I can't believe I forgot to tell you this!

Guess who I met on Tuesday night? Go on, guess.

Ok, clearly you can already tell since there's a picture right here, but I'm excited to tell you that it was THIS GUY:

My friend and I won HAIR lotto because we wanted to see Jay go on for the Tribe (with the surprise bonus of Paris as Woof!), so we were in the right box. During one song, Tribe members pull people from the audience to dance with them in the aisles. I looked down and said to Mandee, "That guy dancing with Jackie looks just like Tom Hanks." To which she replied, "That's because it is Tom Hanks."

He didn't go dance on stage at the end, sadly. However, I did, of course, and Caissie pulled me up to the front to dance/sing with her for the Let the Sun Shine encore, and there was Tom dancing and smiling and sharing the loVe from his seat.

Afterwards, we were waiting at the stage door to congratulate Jay and Paris and chat with the cast, when who comes out first but Mr. Hanks himself. He didn't hang around for long, but he did stop to tell us all that he enjoyed the show. I complemented his dance moves, which he just kind of laughed at and said, "Thanks." Then some rando shouted "Bosom Buddies!" to which he replied, "Yeah... I was in that." And then he got into his car and away he went.

The cast was all star-struck when they came out. I think my favorite was John announcing that he must be infinitely more talented now that Tom Hanks had touched him. Ain't that the truth? ;)

Beads. Flowers. Freedom. Happiness.

I don't even know where to start to describe this weekend. Oh, here's an idea for this post's structure: I'll tell you what I did after losing the Hair lotto each day, since I tried 6 times this weekend (since Thursday) to no avail. 

After trying and losing on Thursday, a friend and I gave it a go at the Rock of Ages ticket lottery, where we both won!  The show is cheesy, campy and filled with '80s rock - plus you can drink Coors Light in your seat during the show. Sounds like a good time in the making, and it was. I'm actually still finding silver confetti in my jacket from sitting under the machine. 

After trying and losing on Friday, I went to the Rock of Ages lotto again, this time to try for a friend. I don't know why I'm so lucky there and not at Hair, but I won tickets for her as well. Then, after a yummy sushi dinner, we decided to check out the cast listing board at Billy Elliot to see who was going on for Billy. I had seen every one of the young (and phenomenally talented) actors except for Tommy Batchelor. And what luck, because he was on that night! Unfortunately, it was sold out - but I lucked out again, because there was a last minute cancellation and I ended up in seat C105. (That's a really great seat, by the way.) I absolutely loved Tommy's performance. He comes across a lot like the Billy of the movie. 

After trying and losing for the Saturday matinee, I decided to check out student rush seats for a play I had heard a lot about called Exit the King. This stars Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Rush and Lauren Ambrose. My super-cheap seat was front row center; the girls next to me and I were afraid a couple of times that we were going to end up with a king in our laps - we were that close. I really wanted to take a picture with Lauren, since through the years I've gotten comments that I look like her, but because of makeup the didn't come out between the matinee and evening performance. Sad day.

Then, as I headed back to 45th to try for Saturday evening at Hair, I realized I was just in time for the ending of the Billy Elliot matinee. I have been trying to get my fancy souvenir program signed by all of the Billys, but I was still missing David's autograph. I happened to have it with me on Saturday, and he had just so happened to go on for the matinee, so now my program is complete! 

After losing on Saturday night, I took a night off from the theatre (which my checkbook appreciated, I'm sure). That night included shopping on 5th Avenue - trying on dozens of headbands at Bendel's and ogling dozens of shoes at Saks - and seeing the film Sunshine Cleaning. Nothing too exciting there, except that on my way home I passed Eric Mabius with his wife, Ivy Sherman, on 8th Avenue! (He plays Daniel Meade on Ugly Betty, in case you were trying to think of who that is.)

After losing for the Sunday matinee, I also tried and lost the In the Heights lottery. Then I spent the day hanging out in bookstores and coffee shops killing time for the evening lottery, because A) I am stubborn and determined to win and B) If I went home, I'd just sit around being lazy all day anyway. 

So, at the Sunday evening lottery for Hair, I was determined to win, since it was my last chance this weekend. While waiting for the drawing, I see a familiar face come in and put his name in the bucket as well - none other than Jonathan Groff, who played the original Melchior in Spring Awakening, and the role of Claude in Hair at Central Park this summer (that's the production that transferred to Broadway). As luck would have it, Jonathan's friend was the first name called, and mine was never called. 

After the drawing was over and their tickets were bought, I decided to talk to Jonathan. He is truly one of the nicest, most gracious people I have ever met. I thanked him for sharing his amazing talents and told him I am looking forward to seeing what he does next. He asked my name and we chatted a bit; he even told me that, "If my name had been drawn, too, I would have given you my ticket." What a sweetheart. 

I then decided that I really needed to see that particular performance of Hair. I knew of a discount code, so I called in to see what kind of ticket I could get. When the woman told me seat A113 was available for half-off, I sort of freaked out. Of course I bought it. For those of you who don't know, Hair is the kind of show where the actors really interact with the audience. That particular seat is on the far left of the front row of the center section, aka right next to where the actors come on and off stage. When Berger took off his pants after the first song, he handed them to me to hold onto for a while. When Claude came passing out Be-In flyers and flowers, I got a flyer and two daffodils. I was also kissed 3 times, had my hair tousled several times and was hugged. Oh, not to mention being pulled up onstage to dance with the cast and other audience members when "Let the Sunshine In" was reprised after the curtain call. I might call that the perfect ending to a fantastic weekend. I was vibrating with excitement from the moment I sat down, and I'm still beaming hours after the show ended. 

Throughout all that, I also ran into a ton of OU students who were in town for Spring Break, and it was really fun to get to chat with them. How crazy that in a "city of strangers" as Sondheim would say, that I spotted a few familiar faces in the crowds on more than one occasion. I also made some new familiar faces out of the other regulars at the Hair lotto. Pretty sure I'm going to be biffles with the guy who runs it before I finally win. He's fun, so I'm okay with that. I just find it so interesting how my unlucky weekend at the Hair lotto turned into a lucky weekend in so many other ways.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite lyrics from the show:

"Walking in space, we find the purpose of peace, the beauty of life you can no longer hide. Our eyes are open, our eyes are open. Our eyes are open, our eyes are open."

P.S. Some of my pictures are already posted on Facebook, so check those out. And there are more to come. 

It lived up to the hype.

When I last left you, I was on pins and needles waiting for the weekend. Well, it measured up to the hype.

As you might have gathered by now, I'm a little obsessed with Broadway shows. Similarly, you might have noticed that I'm becoming addicted to Billy Elliot. I had been keeping up with the rotation of who played Billy which night because I really wanted to see my favorite actor in the role again. (By the way, none of you even attempted to guess which was my favorite when I posed that question, so I'll just tell you: It's Kiril. The blonde one.)

So, Kiril was on Friday night and I got myself a ticket and went. Yay payday! He was just as fabulous as I expected him to be, and his "Electricity" was phenomenal as ever. Something funny I noticed was that Kiril really likes to milk the occassions when Billy curses on stage. For example, there's one line where Billy usually says, "I nah, I nah (that's "know" in a Geordie accent), bloody hell." However, on Friday, Kiril said, "I nah, I nah, for f*ck's sake." Of course, his second line in the entire show begins with that pleasant little word, so it wasn't a shock to hear, though it did kind of make me giggle that I noticed it.

Last note on Billy... I kind of adore Matthew Mindler, the 7-year-old who plays the role of (I kid you not) "Small Boy" in the show. He wants to sign everyone's Playbill, though he obviously has just learned to write his name. And even though it made me feel like a 12-year-old, I got a picture with Kiril at the stage door. I'm a dork, but I'm okay with it.

Then Saturday, I began a massive project I had been planning: spring cleaning. I literally took every item I owned out of my room besides my bed and my shoes. By the time I got everything but the bed out, there was no room anywhere else in the apartment to move the bed anyway. And like I would really get rid of any of my fabulous shoes? I scrubbed the place down and was very picky about what made it back in. My decor got downsized and I rearranged furniture, so it also looks a little different too. The best part, however, is that my closet has so much more room in it now. The biggest space adjustment for me in NYC has been the battle with closet space, so every tiny victory is worth celebrating.

All in all, I was at it from about noon until 5 a.m. on Sunday, so it was quite a day. Now, I should clarify that I am prone to distractions like Facebook and The Girls Next Door on E!, so it wasn't like it took 17 consecutive hours. I'm so glad I got this project completed before spring officially begins on the 20th!

Then, after going to bed so late on Saturday night/Sunday morning, I was actually up-and-at-'em suprisingly early on Sunday. I wanted to finish up a few errands before heading downtown for the event I had been so highly anticipating for weeks. Right before I hopped on the train heading downtown a little earlier than really necessary, my friend from NJ texted me saying he was killing time in Manhattan and wanted to know if I'd like to hang out. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time because I got distracted listening to a certain Matt Doyle singing on my iPhone and got on the wrong train. Can I just tell you that makes twice in one week I've carelessly ended up in Queens because of a train mistake? Lame.

Oh, so you wanted to know what the highly anticipated event was? HAIR on Broadway. I am such a hippie at heart, and I simply ADORE the music from the show, but I had yet to see a production. I was especially excited to be going with a fun group of people from Student Media at OU. They were in town for the CMA conference (still are, technically), and my former adviser knows about my love of theatre and invited me to come along. I even had a surprise friend there, Lizzy from Phi Lamb, who I didn't know was coming on the trip!

I could gush about how much I loved HAIR for pages and pages, but you still wouldn't get the full feeling of how fantastic this show is. Sure, it really doesn't have much of a plot, and maybe some of the themes are a little controversial for the blue-hair crowd, but I had the time of my life seeing it. And, I might have mentioned that I have a ticket to the Opening Night performance, so now I can't wait for March 31. Our entire group was just enthralled by the performance, and a highlight was definitely Will Swenson walking across our aisle on the backs of the seats, and pausing in the middle of the song to ask me, "How are you doing tonight?"

We hung out afterwards at the stage door to meet all of the cast. Again, could devote pages to their talent and how fun/kind they are, but I won't. After I get my latest pictures uploaded, I'll share some with you - especially the super cute one of Gavin Creel and me. Seriously, I might have to crop him out of it and use it as my Facebook profile pic. Just sayin'. Then it was time for a late dinner at a cute little Hell's Kitchen diner, complete with flirty NYPD officers at the next table. All the Student Media girls were crushing.

So, that's how my weekend lived up to the hype provided by a dorky dancing Brad Pitt gif.

Sidenotes: Monday wasn't too shabby either. I ended up meeting up with the friend I missed because of the Doyle-subway-distraction event and we watched the EPIC new Gossip Girl. And today was St. Patrick's Day, which I LOVE! I even got to catch a quick glimpse of the parade, and I had a cupcake from my fav bakery with Shamrock sprinkles. Oh, and I've had two job interviews so far this week. (Like how I snuck that one in there?) As always, I promise more updates on my life sooner rather than later, but for now I'm actually feeling quite under the weather and am determined to be in bed before midnight.

Slainte and good night!

ETA: I always forget to tag my posts and have to go back in and edit them.

Apparently, I'm now in love with several things...

I have turned into a terrible blogger. I keep saying that I will do better if I blog in little bursts, just covering one quick topic, but then I get lazy or forget and have too many things to talk about. This happens so frequently that big things don't even get mentioned. I'm going to try to catch everyone up.

So, I'm chilling in a hotel in Newark, watching the Oscars (which I'm really unimpressed by). I am here for a work conference, celebrating the end of the application deadlines, gearing up for spring campaigns and brainstorming for next season. It's always fun to bring the RT together, because boy, do we know how to have fun! Let's just say it's a good thing the conference doesn't officially start until 1 p.m. tomorrow.

The past couple of weeks have been transitional at work, switching from crazy finish-the-season-strong mode to admissions focus (i.e. applications and interviews). And it's time to start seriously thinking about next year. Don't worry, once something worth mentioning is in the works more definitely, you'll be updated.

Look at me, breaking one of my favorite rules: Not talking about work on the weekend.

So instead, let's transition to my favorite topic: Fun in the city. I've been having plenty of that. Yesterday I finally ate at the famous Stage Deli, and though I was skeptical, it definitely lived up to the hype. They had the most amazing potato salad I've ever eaten. Yeah, I just used the word "amazing" to describe potato salad. That means it must have been pretty dang good.

Also, my friend and I attended a makeup workshop at Henri Bendel, hosted by Trish McEvoy reps. I'm in love with Trish makeup now, by the way. If you are looking for something to buy me, that's always a good idea.

Hmm, what else? What about the places to eat and drink? Mostly we've been hitting up our regular haunts - like Silk Road, Rudy's, etc. But I would like to point out the fact that I have found the best cupcake in NYC. No, it's not Magnolia (overrated), or Crumbs (overfrosted), or any other chain. There's only one of these places in the world, and it's down the street from my apartment. If you haven't tried Two Little Red Hens Bakery, you absolutely must. I insist. I even brought my RD a cupcake from there as a gift because I had to share the joy that they bring.

Finally, what recap of my life would be complete without mentioning the Great White Way? There's so much to talk about (as always)! For Valentine's Day, I (along with everyone else in the city) went to see a show. I chose Billy Elliot, and that was a good and bad idea. Good because it was seriously incredible. Bad because I'm in love with it and want to see it a dozen times now. And of course, I need to see all of the actors who play Billy! (Kiril's my favorite, right now.)

Also, my friend and I have been attempting all week to win the Wicked lottery. If you're not familiar, Broadway lotteries are systems that allow people to get great seats for cheap, if you're lucky. Basically, you go to the theater two hours before the performance, put your name in a hat, and if it's drawn you get up to two tickets for about $25. We tried a couple of times this week, but to no luck. However, I was determined to win, so we went again yesterday. (Honestly, it was more about trying my luck and wanting to win than having a great desire to see the show at this point.) As luck would have it, I had luck that day, and I won! We sat on the 2nd row and had a blast. I'm now in love with Aaron Tveit, who played Fiyero. That's awesome because he'll soon be in Next To Normal, opening soon on Broadway.

So that's what's going on right now. Hopefully there are plenty more fun and exciting things to be happening in the near future. I can't believe it's already nearly March, but no wonder time flies when I'm having so much fun.

P.S. I watched several episodes of Gossip Girl on DVD this weekend, and now I really want to run into Ed Westwick in the city more than ever. Someone out there, make this happen please?

Best. Weekend. Ever.

I had seriously the best weekend ever. If I tried to sum it up in words, it would be all wrong for two reasons: 1) I would ramble on forever and you'd get bored, 2) It would still not accurately capture it. So, they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, so here's a more succinct version.

After work, some of the girls went out for dinner on the Upper West Side. This restaurant is great. Yummy Chinese food yes, but the best part is the free wine. Sure, it's just Franzia, but that makes it so much better.

During dinner, we decided to play the role of "douchey frat guys" and so what better place to go than "Bro-J's"? It's the land of boat shoes, croakies, pastel polos and '80s rock. Brings me back to South Greek days.

While wandering the UWS, we came to my favorite bakery, Crumbs. So Christa and I just had to have a cupcake. Those are some of my favorite NYC treats, and it had been way too long since I had eaten one!

Saturday, I slept in gloriously. I think I got 12 hours of sleep. Then I spent the day lounging about watching Season 2 of Dexter. Love that show SO much! Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that it was snowing steadily all day, creating a beautiful backdrop to my lazy day from the window.

That night, Kayleigh and I braved the elements to go see a movie. While waiting in line at the 42nd St. theater, we saw the singer Adele. I was just saying how I felt like I was due for another celebrity sighting.

Though we initially intended to see Milk, we ended up going to Benjamin Button. I seriously loved this movie. The moment Brad Pitt comes on the screen on the motorcycle, I remembered exactly why he's always on the top sexiest men lists.

Sunday, I woke up relatively early and headed out for the day. At the suggestion of my mom, I paid a visit to Henri Bendel's, and I am beyond glad that I went out on that whim. They were having a massive sale - as in 80% off some things! I ended up getting several things that I would never have even considered buying before, at a total that would have been over $1,000 if I had payed original price. Luckily, I paid less for the grand total than one item would originally have cost. I have never experienced a sale that rewarding. Seriously.

And then, something that always makes a weekend great: I went to a Broadway show. And even better, when that show is Spring Awakening. I seriously cannot believe that it's closing next week, but it has been an amazing run.

Oh, and as if I was already having a phenomenal weekend, it just got better. Matt Doyle, who happens to be just my absolute favorite, was (to my pleasant surprise) playing the lead role this afternoon! I absolutely adore his voice and his portrayal of Melchior. I got a great discount ticket, which happened to be an amazing seat. The fifth row, on the left aisle! And of course, I stayed after at the stage door, and I got to chat with him for a couple of minutes. (This photo is from the last time I saw the show.)

And then I'm ending my weekend now, having just watched the Golden Globe awards. It reminded me of how many movies I still need to see from this year. Also, worth noting - the Old Hollywood look is back; everyone was so classy tonight!

And that's the way I like things: classy. I hope your weekend was even somewhat as amazing as mine, though I'm not sure if much else could compete with how great the weekend was for me.

You watch me, just watch me...

Read this:
http://mattdoyleweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/last-night.html


Yeah, I was there. And I did the crazy fan-at-the-stagedoor thing. And I still love his voice more than anyone I've ever heard sing.

FREEDOM!

I'm about 40 minutes away from Christmas vacation. I do have to work from home on Monday/Tuesday, but it's a little different when I'm in the comforts of my mom's house instead of in the office. I don't really have time for a thought-provoking insightful post, so here's more linkage and video!

OU people, if you haven't seen this yet... Well, there are no words really.





And I'm in love with this guy:

All I want for Christmas...

I feel like since Christmas is just over two weeks away, I should probably fill you guys in on my wish list. I mean, that way you have time to scour the stores to find the best deals. Here are my top three Christmas wishes:

3.




















2.















1.



















Thanks in advance. I mean, I have been so good this year. And just remember:

Christmas is in fashion.

You guys. Ashanti stole my look.
I totally have (and rock) that hat. Though you'd never catch me in boots or a coat that hideous. I wore my awesome beanie to the Rockefeller Center tree lighting tonight. Four hours in the cold to see some sparkly lights... so worth it.

The Boys Are Back

I realize that it's nearly 4 a.m. and I have to be up before 8 tomorrow and I should be sleeping. But I had to write this post while I'm still excited about it. Tonight, as I mentioned, some friends and I saw the midnight premiere of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

Well, to be honest, it turned into a 1 a.m. screening, because they had problems with the film. We were sitting there for an hour and a half (at least) with a ton of impatient AMDA youngsters and Jonas-Brothers-psycho high schoolers who were more than ready to get their fill of Zac Efron. And the complaints let loose. We were afraid that it wasn't going to happen, which would've been highly disappointing. Rooms nearly left when we were informed that the new showtime was 1:00 a.m.

However, we were convinced to stay by an enticing offer. (Okay, being real, Kieley and Ashley were convinced to stay; Rena and I weren't going anywhere without seeing HSM3 first. I mean, we were already there way past my normal hour to be out and about during the week, so we might as well hang around and see the movie we'd made plans to see.) We got free movie passes, that can be used at any time for any movie, because of the inconvenience of waiting. And they gave us all a free drink and a free bag of popcorn. Not too shabby. Plus, we got to enjoy the amazing movie. I think I liked it more than the first one, even!

So, it looks like I'll be viewing Twilight from the cushy seats at the AMC on 84th. For free. And it seems to me that I'll be using some iTunes gift cards I've gotten in the mail to purchase a certain movie soundtrack tomorrow.

P.S. I predict that at least a couple of the songs and a ton of the choreography that I saw tonight (er, this morning) will show up in a Scandals show or two at OU this spring. Right?

P.P.S. The song title that is the title of this post was my favorite scene from the movie. So cute.

Celebreality

So, I had my first celebrity sightings. I was kind of wondering who the first celeb I spotted would be, and it could not have been better.

Throughout the summer, a local radio station puts on a thing called "Broadway in Bryant Park," where the stars of various shows perform a couple of songs for free, and it always draws a huge crowd. I had gathered up a small group of theater fans from the office to take a lunch break and check it out this week, mostly because of the slated performance by the cast of an upcoming show - called "13" - by my favorite composer, Jason Robert Brown. We were kind of late, so we got stuck standing to the side of the stage, which was actually fine with me, as long as I could hear them sing. After the performance, I turned to make a comment to my friends, and guess who was standing right behind me? Yeah, this dude:
That's JRB, himself, by the way. This man is a genius. Seriously, if you like theater (or just great music, especially piano, he's a beast on the piano arrangements), and you haven't heard The Last Five Years or Songs for a New World, go download them now.

So I turn around, see him there, and freak out. I'm so lame. I finally (okay, maybe 20 seconds later) got my act together, and walked over to where he'd gone to congratulate the performers/talk to his friends and meet him. Sadly, I had forgotten my camera at home that day, which was incredibly unfortunate. But I did get an autograph. From my idol. Sweet.

In meeting JRB, I had inadvertently positioned myself right by the holding area where the actors from each show were coming and going between performances. Which equals more celebrity sightings. I met the adorable miss Bailey Hanks, aka the new Elle from Legally Blonde: The Musical. She's just as precious and sweet as you'd expect her to be. And I met the current (and final) cast of Rent.

All in all, a celebrity filled lunchbreak. It was also a great lunch for another reason - for the first time, really, I felt like I actually live in NY rather than feeling like a tourist on a prolonged visit. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but it kind of felt like this whole New York life is reality. Weird.

Now, I feel like I should also mention another sighting I had this week. In case you didn't know, Wendy Kopp is the founder of Teach for America, and she was also named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People this year. She works in the same office I do, but on a different floor. It's kind of an unofficial game around the office - Spot Wendy. Especially for the new employees like me. So, I was very excited when she walked past me on my way to work on Friday. Of course, she has no idea who I am or that I have anything to do with TFA; in fact, I bet she wondered why the heck this random girl in front of Starbucks was grinning at her. So that counts as a pseudo-celebrity sighting.

Finally, a couple of sightings that weren't of celebrities, but were interesting to me. I got to see my mom and stepdad this weekend! I took a little day trip down to DC, where they were staying for a conference. It was really, really great to get to visit with them. Plus, I'd never been to DC, so we did a little sightseeing too. The last sighting happened during our outing to the White House. We were walking down the street from the front lawn, when who should walk past me but my friend Rod from OU. Isn't it just a crazy small world?

Alright, that's my update on my celeb-reality. Now reality for the rest of the weekend is going to involve vegging out on the couch and getting a lot of work down before the next crazy week starts. And I'm perfectly okay with only seeing tiny versions of celebrities on my TV screen.