New York City

Erika and I went to NYC to see Monty Python's Spamalot at the Sam Shubert Theatre (44th St and 8th Ave). My first Broadway play. My first impression of the Sam Shubert theatre is that it's pretty small. We were up in the highest seats on the balcony, and it was a tight fit to get in there. I can't imagine how a large person would fare...

When the play began, the 'small' nature gave way to 'intimate.' That's a word that's a bit overused, but it suits this situation. In general, the seats were good, although not the best, but visibility was very nice except for the aerials (clouds, sing-along words.) I liked it.

The performers were wonderful. It was clear they were having a good time. I was most impressed with 'The Lady of the Lake', Marin Mazzie. She did a spectacular job, to the point that I really wish the Spamalot CD had her on it! Jonathan Hadary did an exquisite job as King Arthur. Between an impressive singing voice and perfect comic timing, he just nails the part.

For some photos, see Marin's web site, deep linked here.

Highly recommended!

We almost went to the Observatory at the Empire State Building, (34th St and 5th Ave) but time was a constraint. It took about 20 minutes to wend through the line on a Saturday afternoon (5.00pm) just to reach the ticket counter. After that, it was a 45-90 minute wait to go up. Don't do it on a whim, buy your tickets online. Be advised that you'll be going through airport-like screening, but they took my pocket knife, gave me a claim ticket and returned it to me afterward with no trouble at all.