What? A conference that I have to present at that ends on a Friday and is located closer to NYC than home? Count me in. End at noon on Friday, please, so that I can make it to the Met on time! And if you read this and are my boss or his assistant, I had all NYC tickets before this business diversion, just re-routed 🙂
Resources for this trip:
- Aura Hotel: Website Hotels.com
- The Smith Lincoln Square: Website Opentable
- Gatsby’s Landing: Website Opentable
So, Dayton, huh? Never been there. It will be fun. Checked the temperature the night before departure:
Well, one trip to DSW to buy some warmer shoes later, and a short night I am off to Chicago and then on to Dayton. 3 Million Miler 1K gets me a free upgrade on the second leg. Sadly, the tray in my exit row, but non-recline-wrong-aisle, is broken and tilts 20 degree to the left. Still, I get some work done.
Arriving in Dayton after 9 pm and no actual food I predicted to not find anything. But far from it – there is food until midnight at Twin Peaks.
My new Ohioan friends appraise me of the feud between Ohio and North Carolina – inventing flight vs. first in flight – and they of course omit the recent truce between the two states. To me it’s all the same because I grew up in spitting distance of where Otto Lilienthal flew first back in Germany.
All of this makes for a fun opening for my presentation, of course, and my colleagues and I enjoy the evening at the Oak Room – classic steaks and the Martini Lady below perfectly captures the vibe – and the apparently #3 in the US ice cream at Graeters. Yum! For me from California and on my way to NYC, the prices here are just amazing. The Walleye, a local specialty definitely not flakier and whiter than sea bass, was great!
Off to NYC. Dayton airport is surprisingly dead for a 3 pm Friday flight. No issues in a for me as spoiled United traveler foreign AA environment.
In NYC my plans include Tosca at the Met, The Great Gatsby, Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard, Lin Manuel Miranda in “All In” and the Outsiders. Can’t wait!
In NYC I make my way to the Aura Hotel on 44th close to Times Square. A hidden gem, central and very efficient rooms for a single traveler. The walk from here to the Met made got me into a NY state of mind, literally.
Incredible Tosca
This was quite a performance! My Seat Neighbor compared it to the legendary Callas/Stefano recording – it was definitely amazing.
I had seen Bryn as Wotan before – he was great- – but Radvanowsky was indeed in top form and out of this world. Here are some curtain call pictures.
The Smith
It was after 11 when Tosca ended and I was up for a bite. I was able to get a 11:30 reservation across the street from the Met at The Smith. open early to late is no understatement and the food and cocktails are fun.
Saturday Brunch
“Gatsby’s Landing” right next door to the Aura Hotel seemed like a good choice for Brunch. The duck hashed as amazing :). The atmosphere was very relaxed. A great start to the day!
I walked it off with a walk before the matinee to Lincoln center to check for a lost item but no luck. A good number of steps and I arrived at the theatre for Sunset Boulevard with good time to spare,
A Stunning Sunset Boulevard
What a performance! Jamie Loyd does to Sunset Boulevard what Matthew Bourne did to Swanlake, and it is just as revolutionary. He disassembles Sunset, extracts the core themes and builds a focused, completely new reflection on a classic piece. Bravo!
And of course Joe Gillis reminisces right at the beginning that his alternative to writing in LA would be obituaries in Dayton, Ohio. Quite fitting for this trip 🙂
The most stunning part was the opening of the second act which is giving the audience a live video of how Joe Gillis walks around the theatre. At The Savoy in London, where I saw Sunset last year, it seemed straightforward to go around the theatre. The way the production did it in NYC at 44th street was even cooler. Cameos of the cast and Andrew Loyd Webber built to an additive walk with more and more cats members (plus the monkey) joining him. Like the Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms“ scene on the finale of one of the seasons of “The West Wing.”
As a theatre and technology geek I was amazed how all that worked synced to the live orchestra and the camera man presumably walking backwards.
Here are some curtain call impressions:
Dinner at the Edition: The Terrace and Outdoor Gardens
Always a treat to be at The Edition, the high end brand of Marriott. Great cocktails and wonderful food. The lamp chops were to die for.
A brief walk to 44th brought me to All In!
All in: A Comedy about Love
What a heartwarming end to the day. So fun, It’s a reading of Simon Rich stories. I am debating with myself at the Hunt & Fish Club next door which part I Like more – the one with Death and Albie or the Detective Stories of a two-year old! Mom clearly runs things and Dad has just a shiny watch. Let’s keep sister Zoey around 🙂
Stellar cast – Lin Manuel Miranda, Aidy Bryant, Nock Kroll and Andrew Rannels.
Really great show and the acting-reading was great!
Closing the night at the Hunt & Fish Club NYC
Just a couple of steps down from the Hudson Theatre I closed the evening with a fun cocktail at the Hunt & Fish Club. Will try here for dinner next time, the menu looked great!
Sunday Brunch
I had a reservation and Charlie Parker but the Cafe Un Deux Trois caught my attention so I switched. A respectable Croque Madam to start the day 🙂
After checking in with friends and family, journaling and enjoying the distinctively French atmosphere, I make my way to The Great Gatsby. I was wondering how the very glitzy looking production would compare to the immersive production I had seen in London a while back, oh excuse me, in 2017. I had thought of it as exactly the right amount of debauchery – always wanted to use that word 😉
Before the show I enjoyed a Martini in honor of Gatsby at the Beast & Butterfly in the MSocial hotel very close to the Broadway Theatre. Great views on Times Square. Mental note – this is probably the space to be during the Ball Drop on NYE.
The Great Gatsby
Loved the show, had some Jeremy Jordan fans right next to me – which made it even more fun. The show focuses more on the relationships. Great dancing, glitzy costumes and a couple of really big songs.
At this point it was snowing pretty hard, albeit very wet snow. I recharged devices and got some writing in back at the hotel, before dinner at the Gatsby Landing
Gatsby Landing – Again!
The brunch had sparked my curiosity and I went here again for dinner. Really yummy beet salad and a great duck were fun. They also made a Sazerac in my requests, some Absinthe post Gatsby felt like the right decision.
The Outsiders – The Real Surprise of the Weekend
I had heard some of the reviews but wasn’t prepared properly. The Outsiders struck me as one of the most innovative new pieces that I have seen in a while.
It is based on S.E. Hinton’s iconic novel and has a score by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance of the folk-rock band Jamestown Revival, and Justin Levine. I loved the music. It struck me as very unique, the closest atmospheric comparison I could make would be Dillon’s “Girl from the north country” and – dating myself – Webbers “Whistle Down The Wind”. I wa quite struck – what an amazing performance.
The story, set in 1967 Tulsa, Oklahoma, explores the timeless themes of class conflict, loyalty, and the search for identity. The musical dives deep into the rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs, the privileged kids from the other side of the tracks. A bit of Grease and Westside Story set in Tulsa, but still totally unique. They even call the really well done fight scene between Greasers and SoCs a “rumble”.
Interlude Rooftop Lounge
Closing the night with a “Monaco” at the 38th floor. They were not kidding about the snow!
What a great weekend! I feel very fortunate!
The Return back to San Francisco
That’s a new one – we are delayed due to cleaning?
Flight UA from New York/Newark to San Francisco is delayed because cabin cleaning took longer than expected. It now departs at 10:30am.
We’re sorry for the delay and are working to get you on your way.
Well, it was a beautiful NYC EWR morning despite or perhaps because of the snow!
StageAficionado 