Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The Last Five Years

On June 13, 2002 I showed up in Manhattan to become a New Yorker. I’ve met a few people, survived a few things, went to a few performances and generally had a pretty good time since that wonderful first day: Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, two trips to London, The Procucers in London, Chicago, Noah, Flower Drum Song, Lyle Lovett at Carnegie Hall, Vicki, Hairspray twice, 110 in the Shade twice, Deuce, The Lion King three times, Cabaret, Hawaii, Cavalleria Rusticana at the Met, Dexter & Tracy, Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, Phantom of the Opera, BillyBoy, Indianapolis, Forbidden Broadway, Thoroughly Modern Millie twice, Eric, Mamma Mia, Darlene Love at Joe's Pub, the US Open Tennis Tournament, Der Rosenkavalier at the Met, Little Women, Gypsy three times, Today Show, Brooklyn, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hugh, the Statue of Libery, 42nd Street four times, Letterman seven times, Pagliacci at the Met, Yankees, Mets, Much Ado About Nothing at the Public in Central Park, Renee Fleming at Joe's Pub, Conan O’Brien, Sally, New York Liberty, New York Knicks, Paul, Rigoletto at the Met, The Harlem Gospel Choir at B.B. King's, The Rockettes, The Nutcracker, A Raisin in the Sun, The Frick Collection, The Producers, Kari, Avenue Q, Rent, Gem of the Ocean three times, U2 at the Garden, Chicago to see Susan Graham in Rosenkavalier at the Lyric, Chicago to see Renee Fleming, Los Angeles to see Angela Lansbury, Madama Butterfly at the Met, Houston to see Bernadette Peters, Austin to see Renee Fleming, Paris to see Kiri te Kanawa and Fredericka von Stade, Wicked three times, Paris to see Renee Fleming, Khaleem, The New York Tenement Museum, Chicago to see Sondheim Festival, Chicago to see Patti LuPone in Gypsy, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee four times, Museum of Modern Art, Bernadette Peters at Symphony Hall in Boston, Spring Awakening, The United Nations, Washington DC, La Boheme at the Met, Disney World, The Guggenheim, Mary Poppins, Carmen at the Met, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Karen, Good Morning America, Dolly Parton at the Meadowlands, The Frogs, Live with Regis & Kelly twice, Sweet Charity, Aida at the Met, The Natural History Museum, Mother Courage and her Children at the Public in the Park, The Light in the Piazza five times, The Empire State Building, Bernarda Alba, Milda, Broadway under the Stars, Broadway on Broadway, L’Italiana in Algeri at the Met, See What I Wanna See, La Traviata in Central Park, The Indigo Girls in Central Park, Ellis Island, The Assassins, Renee, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd twenty-two times, Company twice, Drama Desk Awards twice, The Boy from Oz, Beauty and Beast, Otello at the Met, The Foreigner, The Constant Wife, a Sandy Beaches cruise with Delbert McClinton, Bug twice, Philadelphia, Mame at the Kennedy Center, A Wonderful Town, Follies at City Center, Little Shop of Horrors, Renee Fleming at Avery Fisher Hall, Tosca at the Met, Bernadette Peters at Avery Fisher Hall, the Brooklyn Bridge, Rodelinda at the Met three times, The Drowsy Chaperone, LoveMusik, Faust at the Met, 70 Girls 70 at City Center, Manon at the Met three times, Contact, Little Fish at Joe’s Pub, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels four times, Ariadne Auf Naxos at the Met, Wall to Wall Sondheim, Tribeca Film Festival, Broadway Barks, Falstaff at the Met, Renee Fleming in Newark, Anja Silja at Carnegie Hall, The Dancer’s Life twice, The Color Purple, The Pajama Game, La Boheme at the Met, An American Tragedy at the Met twice, Barbara Cook at the Met, Audra McDonald at the Carnegie Hall, Barbara Cook at Carnegie Hall, Joshua Bell at Avery Fisher Hall, Fiddle Fest at Carnegie Hall, The Irish Tenors at Carnegie Hall, The Museum of Television and Radio, the Bronx Zoo, Top of the Rock, The Ten Most Important People of the Millenium Sing Their Favorite Schubert Lieder, Renee Fleming and Brad Mehldau at Zankel Hall, Opening Doors twice, Renee Fleming at Carnegie Hall, Caroline, Or Change twice, Romeo et Juliet at the Met, Marni Nixon in concert, My Fair Lady at Avery Fisher Hall, Tony Awards, Bernadette Peters in Atlantic City, Tanesia, Susan Graham at Carnegie Hall, Aretha Franklin at Radio City, Deborah Voigt at Carnegie Hall, La Traviata at the Met, Bridge and Tunnel, Golda’s Balcony, Steel Magnolias, Marc, The Most Happy Fella at NYC Opera, [title of show], The Easter Bonnet Competition, The Volpe Gala at the Met, Patti LuPone at the Vivien Beaumont, Manoel Felciano at Joe’s Pub, Amy, The Three Penny Opera, Die Mommie Die!, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris twice, Maria Friedman at Cafe Carlyle, Betty Buckley at Feinstein’s, Children and Art for Sondheim’s Birthday, Broadway for Medicine, The After Party, Bette Midler at Radio City twice, The History Boys, Seascape, Our Leading Lady, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe, Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincon Center with the NY Phil, Todd, A Chorus Line, Spamalot, Broadway in Bryant Park, Renee Fleming at Wolftrap, 700 Sundays, Bernadette Peters at Strathmore, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Julius Caesar, A Streetcar Named Desire, Legally Blonde, La Giocanda at the Met, Maggie, The Pain and the Itch, Twelve Angry Men, Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Trying, Passion, La Cage Aux Follies, Henry and Mudge, Reckless, Play on Broadway, An Evening with Dorothy Parker, The Odd Couple, Souvenir, Kristen, Mrs. Farnsworth, Karita Mattila at Carnegie Hall, Wanda, McReele, Southern Comfort, Cordelia, Memory House, The Great American Trailer Park, Fame Becomes Me, Giulio Cesare in Egitto at Theatre du Champs-Elysee, Jean, Lauren Molina at Pianos, Don Carlo at the Met, The First Emperor at the Met, Mandy, Talk Radio, Broadway for Katrina, Ashley, Kansas City, Radio Golf, San Antonio, Eugene Oneginat the Met twice, King Lear at the Public, Christine, I Puritani at the Met, Jenufa at the Met, New Orleans, Diana Damrau at Weill, The Year of Magical Thinking, Tea and Symphony, Die Agyptische Helena at the Met, Broadway Flea Market, Turandot at the Met, Todd Buonopane at Ars Nova, over 40 inches of snow, a blackout, a transit strike, trips to Midland, dozens of visits from friends and family...

10 comments:

Steve On Broadway (SOB) said...

Whew! You really are on an endless pursuit, not just of any entertainment, but truly exceptional entertainment.

Congratulations, Sarah, on a wonderful life and a happy five years in the Big Apple! Here's to so many more wonderful memories.

Steve

Anonymous said...

I'm in that list! I feel honored!

Renee

Anonymous said...

Wow, I am so envious. (Well, maybe not of the snow, the transit strike or the blackout, but everything else for sure!) Hope you enjoy many, many more happy and entertaining years sampling everything that New York has to offer.

BroadwayBaby said...

What a great 5 years!!!

Anonymous said...

Yay! Congratulations to you! All time well spent. Only one thing bothers me about this list: you saw Wicked three times?

of the kosmos said...

Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Am I Hugh or is it Hugh Jackman or are we interchangeable. i am willing to share billing with that guy.

Anonymous said...

Wow. I haven't done that much in 35 years.

Xtine said...

I have to say...22 times? Really? That's impressive. I'm a little bit amazed and also a little jealous.
I am glad you live in NY.
I need to take you to Company via Student Rush before it closes. Front row Raul and Barbara. It's quite something.

~Christine

Anonymous said...

It was fun looking at the list and seeing which ones I had seen with you. I can't believe it was 5 years ago that you moved from Texas to NYC. Ben was only 5--and he has seen a few of the things on your list, too.

Beth