New York City...
Wow...
Sorry, sometimes I catch myself thinking "oh man, I live here," and I get a little overwhelmed and have to remind myself to breathe. It's a little bit crazy how much I love this city and how blessed I feel to be facing my dreams head on. I feel even more overwhelmed when I think of the opportunities and the talent that are housed on this rather small island. Last weekend was definitely a reminder of that.
As many of you know, I'm a big fan of themes. I like themed parties. I like planning "themed days" (remember History Day?). I think that themes provide a creative boundary that often enhances a situation and makes it easier to retell... I didn't even realize last weekend was so thoroughly themed until I sat down to write this blog this morning. So, without further ado, I present to you, last weekend's
RED CARPET ROYALTY!
Ok, ok, so maybe it's cheesy, but I'm sitting on my couch reminiscing, and that's the most fitting title I could come up with... maybe I'll change it later...
The weekend started with the 33rd Annual MISSISSIPPI PICNIC in Central Park! If you remember, the MS Picnic was one of the first things I did last summer when I moved to NYC. I went alone last year and bumped into a few people I knew from home, but I didn't stay very long. This year, I brought a crew with me. My roommate Rachel, Katherine (you may be familiar with her from previous posts) and two of my Mississippi comrades, Zach and Chase (Southern Miss alumni), met just below the Bandshell on 72nd street to celebrate the best of Mississippi with catfish, hush puppies, McAlister's sweet tea, caramel cake, shrimp, crab claws, cheese straws, art, music, and free t-shirts. The theme this year was, rather fittingly, "Southern Fried Hollywood"- celebrating the Mississippi stars of 2012.
Please note the red carpet ;)
Good Food... Good Friends
After a delightful afternoon of hobnobbing on a red carpet lined by white tailgate tents, we bid adieu to our friends and headed uptown for more red carpet fun... sort of.
Katherine was throwing a birthday party for her friend Brittanie on Saturday evening. I didn't know Brittanie, but in New York it doesn't really matter, because from what I can tell, New Yorkers love meeting new people. I'm not sure if it's the fact that this is a huge city and nobody wants to feel alone or if it's the acutely developed NY mindset of networking. Either way, I was welcomed to the soiree with open arms. Katherine shares (and often exceeds) my love of themes, so she and Brittanie had planned a rather elegant party centered around classical literature. All guests were encouraged to dress as a famous literary character, and all of the food was connected in some way to popular novels. I was unaware of the costume requirement, but I'm a theatre major, so I quickly scrambled together a few articles of clothing and made a rather adorable Huckleberry Finn, if I do say so myself. It was a perfect red-carpet after-party, complete with pumpkin scones, chocolate dipped strawberries, and fancy cheese. We welcomed an assortment of "celebrity" guests and had a delightful time.
What a fun weekend! BUT WAIT! That was just Saturday!!
Do you know what happened Sunday? Some of you should. On Sunday, all eyes were on the Beacon Theatre for the 2012 TONY AWARDS!!!!!!!
Again, if you remember, last year I watched the Tony Awards alone on my couch with the cats... It sounds kind of pathetic now, but I remember having a good time. This year, I decided to accompany my new friend Brittanie to the red carpet to watch the arrival of the Broadway stars. I think the best way to emphasize the epicness of the evening is to list the actors we saw, then show some pictures, then continue with the story... So here goes:
Rebecca Luker (a Montevallo grad and Broadway legend), Corbin Blue, Harvey Firestien, Cynthia Nixon, Bernadette Peters (who looked GORGEOUS as ever), John Lithgow, Ricky Martin (who's performance in the Evita number was just dreadful), Josh Grobin, Nick Jonas (so...much...screaming... completely unnecessary), Hugh Jackman, Audra McDonald, Nina Arianda, James Marsden (AAAHHH, not enough screaming), Amanda Seyfried, Ben Vereen, John Stamos, James Earl Jones, Matthew Morrison, Jeremy Jordan, Paul Rutt... There were others, but I couldn't text them fast enough, and I'm having to use the list I sent to my mom because I'm having difficulty remembering... there were just so many. :)
So now for the pictures:
We were standing directly across from the first red carpet tent
JAMES EARL JONES!!!!
Matthew Morrison came across the street to meet fans
UNCLE JESSE up close and personal : John Stamos
After we watched everyone walk in, we rushed uptown to Katherine's to watch the Tony's with some of our theatre friends. And let me tell you, watching a theatre award show with theatre people is hysterical. Everyone had a different opinion. Some of the guests even knew actors in the ensemble performances. It was so great.
The whole weekend was a red carpet extravaganza. I'm sorry it took so long to update you, but once Monday started and show business took over, I didn't have enough time to devote to the recollection of the weekend. So there you have it.
Well, the sun is out, and the city is calling, so until next time...
Grace be with you,
Lindsey Shea
Wow, well worth the wait! Keep the stories coming!
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