We awoke to another sunny and warm day in NYC. I'm grateful we only dealt with rain one evening the entire trip. You may remember we have had to flee NYC on more than one occasion due to bad weather (snow and rain). This time - other than being kind of hot at times - we had no real weather issues.
Our flight wasn't until later in the afternoon, so we visited Juniors for lunch...
The food at Juniors is just pretty good. The turkey on my sandwich was a bit dry unfortunately. Doug and Bri felt the thousand island for their sandwiches was a bit sweet for them. Bri loved her hot chocolate. Our server was very nice and attentive.
Bri did get a piece of cheesecake to go (their cheesecake is delish). Our food portions huge, so we had to leave a lot of food behind because we were going home that day. I felt so badly about that!
We packed up and grabbed a car from the hotel to get to the airport.
Passing the Lena Horne Theater (where Six plays) as we were leaving the city...
We got the Newark airport with plenty of time.
We hung out in the Delta lounge until our flight..
Our flight home was smooth. The only blip was trying to get out of the airport parking garage because there was an issue with the payment machine and the gate to let us leave. We were stuck in a line of cars in the garage for about 15 minutes - I am grateful it wasn't even longer.
I was very nervous in the weeks leading up to the trip. I have a lot of travel PTSD/anxiety due to all the negative incidents that I have experienced on numerous trips. I just really wanted to feel good during this trip. And I did! Being able to walk normally again and not have my stomach burning and squeezing all the time is everything. I hope this lasts for a while.
I say we won't return to NYC again for a while. But I am not sure my Broadway girl will allow that to happen. We shall see! Until next time!
Wow - this was definitely an experience that I never expected. We have visited The Empire State Building, Top Of The Rock and The Edge - and they were all special in their own way. But this experience was completely unique. It was truly a spectacle - and a little overwhelming at the same time!
This is what One Vanderbilt looks like (from the internet since I couldn't get an actual shot myself of it)...
The Summit entrance...
A very short film when you first enter...
Then they make you put protectors on your shoes...
Going up in the mirrored elevator to the 91st floor...
Then you enter the 91st floor...
You can see the city from all sides of the floor. Once you are done with the 91st, you get on an escalator to the 92nd and then you can go up again to the 93rd. Once you go up an escalator, you cannot go back down. We were there as the sun was setting, so it was a bit sunny and warm in certain parts of the building, but it made for beautiful views...
Honestly, I cannot tell one floor from the next in these photos, so I will try to post in order as best as I can. I don't really remember when we would go up an escalator, but this is the basic order of things...
We did not expect the amazing rooms we would enter coming to Summit. There were a number of art installations by Yayoi Kusama. You may remember when our family visited the High Museum in 2019 and saw Kusama's "Infiniti Mirrors" exhibit.
These were amazing...
The Affinity Room (full of silver orbs)...
We arrived at a portion of the tour that allowed us to stand on the glass floor looking down...
Just incredible.
The views were indescribable up there...
We went up to the 93rd floor and came across a gift shop...
Yes, I did buy the Yayoi Kusama head ornament for my Christmas tree - heh.
Doug said we had one more thing to do. He purchased an upgraded ticket so we could go into an elevator that went up a couple more floors. You don't exit the elevator, but you do get even higher...
Once we got off that elevator, it was time to find something to eat. They had a little cafe on the 93rd floor and an area you could step outside. We ventured outside for a minute or so, but it was so windy up there!
Doug and I grabbed something to eat, but Briana wasn't hungry yet. This was the worst meal of the entire trip. How can you mess up a hot dog? This cafe managed to figure that out...
When we were done, we went back down 93 floors, grabbed an Uber and headed back to the hotel.
The view as we waited for our car...
The traffic was so bad getting back to Times Square that evening. We were stuck in the Uber just about two blocks from our hotel for a while. We told the guy we would just get out and walk back to the hotel. It was way faster.
We got back to the room and Briana was finally getting hungry. She ordered some room service (and I got a little something too since my food at the Summit sucked).
We watched the Tony Awards. We missed the opening act (saw that when we got back home), but we saw everything else...
So, that was our day. The Summit is absolutely incredible, but it can be overstimulating at times. So depending on what type of experience you are looking for, do a little research on where and how you want to see the skyline of NYC.
My next post will be about our last day. I was sad to go home!
Well, here we are. The "Just In Time" musical recap. This is the entire reason we decided to return to NYC this year. My daughter is a Jeremy Jordan superfan and we got to see him. His performance was spectacular. Checked it off the bucket list.
Doug purchased tickets for both of our June shows months in advance. We knew of the musical about Bobby Darin's life back when Jonathan Groff originated the roll a year before. I know how much Briana enjoys Jeremy Jordan's performances, so when I heard he was the replacement for this show and he would only be performing the role for several months, I thought this was our best chance to see him.
This is the banner that came on the e-mail that sent our tickets...
We were all set.
And then a couple of weeks before going to NY...I realized that the Tony Awards were happening that Sunday evening. We were going to the 2PM matinee, but I know all the Broadway stars go to the ceremony and I worried that Jeremy might not show. And with my track record of getting understudies (like what happened with Shoshana), I was nervous.
So about a week or so before heading to NYC, Doug got a confirmation for the tickets. I had told him my concern about not getting to see Jeremy and he had that it his head. But, the ticket place made a mistake. They had Jonathan's picture on the email they sent and not Jeremy's...
So Doug comes to me and says, I think that Jonathan might be filling in that day because this is the email that I just received. The only reason we even entertained that thought was because it was awards night. We were happy that it might be Jonathan instead, but the reason we were going was for Jeremy. You don't want to be disappointed because Jonathan is the OG and amazing, but we were a little bummed.
Nonetheless, we were still excited to see the show.
Briana got all dressed up for the occasion...
In the elevator heading to the show...
The Circle In The Square Theater is just a couple of blocks from the hotel. It is located in the basement of the Gershwin Theater where "Wicked" plays. So, we had already been there a few years before...
The theater...
We get to the theater thinking we weren't going to see Jeremy, but we were still happy. And we had great seats...
The theater is smaller and very intimate. It feels like a nightclub. The theater seating wraps entirely around the stage, actors are often mere inches away from the front row or walking through the aisles. There is a main stage (that you see behind Doug and Bri) and then a mini stage on the other side of the room. In the middle there are tables that concert goers can pay to sit at. Very cool.
So in that moment, we already thought were weren't seeing Jeremy. And then we read in the playbill that Carrie St. Louis wasn't going to be there either as Sandra Dee. We had yet another understudy - sigh. Luckily, Olivia Holt was going to be there as Connie Francis, and she just replaced Isa Briones (Isa is in the TV show "The Pitt"). But luckily, we already saw Isa Briones live in Hadestown two years before.
So the show starts, a man comes up through the floor and the announcer says "Here is Jeremy Jordan!!" The three of us look at each other in total shock, amazement and excitement. The email was wrong! We were wrong! He was there and we were thrilled! We were probably the only weirdos in the room who thought he wouldn't be. Anyway - it was a fun surprise...
Briana had a smile on her face the entire show (except during the sad parts).
Jeremy as Bobby Darin was absolutely fantastic. Olivia Holt as Connie Francis - fantastic. The whole cast - fantastic!
The understudy, Tristen Buettel (as Sandra Dee), was also fantastic...
The first act was very upbeat and explained Bobby's rise to fame and his love for Connie Francis. The second act was a bit darker from him meeting then divorcing his wife Sandra Dee to his career declining to finding out his sister was actually his mother! And then he tragically died at 37. Yikes! But, they did lighten the show at the very end and it was amazing...
Two of the numbers...
Just spectacular!
We left the theater and realized the stage door wasn't too bad to stand at. So, we decided to wait to see who came out. Bri and I were on one side and Doug went to the other side. Bri and I were in the second row. Bri got her playbills signed and I took pics. Doug managed to tackle pics and signing on his end - he somehow got in the front row on his side.
The stage door...
You can see Briana well in this picture above. I am behind the guy in the pink shirt.
I will let you know immediately that Jeremy didn't come out. We were disappointed, but it's ok. We got to be in the same room as him - so it is all good!
You will now see pictures from my camera angle and from Doug's.
Joe Barbara (who plays several roles including Bobby's brother-in-law) came out first, but he had no time to sign playbills because he had a bus to catch. But he did say hello...
Then Olivia Holt (Connie Francis) came out and started signing playbills. Briana told her how wonderful she was and Olivia said "Oh, thank you!" It was so cute...
Then Tari Kelly came out (plays Nina, Bobby's sister/bio mother) - Bri told her she was great too...
Then finally, Lance Roberts came out and started signing. He plays Bobby's manager (he was hilarious)...
He took a video of all of us for his social media...
Pride playbill - all signed!
One last photo before heading out...
My very happy girlie!
Another successful Broadway attendance accomplished! Briana is going to have to find a job one day close to NYC so she can just go see Broadway shows all the time. It is her happy place.
We were feeling a bit tired, but we really wanted to try to fit in Summit One Vanderbilt before going home. And we did!
