New York City - a Weekend of Theatre & Friends

 A long weekend in New York City with once-in-a-lifetime moments.  Who could ask for more than that?  

Thursday morning through Monday afternoon makes for a quick trip, but I wouldn’t trade this weekend for anything.  The special reason for making this trip was for Nathan Tysen, a youth from my Salina First United Methodist youth group, who writes lyrics for Broadway plays.  Nathan currently has Paradise Square at The Barrymore Theatre; 243 W. 47th  ST and has been nominated for a Tony Award for lyrics with Paradise Square nominated for 10 Tony Awards.  

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Day 1 – With a 5:20 a.m. flight and needing to be at KCI two hours before one’s flight meant a 2:00 a.m. wakeup call and leaving Lawrence at 2:30 a.m.  Parked in the Economy lot and waited for a bus to take us to the terminal.  Made it to the terminal around 3:45 a.m. on a fully loaded bus from the Economy Lot.  However – TSA check-in line was 15-minutes and we now had an hour wait inside the secured area for our 5:00 a.m. boarding.  Made it to Baltimore/Washington for our layover and we had brunch at the airport.  Then boarded our flight to New York LaGuardia.  

Once landed and deboarded at LaGuardia we loaded into a taxi for our hotel, Hampton Inn – North Times Square.     It was a fast ride and a bargain at $45.00 plus tip, as this trip is usually $60 plus tip.  Another amazing taxi driver who knew how to get from the airport into midtown Manhattan without delay.  

(Note – we bypass checked luggage, if at all possible, to shorten our airport time waiting for luggage at the baggage carousel.)

(Note – Hampton Inn is our hotel of choice because of the complimentary breakfast, points and quality.)

Since we only had “brunch” at the Baltimore/Washington airport we made our way to Juniors – 1515 Broadway @, W 45th St.  It’s a great Times Square diner with great food and of course a wide selection of “Juniors” cheesecake for dessert.  It did not disappoint.

Broadway was our reason for being in NYC – so we went to TKTS on Times Square for discounted tickets and picked up seats for Dear Evan Hanson at the Music Box Theatre; 239 WEST 45TH STREET.  If you are in NYC for theatre - TKTS is a must – as many of the Broadway plays and musicals are available at discounted prices.

On our way back to the hotel – we stopped by the box office of Winter Garden Theatre; 1634 Broadway and picked up tickets for Friday night’s performance of The Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.  We did this, as we would not be able to make it to TKTS on Friday morning because we would be in New Jersey.  

It was now time for afternoon naps before the evening Broadway show.

Showtime for Dear Evan Hanson at the Music Box Theatre was 8:00 p.m. We had great seats for a powerful performance of a great musical.  If you have a chance, this show is not to be missed.  Did buy a Dear Evan Hanson poster to go with our collection of Broadway plays that we have seen in the past.  Afterwards – it was back to the hotel and called it a night.

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Day 2 – Today we are meeting up with Linda Tysen (Nathan’s mom) at Penn Station to take the train to their home in Maplewood, NJ.  

Took the subway downtown to Penn Station and made our way through the various levels to the New Jersey train (NJT) section.  Ended up in the Amtrak waiting room, by mistake.  Linda found us and we had a few minutes to catch up before the 10:04 NJT boarded for the ½ hour ride to Maplewood.  It was good to have Linda as our guide for our first trip.  Once at the station we loaded into her car and she took us to see Maplewood’s neat downtown, which will have to wait for another visit.  Once at their home we spent time catching up with Harry & Linda and all of the excitement in their lives as well as filling each other in on our families.  

Lunch was amazing with ordered in sandwiches, chips and desserts from True Salvage Café; 292 Elmwood Ave.  Nathan & his wife (Kait Kerrigan) joined us for lunch.  Both Nathan & Kait are involved with writing for plays & musicals.  Lunch was filled with lots of conversation around Nathan’s musical – Paradise Square, the Tony Awards, Kait’s writing and plays, possible trips to California and South Korea to see theatre that Nathan & Kait are involved with, family and reminiscing about times in years gone by.  Truly enjoyed every moment.  At 3 o’clock Nancy & Linda went to meet up with Nathan & Kait’s girls at LT’s bus stop – right outside their home.  

We spent a short time with them before our time in Maplewood came to a close.  Still much to talk about and a list of things to see and do that will have to wait for another trip to the Tysen’s Maplewood home.  Harry took us back to the train station where we caught the NJT back to Penn Station and then the subway uptown to the 50th street station.

For dinner it was Junior’s and then we walked Times Square with all of its unique people and personalities.  We saw more people in an hour than I would see in a month in Lawrence.  It was then a short walk to the Winter Garden Theater for the evening’s classic musical – The Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.  

Made our way to our seats and in walks Ariana DeBose who takes her seat right in front of us along with her friends and an agent.  Now to be honest, had to look it up on Google to see who she was.  In addition to West Side Story and Hamilton – she's hosting this year’s Tony Awards on June 12th. But with several people asking for photos, knew it was someone “famous”.  And of course, we asked for a photo too.

The Music Man with Hugh Jackman & Sutton Foster was another great night of theater.  The entire cast made it work.  Side note – there was one scene in which Hugh & Sutton had something happen that both lost focus and both tried to hide snickers & laughs – much to the amusement of the audience and much to the chagrin of their director, I’m sure.  BTW – Hugh and Sutton did a flawless & amazing tap dance in the final scene of the musical.  Picked up our souvenir poster and back to the hotel, calling it a night.

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Day 3 – We walked over to Times Square and bought 24-hour tickets to the “Big Bus Tour” of uptown Manhattan.  It was an okay tour, but nothing “spectacular”.  

After the tour it was time to find a spot for lunch.  Walking through the Times Square area, came across the Majestic Diner.  It was a deli walk-up with tables for sit-down eating.  Ordered our sandwiches and drinks and spent some time enjoying the sandwiches and people-watching.  NYC never disappoints as to the people-watching opportunities.  Made our way to the hotel for a quick nap and then off to our musical of the day.

The matinee feature for today was the reason we came to NYC – Paradise Square.  Went to the Barrymore Theater and as we waited in line, up walks Nathan and LT along with the Burger sisters from Salina.  Knew they were in town, because Shelda had given us a heads-up.  However,  since we were doing the matinee and they were doing the evening show, didn’t expect to be able to see them.  It was a joy to be able to spend a few minutes visiting and reminiscing before we, along with Nathan and LT made our way into the theater.  Thankful for the upgraded seats.  Souvenir at Paradise Square was the usual poster and a bag and t-shirt for Nancy.  Then it was time to settle in for an amazing and outstanding performance of one of the best musicals that we have seen on Broadway.  If you get the chance, you will not be disappointed at this well written and performed musical.  It's a run, do not walk - must see. 

We then made our way to 42nd & Broadway and tried to find the Big Bus Tour so that we could do a downtown tour of Manhattan.  Understood that tours would be available through the evening, early evening at the least.  Walking up to the Big Bus Tour stop – just as a full bus pulled out and another was waiting.  No worries – so we hopped on the waiting bus.  But, the driver was moving people off saying that the last bus had just left and there were no more tours.  We were not happy but it is what it is.  

On our way back to the hotel, we made a side trip to the Richard Rogers Theater box office to check on the possibility of tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway for the next day’s matinee.  Our luck continued and we picked up two seats on the aisle, 6 rows from the stage.  Now to say that they were a bargain would be a false statement.  However, they were similar in price to NFL and NBA tickets.  It’s a matter of choices and life is memories much more than it is about accumulating things.  We are doing things while we are able.  

Also, I ask for aisle seats because of the ease of getting out and to the restroom at break, as there is always a line, and I need the extra leg room when sitting in theatre seats.  On our way back to the hotel, we walked by and into the Hamilton souvenir store and picked up the Hamilton requisite poster along with a t-shirt and CD.

Now, the choice of what to do for dinner.  A friend from Beloit suggested the Cosmic Diner which was just across the street from our hotel.  Again, it was a good choice and just the right amount before heading back to the hotel.

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Day 4 -  Took the subway downtown to Chelsea Market.  Spent some time walking around and waiting for the shops to open, at a Starbuck’s Reserve.  Starbuck’s Reserve in NYC is even more expensive than a regular Starbuck’s if you can imagine that.  Walked around a bit in Chelsea Market and then took the subway back to the hotel.  Stopped at the Times Square Diner for lunch.  Then back to the hotel for naps before the matinee.

Made our way to the Richard Rogers Theater for another bucket list – Hamilton on Broadway.  Our seats were amazing and Hamilton did not disappoint.  However, I do think that Paradise Square is every bit as good or better.  Both Hamilton and Paradise Square are historical in nature and both have compelling music and narrative.  

Walked over to do some people watching on Times Square and made our way to Juniors for the 3rd time.  Again, it did not disappoint.  However – it should be noted that nothing in New York City is inexpensive.  There’s a reason that it was only a long weekend in that everything costs at least 25% more than it would cost in Kansas.  

Also, one just has to realize that there are going to be lots of people – more than one would see in a week or month back home.  And with that, comes the realization that one will see almost anything and everything at some point in time.  After some people-watching it was back to the hotel and getting things ready for our Monday morning departure.

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Day 5 – We had a 10:50 a.m. EDT, non-stop flight from LaGuardia to Kansas City.  We made our way down to the lobby at 7’ish to eat from the complimentary breakfast buffet when the bellman asked if we needed a ride.  We said yes, and he indicated that there was a taxi waiting.  We skipped breakfast for the taxi – in that it was morning rush hour.  The taxi ride through mid-town was filled with the stop & go of a morning rush until we hit the Queensboro bridge.  At that point traffic seemed to disappear as we were outbound and the rush was inbound.  Made it from the hotel to LaGuardia in 45 minutes – which continues to be somewhat of a record for NYC.  

Went to the Southwest kiosks to print tickets and then to TSA security check.  Walked right in and through security by 8:00 a.m.  Now we had just over 2 hours to wait for boarding.  Found some breakfast and then made our way to the gate to sit and read and wait for the 10:15 a.m. boarding.

(Note - Southwest continues to be our chosen airline – in part for the points we accumulate and they go where we want to go.  Also, we had enough points in 2021 that Nancy flies free as my companion pass for this year, through December 31, 2022.)  

Since we were flying from Eastern Daylight to Central Daylight the 3-hour flight was in the minds of the stewardesses a 2-hour flight.  Not a worry for us as we were on our way home after an amazing 4 days in New York City having spent time with Nathan & Kait and Harry & Linda, seeing Nathan’s – Paradise Square that he was a lyricist for, seeing the Burger sisters, seeing Hamilton – the Music Man – Dear Evan Hanson, eating at some amazing restaurants, spending time people-watching on Times Square and leaving NYC with a list of things still to see and do.

Our lives – following time off for my back surgery – is now back on a roll.  Oh, the places we will go in the next months and years.  Life is short and each day is an opportunity to experience things that are new and different and fill one’s life with memories.  

Our journey continues…