Hello, Newsies! What's New? Part 1

That's right, faithful readers! It's time for me to tell you about my latest trip to the big city (New York for those keeping track). This time around, it was to see that classic of modern cinema, now turned into a delightful and successful Broadway show, Newsies!!! Also, we did other fun stuff, which I'll tell you about. The trick will be to get it in one post. I actually don't think I can, so more fun for you!

The fun adventure started at 6:00 on Friday morning, when Niki and I got up to get our bus. That part wasn't fun. Neither was the bus ride, because my seat was broken and kept reclining and moving back into its full upright position without any prompting from me. Also, when we stopped at Starbucks and I wanted a smoothie, they had no bananas! But we made it to the city in the end. The first thing we did after meeting with our friend and gracious host, Larissa, was go to an Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant called Alice's Tea Cup. In preparation for this (and also because it was one of my New Year's Resolutions), I read both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. They are very, very weird books. I liked the first one, and parts of the second, but there's no denying the strangeness. The food was really good, especially my double chocolate scone (drool).

 

Nerds at FAO Schwarz. I am, of course, talking about the toys.

 

Then we walked around for a while, being lost and generally getting a little cranky because at least two of us were still carrying all of our worldly possessions around on our backs. But eventually we found what we were looking for, FAO Schwarz. FAO Schwarz is a giant toy store, so it's automatically awesome. It also has a huge candy section, which makes it even cooler. But what makes it the coolest is something we stumbled across in a moment of serendipity: The Muppet Whatnot Workshop. It's a place where you can design your own Muppet. And then they will make it for you! Of course I had to play with the sample Muppets for a while, and then I had to peruse the rest of the store, feeling torn, but in the end, I just had to get one. It didn't hurt that the salesman/Muppet maker was the ever dreamy William, but I'm pretty sure I would have gotten one anyway. While my Muppet was in the works, we finally got to go to Brooklyn to drop off our things, and then it was back to FAO to get my very own Muppet. Alas, William wasn't there anymore, but my Muppet was. And in the words of my roommate, Kate, "She's fabulous!!!" It's true, she's pretty great. And it's a good thing, too, because I carried her around NYC in her clear backpack for the next seven hours.

 You can see William in this picture! Not the green one, or the one who's 12. The other one. 

We're FAAAABULOUS!!!

Next up was the main event: Newsies!!! I should probably say that earlier in the day we saw two nuns and a priest getting ice cream cones (not a joke). The reason I mention it is because we saw the same two nuns and a priest at Newsies! They seemed to be having a grand time. As well they should. The theater was packed. I didn't see a single empty seat. So, how does it compare to the movie? Well, it mostly has the same songs with a few additions. Jack's love interest (Les and David's sister) is gone, as is Brian Denton, the newspaper reporter. In there place is a spunky young lady reporter/love interest. And she's way better than what's-her-face from the movie. The only bad thing is that she and Jack sing a truly terrible love song in the middle of the show. Other than that, good times. The best thing about the play versus the movie is the sheer amazingness of the dancing. Words cannot describe how fantastic the dancing really is. After every big dance number, the applause was practically deafening, and it went on and on. Well deserved. Also, I saw three different So You Think You Can Dance alums in the show, which was very exciting: Evan Casprzak, Jess LeProtto, and Alex freakin' Wong. They did awesome. I was very proud. 

Yay!!! We can see the stage!

 

 

Aw, look how cute and excited we were! And the excitement lasted the whole time. 

Basically, the entire thing was fantastic, and if you ever get a chance, you MUST see it. They have once again extended the Broadway run (through November), but I'm also hoping that they'll take this sucker on tour. It would make a killing in Utah! 

Well you guys, I'm not even through with day one, and I'm tired out. Check back later in the week for more fun adventures in NYC!