BACK FROM NYC... ALIVE AND WELL

Just got back from NY (and boy are my gams tired) after finishing up the first three rehearsals for my Commerce Bank gig. I got another great bunch of people to work with - they are fun, they are energetic, they are New York. I'll have three more rehearsals with them before the tech/performance. Great group.

While in NY, I managed to see my college chum Jen; a friend from a previous CBank gig, Kat; hung out with the CGS: New York crew (Raph, Ian, Jeff, Mitch, Penelope, Mike, Dave Ryan and Joe from CNI); artist Fred Chao and his girl Dylan (Dillon?); animator Todd Wahnish; fellow theatre friend David D.; and of course the other CNI podcast host Jimmy - he-who-knows-the-best-bars-in-NY. Our night out at Don't Tell Mama's was hilarious.

The hotel I stayed in, on the night that I was out until 4:30am, decided to play a practical joke on me. The shower head fell off, hit the on lever and spat water flooding my bathroom, the hallway to the door and part of the room itself. I was moved to another room the next morning but damn if that wasn't weird hearing the shower running as I was walking into the place. It was like a Penthouse Forum letter that didn't actually come true. Boo.

I managed to walk around the Times Square although I didn't see a show - I was rehearsing 6:00 to 10:00. I was hoping to maybe catch a matinee sometime, especially of an off-broadway show. I just want to see something "different". And, other than food and drinks, I managed to not spend too much money shopping. Good for Rios.

Now I'm back in Reading for the weekend. I might be going to Philly on Saturday for the Barrymore Awards. 42nd Street was nominated for a few awards including Best Ensemble. That's me!

Really looking forward to when this gig kicks into high gear. The bankers are great, my fellow dancers are always a blast, I can't wait to start creating the opening tap number, and it all brings me that much closer to moving back to Philly.

huzzah.

I HATE SANGRIA.

Whoever billed sangria as "the summer drink" needs to pay me my money back. Bleh.

New York was a blast. Good work, good play, good friends, good comic shopping. Lots of text messaging going on. Thankfully I upped my plan. haha.

How badly do I want to hang out in NY all night and not sleep. Just to say I've done it once. How many diners can I get kicked out of? Heh. Anyone game?

SEPTA + NJT = NYC

So I took my day off from 42nd Street and visited NYC for some shopping, friends and general merriment. I managed to avoid the swell of tourist gawkers around Rockefeller Plaza and Times Square while chomping on a vendor hotdog and NY pizza. Yum.

Shopped at Hanley's and Midtown East. Hanley's is quickly becoming my favorite NY comic shop with their rows and rows of comics, trades, gns, mini-comics, magazines and more. You really can find just about anything there, cover price, unlike Midtown that loves their price-tag gun. And, as an added bonus, Hanley's was playing the Dreamgirls movie soundtrack which sounds pretty good. Looking forward to seeing that over Christmas.

I ended the night with a whole slew of friends from the podcasting world including Mr. Phil from ISRack, Joe & Jimmy from CNI, Denise of Birds of Geek and listeners Tony, Chris, Raf, David D. and a brief appearance by Mitch. Fun group, great restaurant, many drinks. I had a great time and hope to make it up there again soon in the New Year.

I don't really miss New York as a place to live - Philly is my choice of home-away-from-home - but it is great to walk around to all the theatres and see what's in, what's coming in and what's leaving (bye bye High Fidelity).

Looking forward to going back in February for the second annual New York Comic Con.