I Can't Stand The Rain

NEW YORK'S TRANSPORTATION SUCKS ASS BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, with that said, the rest of the trip overall was good, but I am so exhausted after dealing with all the random travel-related crap that happened. So, Saturday started out well. We slept in, then got ready and walked down to Times Square. I took the tickets for both Young Frankenstein and Adding Machine with me so that we wouldn't have to go back to the hotel, since that was the wrong direction. I went to Colony Records, and while they did not have the Evening Primrose TV soundtrack, Annie Warbucks, Woman of the Year, How Now Dow Jones, or New Girl In Town, they did have She Loves Me, which is disappearing from shelves pretty quickly and an appropriate buy since I'm going to see Barbara at Ravinia on Sunday, and The Me Nobody Knows, which has also almost completely disappeared. Then, as I was browsing, I came across Charles Strouse's Nightingale, featuring Sarah Brightman, which I had never heard of, so I grabbed that. They did not have the Adding Machine recording, so since I figured I could get that at the theatre that night, I just got those three CD's. I then met my companion at Ruby Foo's for lunch and then we headed towards the Hilton Theatre. We stopped in at the Broadway New York Theatreworld store, and I was hoping to get some magnets for my new refrigerator in my office. I wanted to get Gypsy and Xanadu, but the selection was rather disappointing. They didn't have much, so I ended up with a Wicked one, a Times Square souvenier one, and a kind of cool one that's a tile painted with the Marquis of the Plymouth Theatre advertising Passion. Hopefully I can find Gypsy and Xanadu online. They also did not have any Glory Days merchandise, apparently the producers hid it all or something to avoid further embarassment, completely erasing any trace that the show ever existed. I got the magnets and we walked over to the Hilton. We were in the very last row of the balcony, but dead center, so that worked pretty well. I looked through the program and was pleasantly surprised to see that Andrea Burns was still in the show. It was great to see her, but now I'm completely confused. I had read last fall that she was only doing YF until In The Heights re-opened in February. I never heard anything after that about her staying with YF, and she's on the Heights cast recording and performed with them at the Tony's, so is she running back and forth between theatres a la Elaine Stritch or what? Anyways, she was excellent, as was everyone else, but the big surprise was that the show was actually good! It was really good!!! For all my carping about enough movies having been turned into musicals, Young Frankenstein is an excellent addition to the group, and would have been a much more deserving Best Musical nominee than either Passing Strange or Cry Baby. While I haven't been a huge fan of the cast recording up to now, it makes a lot more sense now having seen it and I appreciate it a lot more. All the performers were excellent, and it was fabulous to see Megan live. Granted, her character was basically Karen Walker, but she totally should have gotten a Tony Nomination along with Andrea. She looked fabulous (at least as much as I could tell from the very last row), sounded fabulous, and her timing was dead on. Then, as we all know, I'm not a huge fan of Sutton Foster, but she turned out excellent as well. Given her back to back turns in Drowsey Chaperone and Young Frankenstein, I'd be inclined to say that she's fully atoned for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Little Women, but the fact that her next show is going to be Shrek means that she's back to square one with her atoning. Plot-wise, there wasn't much to the show, it was basically a farce, but it was entertaining and funny, so I don't know what most of the critics were carping about, it's really a terrific show and I urge you to go see it before Andrea, Sutton, and Megan leave over the course of the next two months.

After Young Frankenstein, things started going downhill. We hopped on the subway and went down to the Village to go to Strand. As we got out of the subway, we could see some darker clouds rolling in. We went to Strand, and it was so fucking unbelievably crowded, I gave up pretty quickly. I wanted to see if they had Lance Bass's autobiography, but I didn't see it on any of the tables and couldn't get in to any of the aisles to look for it. My companion found some stuff pretty quickly and paid, and we got out of there. However, as soon as we stepped out, the rain started. I stood under the awning with the homeless people eyeing the outdoor shelves of books, and he ran in and bought an umbrella. Before leaving for YF, I had made a reservation for 6:00 at Blau Gans. It was about 5:15, so we decided to stop in a cafe for some coffee and see if it would stop raining, and then walk over to the 6th Ave. 14th St. subway stop and go down to Chambers and walk to the restaurant. We got the coffee, and about 5:40 the rain stopped, so we walked to the subway, and that's when things went down the crapper. The subway station was completely fucked up. It took us 10 minutes of just walking around various tunnels, making u-turns, following apparently incorrect signs, before we finally found the 1-2-3 platform, and it was so fucking humid. The rain had not cooled anything down. There was a huge crowd on the platform, and it took almost 20 minutes for a train to finally show up. Actually, during that 20 minutes, two 1 trains showed up, but then dropped off all the passengers, and then backed up, going back the way they came instead of continuing on. A 3 train finally showed up, and we all pushed our way on. Even though it was supposed to be an express, it made every stop, but then when we reached Franklin, the stop before Chambers, the doors opened so that people could get on and off, and then. . .nothing. The doors stayed open and the train didn't move. After about 5 minutes, people started getting off, but then some would get back on, and there seemed to be a lot of general confusion. After about another 5 minutes (it was now about 6:15), the conductor came on the intercom and said that the train was out of service and all passengers had to disembark. So we did, but the train still stayed there, making it impossible for any other train to show up. So, we decided that since Chambers was the next stop and the restaurant was right there, we'd just walk. We went through the turnstile and up the stairs, and met the fiercest monsoon we have ever experienced. The umbrella did nothing, the rain was coming down almost horizontally, and the water was just gushing down the streets. It was coming down so hard, we could barely even look up at the street signs to get our bearings. We ran under a construction awning with about 10 other people just to catch our breath. Of course, by then we were already soaked, and I was worried that the Adding Machine tickets that I had in my pocket were ruined. My companion called the restaurant and got directions on how to walk there, but then we couldn't cross the street because the standing water at the curb was already several inches deep. We had to go west about two blocks before we could cross and then walk back, which just got us more soaked. The umbrella was not big enough for the two of us, and he kept moving it around, so I just got the runoff water dumped on my rather than keeping dry, and the books in his bag completely got waterlogged. We kept going, and then, all of a sudden, about two blocks from the restaurant, it stopped. It didn't taper off, or let up, or anything like that, it just stopped like a faucet had been turned off. Of course that would happen right as we were getting to the restaurant, it couldn't have stopped while we were under the construction awning. Fortunately, the restaurant was not busy at all, so we were able to get seated, but by then it was about 6:45, and the show was at 8, and since the subway apparently was not a trustworthy option for getting back up to the village, I was rather worried that we wouldn't be able to get a cab, since cabs in Manhattan all disappear when it rains. Then, my companion's friend finally called (the one whose partner does Patti's wigs and makeup), and wanted to meet, but he was still in the Village, and my companion told him to just come to the restaurant. So, we had to switch tables, and he didn't like the table they moved us to, so we had to move again, and then he wanted to wait until his friend got there before ordering, and I was so ready to throttle him. I was soaked, I was hungry, and we only had about 45 minutes before showtime. Fortunately, the friend showed up quickly and we got our order in, and the waiter was great about getting it out quickly. I checked the tickets, and while they were damp and the colors around the edge were bleeding, the barcode and printed information were still intact. So, I had some (ok, A LOT) of wine and tried to relax a bit. We got out of there at 7:45, and surprisingly, managed to catch a cab right at the corner and got to Minetta Lane by 7:55. We settled in, and the show began. Unfortunately, all the wine I had caught up with me by the 3rd scene and I spent most of the show waiting for it to be over so I could get to the bathroom. However, even with that distraction, it was phenomenal. We were in the second row, and off to the side, so our view wasn't very good, we saw it more in profile rather than straight on (that theatre design is very strange, but at least we weren't sitting in the seats facing the wall next to the stage), but the music was excellent, and the way they had the sets designed, we were able to see pretty well. That was truly a phenomenal show. However, my companion hated it, almost as much as he hated Spring Awakening and Sunday in the Park with George. So, he was ready to go by the time it was done. I did get a CD, which he grumbled about, but he wasn't paying so it doesn't matter. We braved the subway and got back to the hotel without incident, of course, with no rain this time when the subway was actually working. I was still completely wet, and was a little worried that after sitting in a heavily air conditioned theatre for an hour and a half that I'd wake up with a sore throat or a full blown cold. So, I got some more wine at the hotel bar, got out of my wet clothes, took a warm shower, and snuggled into bed. I was exhausted, so after I finished the wine, I was out pretty quickly.

We slept very late on Sunday, having been worn out by the night before, but woke up to sun streaming in and what looked like a very nice day. We got ready, checked out, stored the luggage, and went to meet another friend of his at a Mexican restaurant (I forget the name) at 62nd and Columbus, across from Lincoln Center, for brunch. Fortunately, my companion had the presence of mind to bring the umbrella along even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky at the time. The food (and drinks) were excellent, and I got a lot of good stories from his friend. We took our time and left about 2:15. We stepped outside, and it was so dark. The grey clouds were almost completely covering the sky, so we started walking quickly. We walked down 8th Ave. and made it to 50th St. before the rain started. Just like the night before, it was a monsoon. It didn't start sprinkling and then get stronger, again it was like someone just turned a faucet on. So, up came the umbrella, and once again I got more runoff going down my collar rather than staying dry. We got to the Walter Kerr and fought our way through the mass huddled under the marquis and got into the lobby to get the tickets. However, they had a velvet rope stretched across the middle, so we had to go back outside and in the next set of doors, so we decided to just wait until the mass got in and then we could just duck out and back in without having to wait in line. As we were standing in the lobby, I noticed the "At This Performance" board and saw that Tom Wopat's role was going to be played by someone else, which was disappointing. My companion was extremely disappointed since he hasn't seen him at all before, I at least saw him in Chicago the last time it came through in late 2005. After everyone got in, we ducked out and went in, and the seats weren't too bad. We were off to the side, but pretty close up. I again was miserable, completely wet and once again in an over-air conditioned theatre, but once the show started, I got over it. What a terrific show, again, another far more deserving Best Musical nominee than Passing Strange or Cry Baby. Tom Wopat's replacement did well, although he flubbed some lines towards the end, and everyone else was fabulous, particualarly Faith Prince. Plus, our first view of Matt Cavenaugh as he jumped out of bed to get dressed certainly brightened up my day. He will certainly be getting an invitation for a personal meeting the next time I'm in New York if he's around (although that may be a while as my story is not over yet). I had paid much more attention to my liquid consumption prior to this show, so I didn't have to get impatient waiting for it to end, which was good because it was so elegant I would have hated to want it to rush. It was so heartwarming, and we both loved it. eMusic has finally added it, and I got about the first 1/4 of it after In The Heights before I used up all my downloads, so as soon as they refresh in mid-July, I'll be getting the rest of it. It may not have been too popular this time around (although the theatre was pretty full), but I'm betting this one will have a huge afterlife. Yes, the music was not traditional musical theatre, but it was so perfectly suited to the story. I just can't say enough good things about the show without sounding like I'm repeating myself, so just let it suffice to say that if you haven't seen it yet, go now before it closes at the end of July. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get a tour, and even if you're lucky enough for a regional theatre to pick it up, it's highly doubtful you'll get Faith Prince, who, if this hadn't been Patti's year (and I'll bet she gave Patti a run for her money among the voters), would have undoubtedly picked up her second Tony for this fabulous, touching, performance.

So, we were both in a better mood, until we stepped outside and saw that it was still fucking raining. It wasn't quite monsoon level anymore, but it was still coming down pretty good, and there was lightening and thunder to boot. We walked all the way back to the hotel (again with the runoff from the umbrella going down my collar, all the way from 8th and 48th to 10th and 57th), and got our luggage and a cab to LaGuardia. Traffic was terrible, as we knew it would be, and we got there around 6. We had been hoping to get on an earlier flight like we did in December, but out of the 4 flights before ours, the first one was delayed several hours, and the others were cancelled. Ours was still listed as being on time, so we checked in, got some food, and then went through security. Once through (which actually went very quickly, apparently everyone was standing in line at the ticket counters to rebook rather than going to gates to catch flights), we checked the board, and saw that our flight was now delayed an hour until 10. My companion belongs to the Admiral's Club, so we went in there and got a day pass for me and just hung out until they closed at 8:30. I was still soaked, but the club was nice (although they had a huge line to get in of members needing to rebook, and one of the women was very rude to eveyone that was unfortunate enough to get her), and relaxing, which was good, because when they closed and we went to the gate, there was a massive crowd. The plane that was supposed to take off before ours wasn't there yet, and apparently tons of people were trying to get rebooked on it. We managed to find two seats, and about 10 minutes later, the fire alarm went off. However, not one person blinked an eye. Everyone just sat there, the gate attendants kept working with people in line, and nothing happened as the alarm kept blaring. After about 5 minutes it shut off, and everyone just kept going about their job. However, around 9:30, their plane still hadn't arrived, and our flight then got bumped to 10:30. Fortunately, their plane showed up shortly after and they got on it (at least those who could) and they left. However, 10:00 came and went, which was supposed to be boarding time, and nothing was happening. Finally, about 10:20 one of the attendants got on the overhead and announced that our plane had just landed and was on its way to the gate, but we had to get everyone on the plane and away from the gate by 10:49 or one of the crew would time out and the flight would have to be cancelled. Talk about panic inducing. The crowd started to get very ugly, but the staff was pretty methodical. I was convinced that we were not going to get out, but they got the passengers off quickly, didn't bother doing any cleaning, and just started boarding from the back. They didn't care about carryons, they said just stash them anywhere you could and get to your seat so that we can get everyone on the plane and close the door by 10:49, and we made it with less than 2 minutes. However, the next hurdle was that we had to be in the air by 11:17 (which was about the time we should have been landing in Chicago), and they announced that the staff person that was going to time out was the pilot, so we really would have been out of luck. They got us backed away, but it must have been a battle with air traffic control to get us out, because we didn't take off until 11:15 and 30 seconds. Now, I'm glad they got us in the air and on our way, but this just goes to show how inefficient the airlines are and how much they deserve to fail. These storms had been forecast since at least Tuesay of last week. You'd think that at some point, someone at American Airlines would watch the weather forecast and think, "huh, there may be some bad weather on Sunday. We may want to make sure we've got some staff on standby and maybe look at how we can do some re-routing so that we can swap some planes among routes if we need to in order to keep things moving as smoothly as possible," but apparently no one did. They'd rather play it fast and loose, rush the customers, and then take off less than 2 minutes under the wire and over 2 hours late. Seriously, if they had cancelled the flight, I would have pitched a fit right there because where could we go at 11:00 at night? They may as well have just cancelled it when we didn't take off at 9 like we were supposed to so we could have at least gotten to a hotel at a decent time and been able to talk to someone at the ticket counter before they all left for the night to rebook. But, they did get us home, although by the time we got to the car and drove home, it was almost 2. Since I had called in sick on Friday, saying I had a migraine, I didn't want to miss today, so here I am at work, completely exhausted, but here, and listening to my new CD's. So, while it was a horrible way to end a trip, and a complete dis-incentive to ever travel by air again, it was a good time. I loved all the shows (even if my companion didn't), had some great food and drinks, got to meet some of my companion's college friends, went to a cool zoo, and just got away from work for awhile. Then, my friend called me shortly after noon today and said he got the Sarah Brightman tickets, so it looks like I'll be having a diva-fabulous fall to make up for my dis-inclination to take any more trips for a while. Now, if 5:00 will just hurry up and get here so I can go home and crash.