Two Broadway Show Day (Phantom & Newsies)

Yep. You read that right. It says Two Broadway Show Day. And indeed, yesterday was an AMAZING two show day for me. No I did not get to perform in two shows. No I didn’t even get to perform in one show (maybe one day I’ll get a guest day in a show…DREAMS COME TRUE IN SANTA FE!!!! HEAR THAT NEWSIES/DISNEY THEATRICAL?!?!). But I did get to see TWO shows!

My high school basketball coach brought his family to visit the city, so my boss let me have the day off to spend some time with my “adopted” family.  Of course, they wanted to see a show, and it had to be a matinee since they needed to drive to Philadelphia last night too. So we went out early and got tickets to see Phantom of the Opera (Broadway’s longest running show), which recently performed it’s 10,000th performance.

The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love Phantom. It’s so classically beautiful, and it is extraordinarily powerful. Andrew Lloyd Webber did a fantastic job with the music. This was my second time seeing the show, and it did not disappoint. It really was a magical experience, being transported to late 19th century Paris, entering the Paris Opera House, and exploring the underground cavernous lake that leads to the Phantom’s home.

However, as magical and wonderful as Phantom was, I still walked out of the Majestic humming “Santa Fe” from Newsies. As I walked my coach and his family to their car, I hummed my way through a medley of Newsies songs. Saying goodbye I glanced at my watch (aka my smart phone), and saw that it was 4:40pm. The Newsies lottery would be starting in a few minutes. Maybe I’d stroll back down to 41st and try my luck.

At the time, I’d seen Newsies four times. I paid full price for my first ticket, Standing Room for my second, Alyssa (one of my best friends from college) won my third lottery ticket, and my fourth ticket was a lottery ticket won by a random chance pairing that has worked out splendidly! I’ve never actually won the lottery. I was 0 for 3, but always got to see the show somehow. Since I’d signed out of community for dinner, I figured, “Hey, why not?” And skipped (literally) down to 208 West 41st.

I stood in line and chatted up a few people while waiting to enter my name in the lottery, and gave away a few of my duplicate Newsies trading cards to welcome others to the Fansie family (I felt really cool handing them out). After I dropped my name in the raffle, I went for a walk around the block to get rid of my nerves. Broadway lotteries are extremely nerve-wracking! I came back and continued nervously tweeting my Fansie family, keeping them up to date.

I waited, shaking, hoping to hear my name called. It wasn’t. At all. But all of the people around me had their names called. Depressing stuff. Fortunately, one of them was CRAZY AWESOME, and her friend didn’t really want to see the show, so he gave me his ticket, and I got to see the show again!

The best part? Julie Andrews was at the show.

Yep, you read that right. JULIE ANDREWS.

“The hills are alive” Julie Andrews.

The “practically perfect in every way” Julie Andrews.

Mia Thermopolis‘ grandmother Julie Andrews for those of you who don’t appreciate the other classics.

SHE WAS THERE! I might have seen her. I’m not sure, but she met all the guys. And I’m excited just knowing that she was there, in the same theater as me, breathing the same air for two and a half blissfully wonderful hours, watching the exact same show as me.

Anyway, despite her presence, a bunch of the guys still came to the stage door and acted all calm, cool, and collected, so I took a bunch of pictures with them:

Related articles

• Newsies Pun Twitter Conversation (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)
• Newsies Softball Game – May 17, 2012 (stephanieisms.wordpress.com)

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