Times Square at Night

After the show we went for a late night snack at the Carnegie Deli. We split a piece of seven layer chocolate cake and a piece of cheese cake. It was yummy.

Nothing better sums up a trip to New York then seeing Times Square at night. It is always full of people and just so very beautiful.

Then it was back to DC on the 1:15 Monday morning bus.

Broadway Bares — Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

The end of my Sunday trip was Broadway Bares. I went up on Megabus with a friend that I volunteer with at Food and Friends. We had two other friends that also volunteer at F&F's meet up with us there. They met us at the theater where we say The Best Man.

We had dinner at a nearby pizza place. Then got in line for show. It was great!

Part of the warm up entertainment.

The finale with some 200 dancers on the stage.

More of the finale.

Judith Light addressing the crowd after the show.

The event ended up raising $1,254,176 which was a record. A very fun night for a wonderful cause. Can't wait to go next year.

The Best Man

That's the play I saw when I went up to New York last Sunday. It was amazing. The cast was amazing: John Larroquette, Eric McCormack, James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury and Candice Bergen.

From reviews of the play. Here from the Hollywood Reporter:

Truman-esque former President Artie Hockstader (James Earl Jones) fuels suspense by being cagey about who will benefit from his influential endorsement. Given that the play is so period-specific, the color-blind casting is a little jarring, but Jones is so darn terrific as the plain-spoken, farm-raised elder statesman that any reservation is instantly erased.

Jones is not the only octogenarian to steal the show. In two hilarious scenes, Angela Lansbury injects a jolt of color and incisive character detail into Mrs. Sue-Ellen Gamadge, chair of the party’s Women’s Division. Somehow simultaneously gracious and bluntly candid in her opinionated assessments, she shares priceless insights into what the women of America like and don’t like in both a President and a First Lady.

This from Newsday:

In one room is Larroquette, commanding as the womanizing liberal intellectual -- and perhaps too thoughtful -- candidate. In the other suite are the savvy Eric McCormack as his younger, ruthless competition and his equally savvy sex-bomb wife (Kerry Butler).

Jones is both subtle and magnificent as the folksy ex-president, a power broker who works his endorsement like a high-priced tease. Lansbury is irresistibly cunning as the gorgon chair of the women's division who declares "We women like . . ." and "We women don't like . . ." with all the ladylike delivery of a threat.

Bergen is heartbreaking as Larroquette's long-suffering wife, shy but nobody's fool, with Michael McKean as his smart press secretary and Jefferson Mays as the squealer in the mouse-brown suit. (Perfect costumes are by Ann Roth.)

Jones performance was nothing sort of incredible. He was just great. And we had great seats. We were going to be in the back of the orchestra (not that that would have been a bad seat) but got moved up to be in row D dead center. What a great afternoon.

Here are a couple of pictures of the cast coming out to sign autographs after the show.

You can just see James Earl Jones under his baseball cap.

Eric McCormack signing autographs

John Larroquette who was really wonderful and signed autographs for many people.

The Wonder that Is New York City

After the Pierpoint Morgan Library, we headed toward the theater where we were going to see The Best Man. Here are a few things that we saw as we walked. Shalom Brothers Oriental Rug Gallery just struck me as rather odd and ironic. The other pictures show the incredible lions at the New York City Library.

And the last picture gives you a look at Times Square which as always was full of people.

The Pierpoint Morgan Library

This was the first stop after we got off the bus. It had been overcast on the way up but now the skies began to clear.

Our goal was to go to an exhibit on Churchill there. It turned out we didn't have enough time but we did have a wonderful lunch there. Here are a couple of shots of what we did see at the library. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing more of it.

Wonderful New York Trip, Again

Another quick dash up to New York. Weather couldn't have been better. Saw a great show The Best Man and went to the Broadway Cares Benefit.

I'm posting a few pictures. More details will come later this week. Probably not until Wednesday because I'm going to a Nationals game tomorrow night.

In New York

Another day trip to New York City. Amazing day; weather fantastic!