First Date: NYC

As noted last night, I was lucky enough to spend the day in NYC yesterday to celebrate the bestie's 30th birthday.  And it just happened to be a pretty perfect day.  Most days in the city that never sleeps are pretty wonderful but somehow yesterday, turned out a little more perfectly than the rest.  When going to Manhattan, a show on Broadway, is always part of the itinerary.  In the last few years though, there have only been a few "new" shows out there that have really gotten my attention.

When I say "new", I mean totally original, and not based on any existing work.  Old stand-bys like Phantom of the Opera and Wicked are fantastic.  Don't get my wrong, I would never pass up a classic but it's always fun to see something completely out of the box.  Luckily the bestie is sort of in love with someone appearing in something new and completely out of the box: Zachary Levi in First Date.  By some fluke of nature I was able to snag 2 tickets dead center, first row balcony for a pretty outstanding deal.  Woohoo!

However, the problem with seeing something so new (it just opened officially on August 14th) is the fear, especially these days on Broadway, that the darn thing is going to close quite quickly.  So pretty much since it opened, I've been checking to assure it stays that way.  My fear slightly doubled after I read this review. So going into it, you could say I wasn't very optimistic.

I am 100% ecstatic to report that it by far exceeded all expectations.  I would go so far as to say it has reached the top 10 list of my most favorite live performances ever.  The whole show, which revolves around a first date between Aaron and Casey in a bar in NYC, was funny, exhilarating and gorgeously staged from beginning to end.  The hook is that every other character that appears are in the leads' heads.  They are at times imagining what their sisters, best friends, exes and even google are saying at that very moment.  Hard to explain but fairly amazing in person.  The music which was criticized for being stale, was creative and catchy (case in point: try to listen to the preview song "First Impression" in the review I linked without having it stuck in your head for days. Not that that is a bad thing, because it's fairly perfect!)  And the acting was superb.  The bestie, of course, was already in love with Zachary Levi before he stumbled on to stage but after the show, I totally see the appeal.  He was born for this part.

It was most definitely the perfect show for any single person who knows how much it sucks to be single.  And I can only hope, that the nerd herd fans of Zachary Levi, keep it open for quite a while because, quite honestly I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Now the awesomeness of the show isn't the only thing that made the day such a success. There was a bit more afterwards, but I'll let the pictures below tell that story : )

 Yes, he really is that sweet and that funny, and that dreamy in person.  He brought an iPod and speakers out so we could listen to music while he was signing autographs.  Then made sure everyone got signed and a photograph with him, in between his dancing of course : )

 Hereafter, this photograph will only be called "The Picture"

The bestie on cloud nine after The Picture.  Notice the star-stuck glint in her eyes...