my trip to nyc, told in p&r gifs
This past weekend I went to NYC with juniperlane and fujiidom and it was amazing. Seriously, seriously amazing.
Meg and I got into the city Friday afternoon and chilled until Maura got to the hotel (which was located right next to a delightful little place called "Hunk-O-Mania"). Then we packed up and walked to Craftbar, one of (Top Chef's) Tom Colicchio's restaurants in Manhattan. IT WAS AMAZING. Maura had steak, Meg had veal meatballs, I had fish and it was all amazing. We also had a few appetizers and an apple tart for dessert, and even though that shit was balls expensive, it was worth every penny. I'd really like to go to Craft, his main restaurant, the next time we're in NYC, but $$$$$$$, basically. STILL. Totally worth it.
After dinner we hit up the theater. We had Saturday tickets for both "The Normal Heart" (with Jim Parsons, Lee Pace, Ellen Barkin, & many others) and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (with Daniel Radcliffe and John Laroquette). We wanted to do a dry run of the "Normal Heart" stage door, just to see who came out to sign things and who didn't, what the set-up was like, and as none of us had every really stage door'ed before, just get the general lay of the land. We hung around for a bit until people started filtering out. "The Normal Heart" has the same stage door as "That Championship Season," so we saw Jim Gaffigan, Keifer Sutherland, and Chris Noth all exit. They didn't stop to sign anything, just hopped in their cars and drove off. (One woman did yell "HOT POCKETS!" at Jim Gaffigan as he was getting in the car, which was pretty funny.) There were also a few people from "The Normal Heart" who came out (Wayne Wilcox (Marty from Gilmore Girls, Mark Harelik (Gablehauser from Big Bang Theory, and Luke MacFarlane (Scotty from Brothers & Sisters) and they mostly stopped to sign stuff for the people who were there. We were still waiting to see Jim Parsons (and Lee Pace).
Then the world ended.
Victor Garber walked by.
Internally I did this:
Externally I did this:
In case I haven't made it clear, Victor Garber is #1 on my All-Time Favorite Celebrity list. He's been there for years and shall never be retired. It was ... destiny. Meg and Maura were facing me and I was facing the street and Victor walked by LITERALLY right behind them. He put his hands on their shoulders and said, "Excuse me" and went to walk backstage. Now, I have a finely tuned Victor Garber radar, so I saw right away that it was him but Maura and Meg didn't see him until he was already 99% past us and by then it was too late to say anything. Meg said some version of, "That was Victor Garber! Why didn't you say anything, you cunt?!" but I just stood there speechless for literally five minutes. Everyone else either didn't see him or didn't know who he was, because they were all looking at me like I was crazy while I was freaking out.
Like twenty minutes later a bunch of actors all came out at the same time, but I only really noticed Victor, Jim, and Lee Pace. Victor took off right away as he wasn't really there to sign stuff but Jim came literally right at us. As we hadn't seen the show yet, we didn't have playbills or anything to sign, so he just kind of looked at us expectantly and we said, "Hi!" And then he just kind of moved past us. AWKWARD, but fine. We watched him sign stuff and then Lee Pace came over to us and we were like, "Nope, dude, nothing." Lee Pace signed for awhile and Jim signed until his handler or whoever told him he had to go, and then he took off down Eighth Avenue and we went to imbibe alcohol. It was a good day!
Saturday we got up and went to the NBC store to buy all the Parks and Rec gear they have. Meg got a Pawnee sweatshirt, I got a Harvest Festival t-shirt, a Mouse Rat magnet, and Pawnee today mug. (I'm totally smitten, I can't help it.) We also decided we were going to get Jim an FNL baseball cap, because he loves FNL and we love him, so we bought it and then dropped everything back at the hotel. (Gift = coolest or lamest thing ever? WHATEVER.) Then we packed it up and went to "The Normal Heart" matinée (where we met @sortaryan).
The show is about NYC in the 80's gay community, right when AIDS was first starting to show up. Ellen Barkin plays a doctor who's trying to track/fight the disease, and Joe Mantello plays the lead character (Ned Weeks) who's trying to get the word out. I won't go into too many details about the show beyond saying: it's heartbreaking, it's intense, it's amazing, and Joe Mantello was a fucking rock star. (Patrick Breen was also the A+++++est of A+++++s. The whole company was amazing.) Parsons plays a sassy gay man named Tommy Boatwright, who at one point introduces himself as, "Tommy Boatwright: Southern bitch." He's the more optimistic of the ensemble characters, playing comic relief most of the time, but he does get some serious work to do towards the end. He's very good in it, though Mantello, Barkin, and Breen steal the show more than anyone else. (Lee Pace has an especially moving scene too, and John Benjamin Hickey is sheer aces. FUCK IT, THEY'RE ALL INCREDIBLE. GO SEE IT IF YOU CAN. BRING TISSUES.) One of the best parts of the play was when JPSB, totally away from the action, gave Lee Pace THE BIGGEST ONCE-OVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Granted, Lee Pace looked fucking DELICIOUS (even with a pornstache), so seeing Jimmy Peace look him up and down and up again was hilarious. He also said fuck a few times, but the once-over was the best part of the funny parts.
(Spoiler alert: "Jim Parsons: Southern Bitch" (#JPSB) is the new "Jimmy Peace." Spread the word.)
After the show, we decided not to do the stage door because it was the matinée and we really wanted to go eat something, so we met up with the delightful ciachick711 and headed for dinner and drinks. Then Ryan went to a friend's while we went to "How to Succeed" and Lauren went to "Normal Heart," with promises we'd all meet up after for drinks again.
Now, "How to Succeed" is my least favorite musical of all time. We did it in high school and I hated it then and I hated it now and it's awful. That being said, DanRad actually did a good job (even though John Laroquette thoroughly stole the show.) The football dance number between DanRad and John was the highlight of the evening, by far. We ended up leaving the show at intermission because we were pretty over it (even though it was fine and everyone was doing a good job) so that we wouldn't miss the "Normal Heart" stage door and our chance to meet JPSB.
It took a lot longer for them to come out Saturday night, but it wasn't disappointing at all. "That Championship Season" actors took off right away again, but finally "The Normal Heart" cast started filtering out. Lee Pace was the first to show up, and when we saw him come out the stage door, he looked right at me and I made some version of this face:
So he came over to sign our programs and then, like, two others and took off. (The crowd Saturday night was noticeably smaller than Friday night.)
Then we spied Jim walking out. He stopped inside the door to chat a bit with Ellen Barkin, and then they finally stepped out. I didn't expect Ellen Barkin to really sign much, but she saw us and beelined over and we all went:
She was super nice and thanked us for waiting so long and then signed a few more. Joe Mantello came over we gushed at him because he really was so, so good, and then he signed for me, Maura and Lauren. Lauren mentioned "9 to 5" (which he directed) and he looked genuinely touched. He put his hand on his chest and said, "I like you. You're in my heart," and was just awesome.
Then Jim came over and we gave him the hat. He said he really did like FNL and then he signed our programs. We told him the show was awesome and he was great and then we asked if we could take a few pictures and he said no problem, so Meg, Maura, and I all posed and he was very nice and tall and adorable. When we were finished up, he was like, "This hat is really for me?" and we said of course, and he smiled and thanked us and signed the rest of the playbills for the people waiting. He was also very, very nice, which I totally expected.
After Jim stepped away, Meg noticed Joe Mantello hadn't signed her playbill, but he very graciously came back over and thanked us again for waiting so long. Maura told him he should win a Tony tomorrow and he just laughed and was fantastic and I really, really like him and he was incredible.
SO THAT WAS MY WEEKEND.
Inside my heart I'm alternating between doing these two things:
&
AND THEN HERE'S MY PICTURE WITH JP!
Meg and I got into the city Friday afternoon and chilled until Maura got to the hotel (which was located right next to a delightful little place called "Hunk-O-Mania"). Then we packed up and walked to Craftbar, one of (Top Chef's) Tom Colicchio's restaurants in Manhattan. IT WAS AMAZING. Maura had steak, Meg had veal meatballs, I had fish and it was all amazing. We also had a few appetizers and an apple tart for dessert, and even though that shit was balls expensive, it was worth every penny. I'd really like to go to Craft, his main restaurant, the next time we're in NYC, but $$$$$$$, basically. STILL. Totally worth it.
After dinner we hit up the theater. We had Saturday tickets for both "The Normal Heart" (with Jim Parsons, Lee Pace, Ellen Barkin, & many others) and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (with Daniel Radcliffe and John Laroquette). We wanted to do a dry run of the "Normal Heart" stage door, just to see who came out to sign things and who didn't, what the set-up was like, and as none of us had every really stage door'ed before, just get the general lay of the land. We hung around for a bit until people started filtering out. "The Normal Heart" has the same stage door as "That Championship Season," so we saw Jim Gaffigan, Keifer Sutherland, and Chris Noth all exit. They didn't stop to sign anything, just hopped in their cars and drove off. (One woman did yell "HOT POCKETS!" at Jim Gaffigan as he was getting in the car, which was pretty funny.) There were also a few people from "The Normal Heart" who came out (Wayne Wilcox (Marty from Gilmore Girls, Mark Harelik (Gablehauser from Big Bang Theory, and Luke MacFarlane (Scotty from Brothers & Sisters) and they mostly stopped to sign stuff for the people who were there. We were still waiting to see Jim Parsons (and Lee Pace).
Then the world ended.
Victor Garber walked by.
Internally I did this:
Externally I did this:
In case I haven't made it clear, Victor Garber is #1 on my All-Time Favorite Celebrity list. He's been there for years and shall never be retired. It was ... destiny. Meg and Maura were facing me and I was facing the street and Victor walked by LITERALLY right behind them. He put his hands on their shoulders and said, "Excuse me" and went to walk backstage. Now, I have a finely tuned Victor Garber radar, so I saw right away that it was him but Maura and Meg didn't see him until he was already 99% past us and by then it was too late to say anything. Meg said some version of, "That was Victor Garber! Why didn't you say anything, you cunt?!" but I just stood there speechless for literally five minutes. Everyone else either didn't see him or didn't know who he was, because they were all looking at me like I was crazy while I was freaking out.
Like twenty minutes later a bunch of actors all came out at the same time, but I only really noticed Victor, Jim, and Lee Pace. Victor took off right away as he wasn't really there to sign stuff but Jim came literally right at us. As we hadn't seen the show yet, we didn't have playbills or anything to sign, so he just kind of looked at us expectantly and we said, "Hi!" And then he just kind of moved past us. AWKWARD, but fine. We watched him sign stuff and then Lee Pace came over to us and we were like, "Nope, dude, nothing." Lee Pace signed for awhile and Jim signed until his handler or whoever told him he had to go, and then he took off down Eighth Avenue and we went to imbibe alcohol. It was a good day!
Saturday we got up and went to the NBC store to buy all the Parks and Rec gear they have. Meg got a Pawnee sweatshirt, I got a Harvest Festival t-shirt, a Mouse Rat magnet, and Pawnee today mug. (I'm totally smitten, I can't help it.) We also decided we were going to get Jim an FNL baseball cap, because he loves FNL and we love him, so we bought it and then dropped everything back at the hotel. (Gift = coolest or lamest thing ever? WHATEVER.) Then we packed it up and went to "The Normal Heart" matinée (where we met @sortaryan).
The show is about NYC in the 80's gay community, right when AIDS was first starting to show up. Ellen Barkin plays a doctor who's trying to track/fight the disease, and Joe Mantello plays the lead character (Ned Weeks) who's trying to get the word out. I won't go into too many details about the show beyond saying: it's heartbreaking, it's intense, it's amazing, and Joe Mantello was a fucking rock star. (Patrick Breen was also the A+++++est of A+++++s. The whole company was amazing.) Parsons plays a sassy gay man named Tommy Boatwright, who at one point introduces himself as, "Tommy Boatwright: Southern bitch." He's the more optimistic of the ensemble characters, playing comic relief most of the time, but he does get some serious work to do towards the end. He's very good in it, though Mantello, Barkin, and Breen steal the show more than anyone else. (Lee Pace has an especially moving scene too, and John Benjamin Hickey is sheer aces. FUCK IT, THEY'RE ALL INCREDIBLE. GO SEE IT IF YOU CAN. BRING TISSUES.) One of the best parts of the play was when JPSB, totally away from the action, gave Lee Pace THE BIGGEST ONCE-OVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Granted, Lee Pace looked fucking DELICIOUS (even with a pornstache), so seeing Jimmy Peace look him up and down and up again was hilarious. He also said fuck a few times, but the once-over was the best part of the funny parts.
(Spoiler alert: "Jim Parsons: Southern Bitch" (#JPSB) is the new "Jimmy Peace." Spread the word.)
After the show, we decided not to do the stage door because it was the matinée and we really wanted to go eat something, so we met up with the delightful ciachick711 and headed for dinner and drinks. Then Ryan went to a friend's while we went to "How to Succeed" and Lauren went to "Normal Heart," with promises we'd all meet up after for drinks again.
Now, "How to Succeed" is my least favorite musical of all time. We did it in high school and I hated it then and I hated it now and it's awful. That being said, DanRad actually did a good job (even though John Laroquette thoroughly stole the show.) The football dance number between DanRad and John was the highlight of the evening, by far. We ended up leaving the show at intermission because we were pretty over it (even though it was fine and everyone was doing a good job) so that we wouldn't miss the "Normal Heart" stage door and our chance to meet JPSB.
It took a lot longer for them to come out Saturday night, but it wasn't disappointing at all. "That Championship Season" actors took off right away again, but finally "The Normal Heart" cast started filtering out. Lee Pace was the first to show up, and when we saw him come out the stage door, he looked right at me and I made some version of this face:
So he came over to sign our programs and then, like, two others and took off. (The crowd Saturday night was noticeably smaller than Friday night.)
Then we spied Jim walking out. He stopped inside the door to chat a bit with Ellen Barkin, and then they finally stepped out. I didn't expect Ellen Barkin to really sign much, but she saw us and beelined over and we all went:
She was super nice and thanked us for waiting so long and then signed a few more. Joe Mantello came over we gushed at him because he really was so, so good, and then he signed for me, Maura and Lauren. Lauren mentioned "9 to 5" (which he directed) and he looked genuinely touched. He put his hand on his chest and said, "I like you. You're in my heart," and was just awesome.
Then Jim came over and we gave him the hat. He said he really did like FNL and then he signed our programs. We told him the show was awesome and he was great and then we asked if we could take a few pictures and he said no problem, so Meg, Maura, and I all posed and he was very nice and tall and adorable. When we were finished up, he was like, "This hat is really for me?" and we said of course, and he smiled and thanked us and signed the rest of the playbills for the people waiting. He was also very, very nice, which I totally expected.
After Jim stepped away, Meg noticed Joe Mantello hadn't signed her playbill, but he very graciously came back over and thanked us again for waiting so long. Maura told him he should win a Tony tomorrow and he just laughed and was fantastic and I really, really like him and he was incredible.
SO THAT WAS MY WEEKEND.
Inside my heart I'm alternating between doing these two things:
&
AND THEN HERE'S MY PICTURE WITH JP!