I have returned from my trip to New York City when means it's time for a looooong entry about the best place in the world. Let's do this day by day. Friday,June 3- First I had my last exam(algebra) which was of course fun..not! Then, I went to breakfast with my girls and Drew. That was pretty fun, our waitress was entertaining. Then, I had to get home and finish packing. Once we got to the airport, I finally realized the reality and the fact that I really was about to go to NYC. Our plane was actually ON TIME which is like a first for us. Our plane ride there was ok, not too much turbulence, of course I did take two anti-anxiety pills before we departed. I sensed it when we were getting closer, and then we were there. IN NYC. I was soo excited, just plain giddy. Once we were in the taxi, I was searching for any sign of the city, and there were tons. A billboard for Hairspray, a huge ad for H&M. We went through a not so beautiful part of the city, and then suddenly we were in Times Square. I just about died even though I've seen it plenty of times. We checked into our hotel room, and it was like almost 7 and I decided to get tickets to Spamalot without my mother's permission. We had to run to the theatre since I got them so late, and we actually were late for the show, which I find very embarassing, and I always consider the later comers to be rude, but oh well. We had 5th row seats, but they were sorta partial view, but we could see almost everything. I had already seen the show so, nothing came as a surprise, but it was still hilarious. We had an understudy for Lady of the Lake. She was alright, but nothing compared to Sara Ramirez. After the show, we were EXHAUSTED from the plane and show and running,etc. We debated and ended up getting room service. I know, room service in NYC, wtf? The food wasn't even like tremendous, and my pepsi was watered down, but I didn't care, I was in the big apple. From our room, you could see the Virgin Megastore, and other random places in Times Square. We went straight to bed, and then woke up slightly early the next day. Saturday, June 4- Hold on, let me think. Uh... Oh yeah! We went to see the matinee of The Light in the Piazza. I went into the show expecting to fall asleep before intermission. I was like "it's going to be lame, but I need to see it because it's up for so many Tonys." We had great seats, and I have to say that it was a beautiful show. No, the songs were not catchy, but the score was lovely. Victoria Clark really did deserve that Tony nomination because she really is great. Great voice, great actress, the whole package. Kelli O'hara was also brilliant. Very simple and pretty. And of course, Matthew Morrisson, you just can't go wrong with him. He has a great voice and lordy is he hot. After the show, I went to the stage door(where there wasn't a guard or gates of anything). When Matt Morrisson came out my heart melted. I wanted to like declare my love for him, BUT I settled for a picture and autograph. I did of course sorta squeeze his amazing back muscles while the photo was being taken. He was so worried the picture didn't take that he came back and made sure and offered to take another. *sigh* Then came Kelli O'hara. She was probably one of the best dressed stage door=ers ever. She even had a purse that I have!! She was nice, and took a picture with me, but she had two friends there that she was going to lunch with so she was a bit distant. Then came Victoria Clark. Wow. I waited patiently while she greeted like 20 of her relatives, then got my picture and autoggraph. She wasn't extremely nice, nor was she rude. So after that, we walked around and I gushed to my mother about how fun that was and we discussed the beauty of the show. Then, um. I don't even remember what happened after that to be honest. That night, we went to see DIrty Rotten Scoundrels. We were like 10th row, and we could see very well. The show was sooo good, just as I remembered. Afterwards, I waited at the stage door and talked to some guy who is majoring in theatre at a college in Pennsylvania. He was very nice, and we agreed Norbert Leo Butz was cute. Then I met Sherie Rene Scott(brilliant) and got our picture. AND Bernadette Peters came out of the stage door, I guess she had just gone to see it and then went backstage. We were all sorta like "uuuhh" then suddenly everyone screamed "MS.PETERS!" but she just waved and left. Sunday, June 5- TONY DAY. First, i had my workshop with a guy from The Producers. We did a combo of Fosse/ Jerry Mitchell/ guy from Spamalot's choreography to "There's No Business Like Show Business." It was a lot of fun, and I really think I was one of the best there(I don't mean that in a bragging way because if you know me, you know I think I suck). We got cute litlte gift bags with a Camp Broadway t-shirt, a How to succeed in business without realy trying hat, a couple ofr pencils from diff. shows, a wicked pin, and a sample cd of The Producers. After that, I went to the hotel to get ready. I got stressed out because I hated the way I looked but I got over it. We took a cab to Alfredo's for the mocktail party because you can not walk in my shoes. They were taller than me. Well...not that tall. Again, when I got to the restaurantI was so scared beause it meant I had to get to know strangers. AH. Anyways, I sat down at a table and just acted very outgoing. I made some really cool friends, and we're gonna keep in touch. I also found out that one of the girls posted on the Little Women board, and we had talked a bunch before, so we sorta knew eachother before hand. I knocked over a drink at the party, and just about died from embarassment, but then I just laughed and made it easier. After that, we headed over to the Radio City Music Hall. Paparazzi was EVERYWHERE. As we were walking in, I was standing right next to Jenny Powers and Amy Mcalexander from Little WOmen. I acted very stupid and just sort of squealed and stared at them, needless to say they got away from me haha. Our seats weren't close at all, but we could see VERY WELL. First, we did boring awards that wasn't even broadcast on television, then we were told to applause and the live broadcast of the Tony Awards started. It was AMAZING. I was crushed when Sutton Foster didn't when. But I screamed really loud for her with some of the girls, and she laughed when she heard us and looked honored. After the awards, I was in the lobby. I saw tons of stars there. Claire Danes and Billy Crudup were there sipping wine. Erin Dilly(Truly Scrumptious from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), the redhead from Desperate Housewives, etc. Then, I saw Christian Borle. THEN SUTTON. I gained the nerve to speak to her. She was obviously sad, but she told me I looked really beautiful. I almost died. After the Tonys, we defintly went back to the hotel to find that the after party was being held there. EEE! The guard actually said "Tonys Gala this way, ma'am". so of course I tried to crash it, but was unsuccessful. I walked past Joan Allen, and then Leslie Uggams actually acted like I was someone famous or something. YAY. AH. I then watched Billy Crystal and Matthew Broderick arrive, then I left for my room. Monday, June 6- That was shopping day. First, we went to the Virgin megastore where I stocked up on Broadway cast recordings. Then, we went to Saks. It was a bit on the expensive side lol. We bought my nephew two outfits, then we ate at the Saks Fifth Avenue Cafe. The food was good, and the view was pretty. And we saw Helen Hunt shoe shopping. Then, we went to Banana Republic(lame) and H&M which turned out to be a bit disapointing this time. We also went to the Lacoste store, and I got a shirt. But of course, all of that was just an obstacle in front of that nights show. We went to Phantom of the Opera that night. I can officially never see that show again, and be okay. I got bored and antsy at points since it was like my 4th time seeing it. It's still beautiful though. But the people around me acted like morons, one kid was smacking his food(which you aren't even supposed to have during the show), and then the two girls next to my mom sang along the whole time. UGH THE NERVE. We ate at the Broadway Lounge at the hotel that night. I had potato skins and my mom let me have a Phantom(which had like a lil bit of alcohol in it). My mom and I fought that night about something, but we were over it the next day. Tuesday, June 7- another shopping day. We went to Bloomingdales where I got two pairs of jeans and tried on some dresses. After that, we went to Roxy's for lunch. I had a turkey club(which was huge but yummy) and my mom spoke to someone she knew from Columbia there. After that, we went back to the Virgin Megastore where I stocked up on some more Broadway cds. That night, we saw Sweet Charity. I will say that I did enjoy the show. The dancing rocked, music's good, and most of the cast was very good. Christina Applegate was better than I thought she would be, but that doesn't mean that she was great. She was good though. But you could tell that everyone else on stage was better than her. It took her forever to come out of the stage door, and she was such a diva. I complimented her and she quietly responded "thanks". She looked like crap and wouldn't pose for pictures. Someone brought her flowers and she had someone else carry them to her car. Whatever. After that, my mom and I went to Maxie's. It was basically just like Roxy's. The food wasn't quite as good though. Wednesday June 8- I didn't love this day because I knew that it was my last full day there. We met up with Lauren(my friend who lives in the city that I met through Little WOmen) at Sardis. We talked about random stuff and it was a lot of fun to get to know her. The food at Sardis is always good. It rocked. After that, my mom and I saw Wicked. The new Elphaba(Shoshana Bean) was really good and the new Galinda(Megan Hilty) rocked too. She remembered the letter i sent her and she was really sweet and down to earth at the stage door. I really do like Wicked. I know a lot of theatre people say its just a commercial type thing and stuff, but I think it's a fun show with good music and funny lines. After Wicked, we went to the hotel and got ready for that night's show. We saw All Shook Up which I went in thinking it would be crap. I loved it. Everyone in the cast was GREAT, esp. Jenn Gambatese who can sing soooo well and she's just a cute person. I waited at the stage door, and got autographs from a lot of people including her. She was SO sweet. I wanted to like become her best friend haha. After that, we went to the hotel and ate dinner there. Thursday. June 9- BOOOO. This day sucked because we had to leave. I literally begged and pleaded to stay. My mom pracitcally dragged me to the taxi. I looked out of the back window with tears forming in my eyes. This may sound silly, but in New York, I feel right. It's just where I belong. There's so much to do and see, and to have to leave it to come back to this place is very hard. It's a transition from all of this culture and fun to Columbia, South Carolina. I hated leaving. This entry wasn't as descriptive as I planned for it to be, and I know I left a lot out, so if I remember things I will either add it on here, or write a new entry. I Heart New York