother of the guy playing Gerry Goffin, the male lead. After the show I said to his mother, "He was wonderful." She replied, "I thought so too! And I'll be sure to tell him you said that!" She was a delight.

In between our three shows we stuffed our faces with:

• The world's best Eggs Benedict at Le Monde
• Chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, pickles and cabbage at Junior's
• The world's best pepperoni pizza (aside from my mother's homemade, of course) at John's
• Empanadas from a food truck
• The world's best chicken parm at Caffe Napoli
• Assorted pastry from Crumbs, Junior's, and the Ferrara bakery in Little Italy
• And another John's pizza for the road

We should be heartily ashamed of ourselves, but, well, you know how that goes.