What might be? What might have been?

I've got this amazing friend that comes to New York two or three times a year. Whenever Tali is in town, my life gets a lot less boring. Her birthday is tomorrow so she decided to make a weekend of it. When she called last month to let me know, I mentioned that I was interested in this new musical called If/Then.

A few days later I got this text.

This is a new musical starring Idina Menzel that opened LAST WEEK. No big deal. (Very big deal.)

So the show was today, and I was blown away. Obviously Idina was incredible, but I also just loved the concept.

If/Then is about a woman in her late 30's who gets out of a bad 10 year marriage and moves to New York City to start over. In the first scene she is confronted with a choice, which seems incredibly insignificant (hang out in the park vs go meet up with some friends). The show follows the two different paths of her life based on which choice she made.

I believe that our personal experiences and emotions bring out the beauty of the art we see, and I know that's what happened to me during this show. I'm this single woman living in New York City pursuing a career that sometimes seems pointless. I'm faced with choices all the time that feel like they are life altering.

Where would I be if I hadn't chosen theatre? Who would I be if I'd stayed in Utah and never gotten the travel bug? What would I have if I didn't know what it was like to have nothing?

"Some other me is homeless. Some other me is queen. Some other me has seen things that no other me has seen. If I met her, I would ask her that one question we both fear. Some other me, how'd you end up here?"

I just can't stop thinking about this show and what you can draw from it. Nothing good comes from what-ifs and we need to live and love now with what we have. This show is also a love letter to New York, this city that I've been really falling for these past few months.

The whole show touched me. I was reminded why I love this city, why I love theatre, and how important it is to love the people in my life.

More Quotes:

• You've always had the right dream.
• Deep down I'm a coward afraid to let you in, but the only thing more frightening is to say, "what might have been?"
• Love doesn't make us perfect, it just makes us want to be.
• I won't be sorry that you said to leap and I leapt.
• Am I always starting over in a brand new story? Am I always stuck at 1 after all I've done. Because I've earned all of my riches and learned every last lesson too. So how can I start new?

I honestly can't pick a favorite song, but here are a few that I'll have on repeat for a while.

(Anthony Rapp, who you may recognize from Rent)

Song starts at 1:25

"You learn to stand alone at last. So brave and bold and strong and stout. You learn somehow to like the dark and even love the doubt. You learn to hold your life inside you and never let it out. You learn to live and die and then to live. You learn to live without."

This Is New York.

For those of you that don't know (I can't imagine how you wouldn't know), I get to be an Auntie to these three cuties.

They know that I live in New York.  Audrey uses "New York" as an example of a place really far away.  "We should go home soon or they'll think we went all the way to New York."

I was noticing though, that they didn't really understand what New York was.  Even adults don't really understand.  Heck, sometimes I don't even understand.  So I considered it a sign when I stumbled across this book called This Is New York.

It's a cute little children's book that explains what New York is.  Obviously I bought it and gave it to the kids for Christmas.

We then decided to make a game of it.  The kids would choose one of the places that the book talks about, and I would go there.  The first place they decided to send me:

 That's why I went to Rockefeller Center as soon as I had the time and means.  I took a lot of pictures while I was there (See my post New York Day. On A Tuesday.) and sent them to the kids.

And while I was out and about I grabbed a couple of t-shirts for them.

Don't judge me. That size was the only size on sale.

I'm having fun!  Next stop: Museum of Natural History.

Good Friends Just Make Life Happier

Last fall two of my favorite people, Melanie and Stephanie, joined me on the East Coast when they moved to Washington DC.  I visited them in August.  They came up to New York in October.  We saw each other in Utah for Christmas.  Then, it was my turn.   So I packed a bag and left for DC with no definite plans on how long I'd be staying.

The trip ended up being 6 days of laughing, walking, Olympics, pictures, movies, and a LOT of food. 

We just had the best time.

I worked on a few shows in DC for 2 months in the summer of 2011.  There is something just so wonderful about that city.  It's big, and busy, and a place where important things happen.  Yet, somehow, it still has a small town feel.

Don't get me wrong.  New York is definitely a small town.  I'm reminded of that daily.  I think DC just feels more...quaint.  Maybe I should give up trying to explain how I feel.  I just love it.  So I'm so glad they live there now. 

We went and saw the monuments, and ate food.  Then we went to Mount Vernon, and ate food.  Then we went on a walking tour, and ate a lot of dessert.

George Washington had an amazing view from his house.

There were a lot of festivities happening at Mount Vernon for President's Day.

Old Town Alexandria.

When Stephanie and Melanie had to get back to their lives, I had the opportunity to head over to George Washington University where I'd rehearsed 3 years ago.  Quite coincidentally, 2 of the actors I worked with that summer were also in town.  One lives in NYC now, and the other in Chicago.  All three of us stopped by the school to visit with our old friends.  

Isn't this life wonderful?  There is something just so great about having friends all over the country.

We then went on a tour of Georgetown.  That is a cute part of town.  We walked around on campus and snuck in to this library.  Nobody stopped us or seemed to care.  Actually...nobody was really around.  Still, cool library right?

We bought so many treats while on our walking tour.  The cupcake craze started in DC, so obviously we had to partake.

I'd been here before (lived here actually), but hadn't gotten a picture of the "Welcome To" sign.  With this picture, I officially have 41 out of the 50.  I'm getting there!

I just love these girls.  We had a great time, but we also talked about our lives.  I am so lucky to have friends that understand who I am and what I want, and are able to give me advice based on that information.

I can't wait until they come up to New York again.  Tag, you're it!