"This is way better than Disneyland," remarked Kennedy on our second day in New York after seeing our first two shows.
Yes, Kennedy, yes it is.
Several years ago, Shulamith and I decided it would be fun to take each of her kids on a trip of their choice sometime around their 12th birthday. Two years ago, Swen chose Texas! Kennedy has always wanted to go with us on our annual NYC trip, so this was her year!
Before we left, we explained to her what we do in New York: (1) stay in a nice hotel, (2) eat bagels, (3) go to the theatre, (4) rinse and repeat. (We also love to walk each morning in Central Park, but not when it's January and 20 degrees, so yeah---basically hotel, bagels, theatre.) However, Kennedy also wanted to see some of the sights; most notably, she wanted to go up high to the top of a skyscraper and also visit the 9/11 Memorial, which she had learned about in school. In order to make all this happen and still fit in six shows, we stayed in New York five days instead of our usual four.
When he's free, Isaiah likes to join us. He loves New York and Broadway musicals as much as we do, and this year it worked out. He had just five non-traveling days in January, and three of them were this past weekend. He took a red-eye flight, arriving early Saturday morning, and crashed in our room for four hours while Kennedy also slept. Shulamith and I worked out in the hotel gym, then sat across the street in Starbucks, drank hot chocolate, and basked in the joyous reality: WE ARE ONCE AGAIN IN NEW YORK CITY!
Here are some highlights of those five days:
Cold - It was sooooo cold. When we got off the plane and headed outside to find our Uber shuttle, I wondered if all my protective gear would be enough. I texted Isaiah right away: "Bring all the stuff you wore last month in Finland." I had packed long, thermal underwear; my heated vest; hand warmers; my big Montana coat; a wool hat; and mittens. (More on those mittens later, so keep reading!) It turned out to be enough to keep me reasonably warm despite the freezing temperature and wind.
Snow - Yes! Since the climate crisis seems to have ended Utah's former snowy winters, we were all delighted to have snow in New York! It only lasted one day, but we walked through Times Square happy, as the beautiful snow fell upon us.
High Places - On Monday (our extra day), we took Kennedy to two high places: the top of the World Trade Center and across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was such a fun day!
Food - When you travel with Isaiah, you eat good food, He's an expert at finding such good restaurants. One night we ate Katsu, a popular Japanese dish, typically a pork or chicken cutlet, breaded with panko breadcrumbs and deep fried. Mmmm! Another night he found us a more traditional Chinese restaurant, also delicious. He says the secret to finding excellent food in NYC is to leave Times Square. That is where we typically fail; we look for places close to our hotel. With bagels, however, close works just fine. Pick-a-bagel is located right in Times Square and has the most amazing bagels. My favorite is cinnamon raisin with walnut raisin cream cheese. Shulamith eats wheat bagels with peanut butter (boring, haha!), and we all ate savory ones with egg and bacon to get that all-important protein.
Our first night, before we had Isaiah to guide us. I think we did great!
Japanese Katsu Pork
Mittens Trouble and Dropping Things - Kennedy has the most lovely personality, quiet and reserved, soft-spoken and refined. Not surprising, she is often embarrassed by her mother and me, who are, well, less quiet and less soft-spoken. In addition, for some reason I had difficulty holding onto things, in particular my mittens. Keep in mind that I had two mittens, each with a hand warmer inside; a cross-body bag with all my money and cards, a hat, and my phone. It was a lot to hold onto. Every time I dropped something, Kennedy gave me the same look, a mix of disbelief, disdain, embarrassment, and pity. With this look on her face, she audibly exhaled, shook her head, and said simply, "Her."
But my poor mittens! Our second day there, we were in a theatre watching Chess. I put my two mittens (including hand warmers) in my hat and placed it under my seat. When the show ended, I reached down to grab my hat, but it was nowhere. I waited until everyone exited our row and returned to check again. Not there. I went right to lost-and-found. Not there either. Ugh! I went immediately to the overpriced "I [Heart] New York" store and bought a new hat and gloves; it was way too cold to wait. The next day, I returned to the Chess theatre to check again. The security guards did not want to let me in, but I would not be dissuaded. And sure enough, in their lost-and-found box was all my stuff: hat, mittens, hand warmers. My best guess is someone grabbed the hat by accident and didn't notice it wasn't theirs until they were out of the theatre. Whoever you are (if you happen to catch this post), thank you for your honesty and for returning my stuff!
But the saga continues. The following night, as we found our seats for Mamma Mia and I started to put my mittens and hand warmers into my hat, I noticed that one mitten was missing. Noooo! It can't be. But the show began, and I became fully immersed in the fabulous music of Abba. Afterward, still one lost mitten. "I give up," I exclaimed. "At least I have new gloves at the hotel." Kennedy was in utter disbelief. Again, the head shake, baffled face, and audible exhale, "Her."
But never doubt the possibility of small miracles! It was raining that night, so we quickly took our standard marquee photo and headed down the block from the theater. And guess what? Right in the path in front of me lay my rain-soaked mitten! Here's proof:
The Shows!!! - Indeed, I saved the best for last, my whole purpose for going to New York. We saw six shows, and not one disappointed. Ranking them feels especially challenging this time around, but I will do my best.
6th place: MJ The Musical is the one show we hadn't previously purchased. We knew we wanted to find a show for Saturday night, so we went to the Tix Broadway booth and stood in line to see what we could get. We were hoping for Death Becomes Her, but we needed four tickets and Kennedy needed to sit next to her mom, so we needed at least two of those seats to be together. No luck on Death. There wasn't much available, so we chose MJ, and it was really, really good. In fact, it was high on Kennedy's ranking (2nd or 3rd?) because she loved the dancing so much.
5th place: The Lion King is not one I would have chosen, if we hadn't had Kennedy with us. I've seen it in Vegas, and the costumes are incredible, but I'm not much of a Disney fan (understatement of the century). Still, this production was wonderful. Our seats were right by an entryway, so the large animals walked right past us! Very cool.
4th place: Mamma Mia is always a fun show, and this production was classic Broadway with big sets, big costumes, and of course, big Abba music. The actress who played the main character, Donna, was excellent; her voice was made for that role.
3rd place: Okay, here is where it gets hard. We saw Maybe Happy Ending last year, and it was my #1 favorite. We decided to see it again this year, only because Isaiah hadn't seen it. He was in NYC for work just after the Tony Awards where it won "Best Musical," so tickets were $500, too much even for such a good show. Also, we knew Kennedy would like it, and she did! It was every bit as good as last year, but I'm placing it 3rd, only because I'd already seen it.
2nd place: Oh, this is so hard. The last two are so different and both brilliant. Ahhhh, I keep changing my mind. I'm gonna go with Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). If you are going to NYC any time soon, do not miss this one. Only two characters carry not just the cake, but the entire show! It is the sweetest story of a couple of unlikely friends who become so much more. Simple staging. Simple music. Hilarious script. Two actors with incredible chemistry. I haven't stopped thinking about it.
For our after-show dessert:
"One Girl (Carries a Donut across New York!)"
1st place: Chess for the win!! Oh my goodness, it was one of those productions where you walk out and ask, "What just happened to me?" Three of the most popular Broadway stars played the three leads, a love triangle between two chess champions, one from the U.S. and one from the U.S.S.R., and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Before going, I had heard that while the music is over-the-top fabulous, the plot is less than mediocre. I couldn't disagree more! Set in the Cold War era, with President Carter trying to negotiate the SALT II treaty with the Soviets, and the character of the U.S. chess champion patterned loosely after Bobbie Fischer, I found the plot captivating start to finish. But yes, it was the music that left me breathless. These three people have the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. Go see Chess.
Four years ago, I told all of you to go see Hadestown. Several of you went to New York but did not follow my advice. This is most unfortunate. Hadestown is still my favorite show currently on Broadway, so I'm telling you again. Go see Hadestown. And Chess. And Maybe Happy Ending. And Strangers. And Hamilton.
I left my heart in New York City. But I will go back to retrieve it in 2027. Until then, I will sing the songs and hold tight the memories.
