Start Spreading the News…

June 18, 2018

Start Spreading the News…

It has been far too long since I last was in New York City and for the past few years I have been determined to change that. It seems like things just kept coming up that put a visit to NYC on the backburner. This year I was determined not to let that happen, and when Bruce Springsteen announced he was taking up a residency on Broadway, I knew that it was the event that would get us there. I somehow was able to score two tickets to the show last fall, for June and I gave them as a gift to Kathy last Christmas.

 

For months, our trip to New York had seemed far off and now suddenly, we were off, flying on some frequent flyer miles from Key West through Miami and to LaGuardia. Our hotel, the Crowne Plaza in Times Square, was selected because of its proximity to the Walter Kerr Theatre where Bruce was performing each night. It is located in the heart of Times Square where it is constantly a crazy display of tourism, commercialism and craziness.

 

We were hungry upon arriving so our first stop was at one of my favorite NYC eateries, The 2^nd Avenue Deli. The deli was always a must stop when I visited New York and though they have moved from their original location to a new Murray Hill location on East 33^rd street. Kathy and I ubered over to enjoy a lunch at one of the last great NYC delis, which are a dying breed. In recent years, two of my favorites, the Stage Deli and the Carnegie Deli have both shuttered their doors. 

 

We walked back to the hotel from Murray Hill, through Grand Central Station and back over through Times Square and to the hotel. It was so nice to be back walking through the streets of NYC again. I just love most everything about it, the architecture, the energy, the excitement and the diversity of people and things that one experiences when in NY, it is fantastic.

 

In Times Square, we joined the thousands of other tourists in soaking in the atmosphere. People may call me crazy, but I love it. From the sidewalk hucksters constantly trying to peddle everything from Hop On/ Hop Off tours to fake handbags and watches to the crazy people dressed up as everything from the Statue of Liberty to some Super Hero to the more famous hucksters like the Naked Cowboy, they are all there and all full on. It is like a crazy version of Disney and is a far, far cry from the seedy den of inequity that was Times Square when I first visited back in the 70s.

We had gotten tickets to see the Broadway play, “Come From Away” on our first night in town and headed over to Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre where it was playing to catch the 8 PM curtain. We had really great seats for the show which is a musical that is set in the week following the September 11 attacks and tells the true story of what transpired when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland.

 

The characters in the musical are based on (and in most cases share the names of) real Gander residents as well as some of the 7,000 stranded travelers they housed and fed during the close to a week that the travelers were there. It may seem like a strange concept for a Broadway musical, but it works and then some. It was absolutely fantastic and ranks as one of the best Broadway shows that I have ever seen, better even than the much more hyped “Hamilton” that I saw back in May.

Last year at the 2017 Tony Awards, the show was nominated for seven Tonys, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Jenn Colella, ultimately winning for Best Direction of a Musical. Frankly, I am surprised it did not win more as it was at once funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking and altogether entertaining.

  

It was a wonderful way to top off our first day in New York City and I cannot recommend it enough if you are looking for a show to see. On the way back to the hotel, we once again walked through the heart of Times Square, which if possible, becomes even more crazy at night.

  

http://comefromaway.com/