New York!: Part 3

And now for the final part of my first solo expedition out into the great unknown; er, New York city. I say solo, not because I was alone, but because there was no one else there that was related to me. Or responsible for me. Or that I was responsible for. I was, for a few days, on my own (although we were most graciously housed and taken care of by Peter's wonderful relatives). It's the first time it's ever been like that for me, and I gotta say, I enjoyed being responsible for myself. I love my family to pieces, don't get me wrong, but I'm getting to that age where, soon enough, whether I like it or not, personal responsibility is thrust on me. I need my own job, I have my own bills, I'll have to find my own health care, feed myself, clothe myself, etc., etc. And one by one, I seem to be confronted with those different things, getting a little more responsibility here and there. I'm easing into adulthood. And maybe that's why these years (college) are typically regarded as some of the best times. You get a lot more freedom to do whatever you want, but not quite all the responsibility it entails.

But I digress. That's another post for another time. Back to New York.

Wednesday. We woke up around 9:15, made ourselves presentable, the headed for the city around 10. Our first destination was the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), specifically for the Tim Burton exhibit. We had a timed visit, for 12:30, so when we got there closer to 12, we had a look around at a few other exhibits first. One that was really neat was a performance art that was being held in this large, open room. There were two plain wooden chairs on either end of a plain wooden table. At one end sat a woman in a dark, plain dress. The other chair was empty. There was a large square of masking tape going around the scene, with one small section cut out of it. Anyone from the audience was invited to come sit quietly in the empty chair for as long or short as they please. When the chair was empty, the woman would have her head bowed. When someone would sit, the woman would sit up and stare at the newcomer.

The work is called "The Artist Is Present" by Marina Abramovic. It was really interesting to see the two people staring at each other, unmoving (although some of the participants would shift and move). It's hard enough to stare at someone you know in the eyes for longer than a couple seconds, much less someone you've never seen before, all the while being watched by hundreds of people. The whole thing was confusing at first, but once we figured it out, it was captivating. However, we were on a time crunch, so we had to move on.

Next we went to the Tim Burton exhibit for our "appointment". The place was packed. Remember: this was a Wednesday afternoon, but there were hundreds of people in the exhibit. Lines everywhere. We quickly realized that our "timed appointment" meant absolutely nothing (maybe it's only enforced on the weekends?), and it took a while to see everything, partly because of the mass crowds of people in front of us, but partly because of the sheer volume of work Mr. Burton has done. There were so many pieces of art, most of which (to my surprise) were drawings. Especially in his younger years, Burton did tons and tons of sketches. Mostly pen and paper, with some pastel or watercolor here and there, but they definitely capture his style. These were actually more interesting to me than the movie props they had. Seeing his sketches made us wonder why his movies are so tame. Sure, they're weird, but in comparison, he definitely has a lot darker, more disturbing things in his mind. Maybe they're not mainstream enough. Whatever the case, I'm interested to see if his movies start to reflect his drawings more.

Speaking of his movies, they had a bunch of neat props. Different props from Beetlejuice; several cowls from Batman, along with the Penguin's carriage; Edward Scissorhand's suit; the cape from Sleepy Hollow; helmet from Planet of the Apes; lots of figures from Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride; as well as the razors from Sweeney Todd. There were also concept sketches and paintings to go with the props, so it was cool to see what ideas made it into the final design.

After finishing up at the MoMA, we visited a local bakery we'd heard about that sells gigantic cookies. And they really were. It's called Levain Bakery, and if you get the chance, stop in and try one of the cookies. They're incredible. After that we had some authentic New York pizza at a local pizza shop, which was also great.

Then was Emeril. Peter's dad got tickets to this new show Emeril Lagasse's doing, called the Emeril Lagasse show, which is kind of like a mix between a variety show and a cooking show. It's a little weird. Each episode has audience participation games and a special guest, among other things. Our episode was a special family episode, so there were lots of kids in the audience, most of Emeril's family was there, and the special guest was none other than: Elmo. If you've never seen Elmo outside of Sesame Street, you must; he's hilarious. He was the highlight of the show.

The show itself was kind of awkward, unfortunately. Partly due to the new format, partly due to the fact that his son was really obnoxious and kept interrupting him. It just fell flat. Emeril really needs to get back to his roots. The variety thing just doesn't work for him, and you can tell he's not really passionate about it; he doesn't seem comfortable doing it. The best parts were when he was cooking, and unfortunately not a whole lot of that happened. Overall, it was disappointing, although it was cool to see Emeril (and Elmo, for that matter). The show airs starting March 28th on ION, and airs every Sunday after that. I believe ours airs the first Sunday in May.

Next was our final plans for New York: the play "Extinction", featuring James Roday (Psych) and Michael Weston (House). The play was at the Cherry Lane Theatre, a small venue, roughly 150 seats. I didn't know much about the play going in, except not to expect to see Shawn Spencer on stage. James Roday's character in the play, Finn, was definitely a different character for him, which was refreshing to see. Shawn's great and all, but it's good to see actors break out and do other roles, too.

The play's about two former college roommates who go on occasional weekends of debauchery. At the start, it's been over a year since they've seen each other, and they're getting together for another wild weekend. Michael Weston's character, Max, is gearing up like nothing's changed, but when Finn arrives, it's obvious that he's not so into the whole idea anymore. He's fine with catching up and having a good time with his friend, but he doesn't want to do anything stupid. Max thinks it's dumb and tries to get Finn to give in and party like old times. Finn reveals that he's got a baby on the way. This hardly does anything to dissuade Max, who just tries harder. Eventually Finn reveals that he's also married to the mother. Max is shocked; not only is his best friend married, but he wasn't asked to be the best man; he wasn't even invited. This sparks a spiraling series of events that further tear these two friends apart. Later, two girls are brought in to complicate things even more (played by Amanda Detmer and Stephanie Frame).

The play is a look at the male psyche from several different points of view, and is very much a guy play in that sense. It's mainly about these two men, talking about what it means to be men. The script is serious in terms of material and ideas, but executed brilliantly with lots of comedy. It's really brought to life by all four actors. Not one of them were weak; each character has development and depth to them, each one different from the rest, with different goals. The ending isn't a happy-go-lucky fairytale ending; it's rather jarring and really makes you think about everything that's happened in the play. The last show was on the 14th, but if you get the chance to see another production, it's worth seeing. But it's definitely not one for the kiddos.

After the play, we went and waited outside the stage exit. About ten minutes later the actors came out and started talking to people, signing autographs and taking pictures. They were all extremely nice, and they stuck around 'till everyone got a chance to say hi. They were still there chatting when we headed home. Meeting James Roday was definitely the highlight of the trip (although the whole trip was fantastic). He's super nice, and I complimented him on his impressive mustache, to which he replied, "Thanks man, but you better soak it up now; I'll have to shave it in two weeks for Psych."

After all that we went home on the ferry for the last time. Next day, Peter's dad drove us all back home, and thus ended our New York trip.

It really was incredible, and if you have the opportunity, go. It's a great place, with so much history and culture, and so much going on, as well as some incredibly nice people, which was also a little surprising. There's the stereotype of northerners being stuck-up, but everyone we ran into was nice and pleasant. Sure, if we'd had to drive in New York, it might be a different story, but we didn't.

I don't think I'll ever forget this trip. It was eye-opening, tiring, fun, and a great first experience. Thank you to everyone who made it possible and helped us out. We were shown such great generosity, and we really appreciate it. And thanks for reading this, and give me some feedback if you can.

Thanks again.

-Micah