Nicole schreibt...

New York? Yes, New York. I didn't step into the wrong plane by accident. After thirteen years, I decided it was time to give Broadway a second chance, though the main reason for this trip wasn't so much the shows but the wish to finally meet my American internet friends in the flesh. When I first visited New York City in 1993, the town still had a very bad reputation for crime and the Times Square area in particular made me feel uncomfortable after dark, despite all the theatres. But what was more, Manhattan was (and is) a terribly expensive place and if you're a poor student on a shoestring budget, there is little enjoyment to be had. But here I was again at last, arriving in New York late on Tuesday afternoon, which was past midnight in Germany, so all we did was to take a first walk around Times Square, where our hotel was located, and the area has indeed changed greatly from what it was back then. The prices hadn't, though, a simple dinner of spare ribs with fries and coke still set us back a whopping $70! Wednesday morning we took a walk along 5th Avenue to Central Park and back to Times Square before it was time for me to meet my New York friend Carol and spend the day together, visiting some interesting shops off the tourist beat. But jetlag still had me in its grip, so between fatigue and a slight headache, I didn't feel at my best. I suppose (or rather hope) that this is also the reason why I didn't enjoy "Spamalot" as much as I had expected. Having been a fan of the Monty Python movies for years, I was very excited about the stage version of the Holy Grail-movie and I loved the CD from the first listen. But once in the theatre I found most of the songs and jokes only mildly amusing. And it didn't help that Harry Groener was a very bland King Arthur lacking stage presence throughout and that Lauren Kennedy was guilty of the worst overacting I've seen in years. I suppose the Lady of the Lake is meant to be over the top, but there's a very fine line between being comically over the top and appearing totally silly. The show was rather short, too, finishing after a little more than two hours and the souvenir brochure at $20, was the biggest rip off in an expensive city (even though it does have a bonus CD included). Thursday was the big day for sightseeing and we started off with the hardest and saddest past straightaway, visiting Ground Zero, the site where thirteen years ago I had looked up to the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Seeing the memorials there brought that day vividly back to my memory and yet, in the peaceful spring sunshine, it was hard to imagine the scenes of chaos and destruction that took place in those very streets five years ago. We walked on then, to Battery Park and after spending an hour in a first queue for security checks, boarded the ferry to Liberty Island. Back then the pedestal was closed for renovations, so once we had reached the Statue of Liberty, I thought it would be a good idea to go up there first and enjoy the view. Wrong. Bad idea. We had to queue endlessly for more security checks and while I can understand the worry of having their biggest symbol blown to pieces, there is a point when it just gets too ridiculous. By the time we were finally on the pedestal, I was so annoyed and impatient, that I only snapped a picture of the Manhattan skyline and then hurried back to the ferry without lingering on the island at all. After a tour of Ellis Island, now a museum of immigration to honour all the millions who came to the USA in late 19th and early 20th century, we returned to Manhattan proper and walked down Wall Street to the nearest subway station. I went to the theatre alone that evening to have a personal dream coming true: To see one of my all-time favorite musicals "Rent" in the town where it is at home. It's been a few years now since I last say it and even longer since I saw the Broadway production in London, so it was great to see it one more time. And yet it saddens me that despite the hype and furore around "Rent" when it opened, it has remained the only musical with a contemporary theme and modern rock music appealing to a younger audience. The cast was pretty good, though I guess that at least partly it's one of those shows so shaped by the original cast that no other performers can ever dream to match them and I found myself missing Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp once again badly. Friday had been reserved for shopping, so we walked down to Macy's, but wisely decided to go separate ways. I hadn't really planned on buying much, but seeing just how much cheaper 'trendy' US labels like Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and DKNY were, I couldn't resist temptation and bought a couple of trousers, shirts and other stuff. On the way back to Times Square I found what I had always missed in Manhattan: A lovely green space to chill out in - Bryant Park in front of the NY Public Library. So after a quick detour to the internet cafe and dumping my shopping at the hotel, I returned there to sip a caramel macchiato (ewww!) and read one of the books I had bought. To look up occasionally and find myself looking at the Empire State Building was just priceless. Show for the evening was Disney's latest stage venture "Tarzan". when I went to Disneyland Paris a few years ago with my best friend Iris, she had dragged a rather reluctant me into a Tarzan stage show there, but I was quickly won over by the aerial stunts and acrobatics, the songs and the romance.So now here was a new Broadway show and I also knew it would be the right show to take my Mom to with her limited English skills. People on Broadway internet forums had poured a lot of bile on this show, so I was a little wary, but found that overall I really liked it and enjoyed all the aerial tricks, not to mention the dishy Josh Strickland hopping around in a loincloth all the time and two really good leading ladies, Jenn Gambatese as Jane and Merle Dandridge as Kala, the ape woman who adopts little Tarzan. Sure, the bland green stage set wasn't very exciting to look at, but I think they had little choice because most of the stage just has to be empty to allow space for all the flying and swinging that's done there. And while Tarzan isn't up there with Lion King or Aida in my liking, it certainly makes for an entertaining evening out. On Saturday I didn't stray far from the hotel so I would be there on time to meet my friend Peter who had come all the way from Pittsburgh to meet me. Having spent countless hours chatting on the internet, it was strange and wonderful at the same time to finally meet face to face and hold him in my arms. We went downtown together to first walk around Greenwich Village and later ventured into the East Village, which didn't have a great reputation a few years ago but is slowly becoming 'yuppiefied' ironically the things that "Rent" critizises made it a safe place for us to walk around and enjoy. We had dinner at the real Life Cafe, which is mentioned in "Rent" and sat in Tompinks Square Park, once the heart of Little Germany, before returning midtown to see "Lestat" together, the stage adaption of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. While I am not the gothic type at all and most vampire tales bore me stiff, I have always liked Lestat - not so much the books with their garbled theological ramblings and bloodthirsty undeads, but the character itself, Lestat de Lioncourt, arrogant, bigheaded and insatiable in his thirst for knowledge and experience. A musical dedicated to him was the thing that finally made me snap my fingers and say "Okay, I'm going to NY for this" but word of mouth for Lestat was even worse than for Tarzan and it hasn't helped that Broadway has already witnessed two vampire musicals crash and burn in the last years. And again, I found myself pleasantly surprised by what I finally saw on the stage of the Palace Theatre. The biggest problem is probably that they tried to cram two books into this show, "The Vampire Lestat" making up the first act and "Interview with the Vampire" the second. There is no time for exposition or to really get to know people's thoughts and insides, instead it seems like a rush from bite to bite. Itdoesn't help that while Hugh Panaro is a terrific singer, he is just too old to play a sassy youth hardly older than a teenager and lacks that certain little something that makes Lestat so special (and which in my opinion only Stuart Townsend brought across in the "Queen of the Damned" movie, but not Tom Cruise in "Interview with the Vampire". And a teenage girl with a squeaky voice just isn't the same as a little girl who looks like an angel but has become a vampire demon. At least Elton John didn't disappoint and came up with some great songs like Claudia's "I want more" and Lestat's "Sail me away". While it was hard to say goodbye to Peter, not knowing when we'll meet again, I wasn't too sad about leaving New York again. I am glad I went there again and it has certainly changed for the better since my first visit thirteen years ago - and in a place like this it does make a difference to have lots of spending money in your pockets. But it's not a place I feel "at home" in as I do in London for example and I was so tired and jetlagged most evenings that I couldn't really enjoy the shows but often sat with my eyes closed for some minutes. And none of the shows bowled me over that much to justify such a long expensive trip. I am fairly sure that the musical lovers permanently gushing over Broadway suffer a case of The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Me, I'm happier in London and when I do go back to the USA some day, it will be to spend time with my friends and see new places rather than to see shows in Manhattan.