Day 6 - Thursday, June 24 - NEW YAWK CITY!

Day 6 - Thursday, June 24 - NEW YAWK CITY! - 
Right off the lobby of our hotel, breakfast at the Cafe Edison was surprisingly good, fast, and inexpensive. 

I guess I was expecting $13 and happily paid $7 for fresh eggs, good bread, bacon, coffee, juice. Before completing our 4 day New York stint, we revisited there for two lunches and another breakfast. (Unhappily, the Hungarian goulash soup was not on the menu when we wanted to try it.)


I walked over to 50th between 9th and 10th to ascertain the maneuvering and validity for parking coupons that Mark clued me in on and Danielle printed for me. Sure enough, no problem. I walked back to 47th & 7th, got the car from Edison's valet, and moved it. Only $16 (vs. $35) per day for the next 3 nights.  Thanks Mark and Danielle!


Walking back again, I shopped at wonderfully stocked "Emporium" supermarket on 8th Avenue.
I also found exactly where tonight's Wicked performance would be: The Gershwin on 50th. Wanting to feel no pressure at dinner time, I made reservations for two at the Azalea which joins the theater. Italian. 
Gym on the top floor (22?) was okay. I started doing inclined treadmill, thinking to prepare for my 2-week (Sept/Oct) trip to Ethiopia.

The Gershwin's 1,933 seats were filled. Many children and many tour groups. The large theater had food and drink venders walking the steps. Comfortable seats had drink holders!

Music	Stephen Schwartz
Lyrics	Stephen Schwartz
Book	Winnie Holzman
Basis	Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked

Wicked is delightful, with scant references to the original Wizard of Oz movie. Renate and I are sure that many such quips passed over a sea of young heads. On the other hand, I think the audience was acquainted with the cast and music - something we were not.


For the record, we saw Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda "the Good",  Mandy Gonzalez as Elphaba,  Michael DeVries as the Wizard,  Andy Karl as Fiyero, and  Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible.  I confess ignorance of all those names.

Mandy Gonzalez

Andy Karl (old photo)  

In almost credible fashion, Glinda, the syrupy-sweet Good Witch, explains how wrong it is that the young girl Elphaba became labeled "wicked". As a side-line, we see the origins of the brainless scarecrow, cowardly lion, and heartless tinman.

Afterwards, we walked down crowded (and still hot at 10 p.m.) Broadway to the Edison - detouring at 48th St. into Hersey's "Great Amerian Chocolate Company" which stocked no-sugar Hersey's.
 We're talking survival food here.

Another good day.