Baseball and Tennis

I traded in the arts for sports on Monday, hitting up both baseball and tennis. I went to one Mets game when I lived in NYC, and never made it out to watch the U.S. Open. When I realized I would be there during the U.S. Open I immediately bought a ticket.

Citi Field and Arthur Ashe Stadium share the same subway stop in Flushing, Queens. Needless to say, the subway was full and the station a flurry of activity. 

The Mets were playing the Phillies, and both teams are nowhere near the playoffs. So I just sat and enjoyed the game. Sitting in front of me were Royals fans! The game wasn't terribly exciting, but at least it wasn't oppressively hot. I chatted with the people around me and cheered for the Phillies (because my dad is a Phillies fan). 

 This dog's owner dresses him up for tips post-games. He was so calm and chill!

After the game I walked over to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park to kill time before the tennis match. I've never been to this park, but it is large and quite awesome. It's where the large Unisphere is (you see it in the Men in Black movies, the large globe). There were so many people there - playing sports, riding bikes, eating ice cream, just enjoying the lovely weather. 

I then headed over to Arthur Ashe Stadium to wait in line to get in. There are several courts at the grounds. I chose to get a reserved seat for the evening match at Arthur Ashe, which is the main court where the big stars play. I had no idea who would be playing that night when I bought my ticket, but I lucked out and got to see Roger Federer play! 

People are crazy for Federer! I've never been in the presence of that before. He played well and everyone was happy for him. But, tennis fans are pretty nice to all players. Maybe because it's a solo sport and it seems really mean to boo at an individual. The crowd cheered and clapped for the opponent, but it was clear that everyone was there to see Federer and he was the star (certainly warranted). The women's match was after, and sadly it was getting quite late at this point so I only stayed for the first match (or is it set? I don't know; I had to google tennis terms while there). It was such a fun, neat experience though!

NY Transit Museum

My second day in NYC I hit up one of the places I never did when I lived there: the NY Transit Museum. I had time before my matinee showing of The Great Comet to make my way to Brooklyn to the museum. It was tight, though, when it was discovered that no red line trains were running to Brooklyn on weekends! I had to improvise, but it was pretty easy with the extensive transit system in NYC.

I love transit, which is a direct result of living in NYC. The museum is in an old, once-working subway station by Brooklyn Borough Hall. The museum highlights the history of the NYC subway and bus systems. The first subway opened October 27, 1904. 1904! Whoa (also, that's my sister and best friend's birthday!)! I loved seeing the old photos of the workers building the lines.

The museum highlights the response of transit workers - bus drivers, engineers, steelworkers, everyone - during weather events and the attacks of September 11. It was moving to see this group of people that I had never really heard about as helping in the aftermath. For a city so dependent on public transit, any major disruption in service has a huge affect.

In the lower section, on the tracks, is a vast showing of old subway cars. I loved it!

Four Shows

Before heading to NYC I had bought tickets to two shows - Waitress and The Great Comet. I would enter the lottery for other shows (including Hamilton, which is still a bit too pricey). I ended up getting into two other shows!

Waitress
I knew I wanted to see this after watching Jesse Mueller's performance at the Tony Awards last year. I tried to see it when I was in NYC back in April, but it just didn't work out. When I decided I was going to New York for my ten year anniversary the first thing I did was buy a ticket to Waitress. It's based on the 2007 movie of the same name, with songs and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. I love Sara Bareilles, and you can tell the songs are from her. I liked how the show found a way to incorporate the thoughts in Jenna's head as she plans pies that relate to her feelings and predicaments. The band is on-stage most of the time, and the background characters are regularly integrated into the story.

This is a very emotional show, with the main character, Jenna, having to deal with a very bad husband and the choices she has made in her life. I love that she is allowed to be multi-dimensional; she makes good and bad choices and yet I never judge her. The females characters have a strong bond, but are allowed to fight and still be good friends.

The Great Comet
I didn't know very much about this show other than Josh Groban was once in the lead role, and the whole brouhaha with Mandy Patinkin. A friend suggested it so I went ahead and bought a ticket a few weeks ago. I got there just in time, because the show ended up playing its last performance the day after I saw it.

The play is based on a 90-page slice of War and Peace. There are a lot of characters, and the Playbill provides a chart of who is connected to who; I found this very helpful. The play is immersive, with most of the characters on stage during the whole run time. The stage was reimagined to accommodate this experience, basically blowing out the entire back of the stage and providing seating right next to the actors. It turned the normal "Broadway play" on its head, and I wish it had gotten more notice for the way it was so different.

The Book of Mormon
Besides the tickets for the two previous shows, my plan was to enter lotteries and see what happened. After The Great Comet I went back to my Airbnb to reassess what to do for the night. I hadn't won the lottery for anything yet. I decided I would go back to Times Square and see about getting a cheap/standing room only ticket for The Book of Mormon. When I arrived about thirty minutes before the show, the Box Office told me they didn't have any standing room only tickets left. However, they did have single tickets available to sell. I decided to wait it out in the cancellation ticket to see what my chances were - if I was going to be paying a lot for a ticket I wanted it to be a good seat! I stood in a line that had just one other person in it - an English girl from Houston! We each ended up getting a premier producer's seat for a third of what they normally go for! My seat was in the orchestra, in the middle, about ten rows back.

The play was awesome! It was so much fund and everyone was laughing the whole time. I think it's probably better if you are Mormon or know Mormon culture, because you get the little jokes and comments that others don't. It is entirely irreverent (what else do you expect from the creators of South Park). I laughed a lot, which made for a very fun night. I stage-doored it in the rain after and had a couple of the actors sign my Playbill.

Dear Evan Hansen
When I told one of my friends about my plan to go to NYC he said he'd love to see Dear Evan Hansen. I remember seeing the posters for it when Ivy and I were in NYC, but I wasn't all that familiar with it. I looked at getting a ticket but just never committed to it. Then it won a boatload of Tony's in June, I loved Ben Splatt's performance, and I wanted to see it. Too bad - ticket prices had now sky-rocketed (not to Hamilton level, but still a bit too pricey for what I was willing to pay). My plan was to enter the lottery and hope for the best.

By Sunday afternoon I hadn't won any of the lotteries I had entered, and had pretty much resigned myself to not seeing it. I was taking a walking tour of Greenwich Village when I decided to just check StubHub again and see what the prices were. At 1:30 p.m. there was a single ticket for the 3 p.m. show that was at a price within my budget! So I bought it right then and there!

When I got to the theater and the line started moving, I felt so happy and lucky that I was seeing it! As I got to the theater doors I noticed a white sign posted: The role of Evan Hansen usually played by Ben Splatt will be played by Michael Lee Brown. Well, that explained the relatively-cheap ticket I was able to buy. And I was bummed.

But then I got over it! Because I was seeing Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway with all of the original cast. It did not disappoint, and understudy Michael Lee Brown was amazing. Like seriously. He is the understudy for two other characters and has played them all throughout the run. That's right, he understudies for three characters - three sets of songs, three character's dialogue and movements and props. That is amazing. I stage-doored it afterward just because I wanted him to feel special, and he signed my Playbill.

I loved all the shows I saw, book-ended by the emotional stories of Waitress and Dear Evan Hansen and stuffed with flair and fun of The Great Comet and The Book of Mormon. I loved the kids and pre-teens I saw at the shows and the excitement they had for theater. The kid sitting behind me at The Great Comet was seriously so excited his mom had to tell him to stop talking at one point and not spoil the show for her. So many kids had posters and art and I could feel their excitement.

10 Years Post-NYC

Ten years ago this very day I arrived in New York City, intent on making it my home. I had grand dreams and was pretty sure I would live in the City for the foreseeable future. Which is why I loaded up a Penske truck with all my belongings when I moved here as a twenty-four year old in 2007.

Those grand dreams changed; I only ended up living in the City for about eighteen months before going back to SLC to pursue new dreams. But those eighteen months were some of the best in my life. It was a time when, to get very cliche, I discovered myself.

I will have much more to say about that, but for now I am going to go out and enjoy NYC. That's right, I decided to come back to the City on the very date I arrived here ten years ago - September 1, 2007! I made this plan back in June when other summer plans fell through. I knew that I would want to mark the momentous anniversary, and nothing is more momentous that being in New York City.

Ivy and Tia Julie Take New York: Day Three

Ivy was first to get up this morning, and she spent the time planning out what we were going to do and how we were going to get there. She sat on the bed with her laptop and the MTA Subway map and made our plans. We didn't have a lot on her list left to do, but we did still have three ice cream places to visit plus another sweet shop. It was going to be sugar overload.

We started by grabbing the remaining doughnuts from the day before and heading for Tiffany's on 5th Avenue. We stood in front of Tiffany's and had our breakfast as the cars and bikes and people went on by. I love that this was on Ivy's list!

We planned to go to DO next, but wasn't even ten yet and it didn't open until eleven. So I suggested we just walk down 5th Avenue. That way we could see the Empire State Building, the flat iron building, and enjoy walking the city streets.

Being a Wednesday, DO did not have a huge line outside the door. We got right in and ordered our cookie dough. It was delicious and very rich! But still three more ice cream places on the list!

But first we made a stop at the NYU Bookstore so Ivy could buy a souvenir for herself. We also wanted to use a bathroom, but they didn't have one for the public. Ivy bought a water bottle with the NYU logo because it was something she'd use frequently.

Then it was to Chinatown and Canal Street. Ivy had the Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on her list, so we took a little tour of Chinatown while eating our ice cream. Canal Street is a cacophony of sights and sounds and I think Ivy was a little overwhelmed.

At this point we had had A LOT of sugar and we needed some real food fast. We had already planned on having lunch in Little Italy, so we just headed that way to get some real food in our stomachs. We ate at one of the classic tourist places on Mulberry Street. But that's an experience everyone should do at least once. I had ravioli and Ivy had spaghetti and meatballs, and we were satisfied. However, I passed on getting us cannolis because I just couldn't take any more sugar. A good life motto to live by: always take the cannoli.

Now we were on our way to the lower east side to go to the two last ice cream places on Ivy's list. First we went to Big Gay Ice Cream Shop, a place that started as a food truck. We decided to share our ice cream so we would have room for more ice cream. It was a nice thought, but, even with sharing, neither of us felt like we could eat more ice cream. So Davey's Ice Cream shop was left unchecked on the list.

We made our way back to our hotel before heading to 30 Rock to see a taping of Late Night with Seth Myers. You have to be 16 to see the taping, and Ivy just barely made it! I've seen a couple late night shows, but Seth was a different experience. He had a swanky lounge area where all the audience members sat prior to the show. NBC pages were there to do trivia and take our photos as we waited to go into the studio. The guests were Rashida Jones and Andrew Rannells (I love him!). Seth is a cool person, and he answers questions from the audience near the end.

Everything on the list that could get done was done, so when we left Rockefeller Center at about 6:45 we didn't have any plans. We hung around Times Square for a little while, just people watching. We then remembered and realized we were close to Amy's Bread, a place on Ivy's list! We headed there to get ourselves some bread. Then we went to Juniors to get something to eat (we didn't get cheesecake, though!).

We checked out the Hamilton gift shop, and the Broadway-specific gift shop. And then we were asleep for out last time in New York City. Getting out of the city the next day would be a nightmare.

Ivy and Tia Julie Take New York: Wicked

I told Ivy we could see any Broadway show she wanted. She hadn't yet discovered Hamilton, so she chose her favorite musical, Wicked. I thought this was a great choice, even though I've seen it three times already (Ivy has seen it, too; but I didn't realize that and thought this was her first time).

We got back to our hotel to change and get ourselves all gussied-up for the show around six. Ivy borrowed a dress from her mom and she looked so grown-up!

We walked the couple blocks to the show at the Gershwin Theater. Wicked has been playing there since it debuted in 2003, and is still one of the hottest tickets on Broadway. The girls sitting next to us with their dad were seeing it for the first time, which made me think to when I first saw it in May 2007 at the Apollo Victoria in London. I saw it again in the first couple months of living in New York. I saw it for the third time in SLC in 2014, and, honestly, wasn't that impressed by it.

But seeing it again in New York reminded me why I love this musical! Ivy and I agreed that the actress playing Galinda was fantastic. It's a slightly more showy role than Elphaba, and an actress can do things with it to make it their own. Nothing, though, is more powerful than when Elphaba belts out, "Defying Gravity" at the end of act one.

I had to take this real quick as the line was moving. 

I LOVE this photo. We look so great. 

During intermission Ivy and I discussed Fiyero, and how he didn't have much stage presence during his big, introductory song, "Dancing Through Life." It was kind of flat. The actor played the role of Rolf in the live version of The Sound of Music on NBC, and this is his first Broadway role. He was better in act two, though, and impressed me with "As Long As Your Mine."

Thanks, strangers, for taking this photo of us during intermission!

Ivy and I talked about what we liked about the show, mainly how a person can't judge another by outward things. And that being wicked can be relative, and that people can change. I like that it is a story about two females and their friendship and how they support one another. It's a great show!

Oh hey, look, it's Julie Andrews!

We were hungry after the show, and thankfully kitty-corner from our hotel was a Shake Shack. It was on Ivy's list so naturally we made our way there after the show. As we were crossing the street to get there a guy overheard us talking about the apparent long line. He said it would move quick and would be worth it (obviously; I've been there before but when you're hungry you want your food NOW). I had a hamburger while Ivy had chicken, and we each got a shake. It was delicious and the perfect ending to our night. Ivy couldn't believe that the Shake Shack was so busy at 10:30 p.m. New York is truly the city that never sleeps.

Ivy and Tia Julie Take New York: Day Two

Since rain was forecast for Tuesday, we decided to do the museums on Ivy's list today so we would be inside. This would coincide nicely with some of the other things on Ivy's list that were on the Upper East and West Sides (so no ice cream today, as they are all in lower Manhattan).

But first we needed breakfast. We went to the restaurant in our hotel for their gourmet doughnuts. We spared nothing in getting six, very large, doughnuts from coconut to lemon poppy to nutella-filled to share between the two of us. We sat by the window and looked out on the people rushing around during the morning commute hour.

We took the Shuffle to Grand Central so we could catch a green line train to the Guggenheim Museum. I loved explaining the subway and city streets to Ivy - where each subway goes, what an express line is, how streets are short and avenues are long. She caught on quickly and it made my little heart so happy.

The Guggenheim is a museum I never visited when I lived in the city, so I was excited to be able to experience this for the first time just like Ivy. She had a couple pieces she wanted to see, specifically the Picasso piece, "Woman with Yellow Hair." The Guggenheim is also home to several Van Gogh paintings as well as some Kandinsky.

We both loved the Guggenheim! Most museums are so large that they feel overwhelming and I never get to see everything. But the Guggenheim is the perfect size, and the architecture with the spiral walkway means you don't miss out on anything. It's the perfect museum.

We then walked through Central Park, since there aren't subway options for travelling cross-town. It was overcast and a little drizzly, but the walk along the Jackie Onassis Reservoir was still nice.

Now on the Upper West Side, we took the 1 train up to Columbia University. This was on Ivy's list because she wants to go to school there (or NYU). I told her about how after Auntie Em and grandma left New York after moving there, and I was alone for the first time, I came to Columbia and sat on the steps of the library so I wouldn't feel alone.

We walked around and took photos, imagining what it would be like for Ivy to attend school there. And then we were on a quest to find a bathroom. Which is always difficult when in NYC. Since we were on campus, surrounded by several essentially public buildings, we chose one to enter and look for a bathroom. We did, and liked that Ivy used the bathroom at an Ivy League school.

Since we were uptown on the west side, I decided to take Ivy up a few more blocks to see where I used to live. But first we stopped at the Hamilton residence uptown. Sadly, it was Tuesday and the National Park is closed on Tuesday. So we just took a photo before walking down 141st to my old apartment building. Oh the memories!

My old apartment building! 

My subway stop. The deli I used to love is gone, replaced by a Duane Reade. 

Then it was downtown to get lunch at Grey's Papaya! But first we made a small detour to West End Street so Ivy could take a picture for her mom of the apartment of the character Rose in the film The Mirror Has Two Faces. While walking down 86nd Street we walked past actor Mark Ruffalo. A true New York moment!

We got our hot dogs and walked to Central Park to eat them on a bench, even though it was kind of cold. But Ivy wanted to see the well-known bridge in Central Park, which we walked to after scarfing down our hot dogs and papaya juice.

Our next stop was the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and we needed to fit it in before heading Broadway that night to see Wicked. So we got on the subway and headed to the museum, with Ivy knowing exactly what she wanted to see. She knew she wanted to see "Starry Night" from Van Gogh and "The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory" by Dali. We also made sure to see Monet's "Water Lillies", which, along with "Starry Night", is still breathtaking even though I have seen it before. Dali's painting we missed the first time through, since it is a small painting. We had to ask where it was, then realized we had walked right by it!

I tried to get photos of Ivy looking at the art. But whenever I'd pull my phone out she'd also pull her phone out! 

The MoMA is cool, but it can be overwhelming with all the different levels and rooms. The Guggenheim solves those problems with its awesome structure and form.

Then we headed to our hotel to get ready for Wicked, which will be a separate post because this is already too long!