One Short Day
Come with me, to the Emerald City.
I had a very music-heavy long weekend, which are often my favorite types of weekends. Friday night I was in Boston for the Billie Eilish concert, and it was just...phenomenal. She's such an amazing performer and incredible talent, and it's been a long time since I've gone to a concert where I knew 100% of the songs and was equally excited for each reveal. And if you thought What Was I Made For was emotional in the Barbie movie, listening to it live is next level. It was truly an incredible night.
Then my parents and I drove back from Boston to New York, because they were going to the Barry Manilow concert at Radio City Sunday night. We were going to see one of the few musicals that run on Monday night (a night most of Broadway is dark), specifically Six, which is one I've been lucky enough to see a few times but my parents haven't and they really wanted to. Alas, either because of when we were looking or if it's just the general Broadway vibe these days, the tickets were going to cost $200 each. This seemed a bit steep to us, especially since I've seen the show, and it will be in Boston soon where my parents can undoubtedly see it for much cheaper. But just because we weren't going to a show, didn't mean we couldn't experience the magic of musical theater. So, here is how we had a very Broadway day on Monday for much less than $600.
First up, we went to Ellen's Stardust Diner. This is a place I've been frequenting for many years; it's a bit of a tourist trap now, but I don't care, I love it. The food is overpriced diner food, which is perfectly acceptable, but it's worth it for the true draw of the place: the singing waitstaff. The waitstaff of this restaurant is packed to the gills with talent, and they take turns singing songs, mostly from musicals but not exclusively, as they serve food and drinks. It's amazing. It's also fun as a frequent theatergoer to one day be at a show and be like, "Why is that person familiar? Oh! They once served me a salad at Ellen's." When I say it's a tourist trap now, what I mean is, the lines are always longer than they used to be (though it moves pretty quickly), and they tend to sing the songs that the average person might know, not just people who love theater. I think I've heard "New York, New York" the last five times I've been there. And of course they still sing songs from musicals, but it's like Defying Gravity from Wicked and Memory from Cats. Which, again, is fine, just not what I would personally request. But really, it doesn't matter what they sing, because the talent is just incredible, and I’ve never once regretted going. I love listening to talented people be talented! I can't sing but I love musical theater so I am always in awe of people who can belt out any note and make it look easy. I also just have a lot of great memories associated with the Stardust Diner, from times visiting with friends and family. There was a period of time where my friends and I went so often that some of the waitresses knew us by sight. It was a fun place to be a semi-regular.
The next stop on our adventure was The Museum of Broadway. I learned of this museum recently through a friend's instagram, and have been waiting for an excuse to go, and this was the perfect time. Also, they were having a National Coming Out Day sale, so the tickets were only $10 each. Thanks, gays! The walk through this museum was essentially a timeline of Broadway's history, and it was so fascinating. Alongside the tidbits of history and facts were props and costumes from actual Broadway shows, all while musical soundtracks played overhead. From Okhlahoma to The Sound of Music to The Wiz to Phantom of the Opera to RENT to Wicked and all the way up to musicals that are on now like Six and Moulin Rouge and more. Also some of the shows had miniature models of the sets and they were so fascinating. The Wicked set had a 360 of the entire Gershwin theater to scale, and it was so interesting to see where all the dressing rooms and rehearsal spaces are, and what it looks like backstage.
We also got to see the ¡Viva! Broadway exhibit, which highlighted Latiné and Hispanic performers and characters from across time, from Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera to Ariana Debose and Mandy Gonzalez and, of course, Lin-Manuel Miranda. And more!
I could have spent even longer in that museum reading every tidbit of information, scouring all the penciled-in notes from original drafts of songs, ogling every sequins on every costume. Alas, other people exist, and were either in my way or I in theirs, so I moved through at a regular pace. Overall it was a really great time, and a steal for the price.
The third and final musical-adjacent thing we did was not dissimilar from the first: we went to a DIFFERENT restaurant with a singing waitstaff. This one is called Gayle's Broadway Rose and I had never been there before. I learned about them on TikTok and have been dying to go. Unlike the Stardust Diner, Gayle's isn't a full restaurant, but is instead an event within the Edison Hotel location of the restaurant Friedmans. (Which means, the food was better. Sorry, Stardust.) For just a few hours a week, the singing waitstaff regales patrons with musical theater songs. The staff is smaller than at the Stardust Diner, at least the night we were there, so we got to hear almost all of them sing more than once in the hour we were there. They sang some showstoppers that anyone probably knew (Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and actually I think they also sang New York, New York) but then they did a few slightly deeper cuts, like Maybe This Time from Cabaret, I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mis, and Take Me Back to Manhattan from Anything Goes. Definitely bigger songs from those particular musicals, but not necessarily ones that someone who has never had a thought about Broadway in their life might know. And I know She Used to Be Mine from Waitress was also a Sara Bareilles song but I was excited when they sang that, too.
I'm so excited to have experienced it, and can't wait to add it to my "I wanna hear people sing" rotation.
A bonus side quest on this magical day was that I was wearing my Broadway Princess Party shirt, which was a show that used to happen at 54 Below where a bunch of women who played princesses on Broadway got together and sang songs from said shows, and it was a magical experience I was lucky enough to see a few times before one of said princesses became an anti-vaxxer and the whole thing fell apart. Womp womp. BUT, since I was wearing this shirt, I got to talk to a few random people about it, including but not limited to people who worked at the museum and both restaurants. One of the employees at the museum and I mourned its end together, and one of the waiters at Gayle's knows the pianist/co-producer who designed the shirt. It was a fun conversation starter for sure.
All in all, it was a great day and I highly recommend all these activities if you're ever in the city looking for something Broadway-esque to do that isn't seeing a full show. It was the kind of day spent in New York that younger me used to dream of.
One short day
In the Emerald City
One short day
Full of so much to do
Every way
That you look in this city
There's something exquisite
You'll want to visit
Before the day's through!