The Final Frontier

Yesterday I got home and was feeling like we had the most magical day. And then I realised that I couldn’t choose that Sunday over any other day we’ve had. In fact, they’ve all been magical in their own glorious amazing ways. And here we are, at the beginning of the end. One day before we journey on. It’s a little sombre but mostly we’re just enjoying each and every moment, in the moment, as we live and experience it.

And we began yesterday with such a wonderful show..

Broadway Show #28: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Where: Walter Kerr Theatre
Seats: Centre Balcony
Favourite Number: I’ve Decided To Marry You
Rating: 8.5/10

Tickets purchased with contributions from: A. Nony. Mouse

This was so incredibly fantastic! (I know we say that about all of the shows but seriously… they are just SO GOOD!) We saw a bit of this earlier in the year when we watched the Tony Awards on tv and then the show won a bunch of awards so we were intrigued enough to see it. And it was most definitely worth it! The best thing about this show, unlike many Broadway musicals, is the density and complexity of the story. You really had to pay attention to not miss anything. It was all very cleverly interwoven and hilarious. Here’s the clip we saw from the Tony’s to give you an idea:

At the beginning of the clip, you can see one man, Jefferson Mays, having a few costume changes. Well he played EIGHT characters in the show! All of whom are murdered in hilarious ways. But the amazing thing watching him on stage was the pace at which he changed between all of his different characters, switching between them numerous times. He also had the biggest role in the show – all of his characters sang and danced. He was working his butt off! And was really funny. Here’s another small clip of him:

The set was amazing. It was a stage within a stage and the changing between scenes was very clever. Although we know a tonne of money would have gone into this budget, it occurred to us that the simplicity of the design and show (outside of the costume design required for Jefferson May’s characters) means that one day, if (when) this show’s performing rights becomes available, it will absolutely be possible for amateur companies to perform which is cool because it is such great writing and the music is wonderful and it inspires the thought that musical theatre can be as interesting in its story and as good as a really great play.

In the evening, we treated ourselves to enjoying one of our favourite shows a second time:

Broadway Show #29: Matilda
Where: Shubert Theatre
Seats: Balcony
Favourite Number: Quiet/ When I Grow Up
Rating: 8.5/10

This was, once again, a beautiful show and wonderful experience. We had a different Matilda this time, Eliza Holland Madore, and she was smaller and adorable and so great. It’s incredible to see such a young person carry a massive show on their shoulders. The script is huge and she leads a lot of the singing as well.

It felt a little like a sombre book-end of our trip (although our actual book-end will be tomorrow night but more on that later) because it was the first Broadway show we saw. And it was truly wonderful. We love this show and have every intention of getting the soundtrack to continue our enjoyment of it in future. This one will hold a special place for us always.

Now, we gave you ‘When I Grow Up’ last time. So this time, here’s a clip of one of my other faves – ‘Quiet’:

There was no lottery win for us today (thanks for those who voted but we’ll have to catch Kinky Boots next time!) so we headed to the High Line instead, arriving just after the sun set. It was great! A disused railway track that has been turned into a public walkway – what’s not to love?