Broadway and the Playcatchers

The people:
Julie (who graduated a year ago, for those of you who missed out on living with her), Davie, Ashley, Daniel, Anna.

The plan: (key word here == "plan")

Friday May 25
6pm: Anna finishes packing up all the stuff in her room, and moves out of French House for the summer.
Shortly after that: Drive to Daniel's house in New Jersey. Pick Julie up along the way. Do fun things.

Saturday May 26
2am or so: Sleep.
10am: Wake up, eat breakfast.
11am AT THE VERY LATEST: Leave the house, and drive to the Levine hardware store. Take care of some key business.
ASAP after that: Take the train to New York City.
12:30pm AT THE VERY LATEST: Be standing in the TKTS line for last-minute Broadway tickets. Buy tickets for a 2pm musical.
2pm: Watch the matinée.
5pm: Eat dinner at Daniel's sister's restaurant (she's the general manager! :D)
After dinner: Drive back to Boston.

What actually happened:

Friday May 25
6pm: Anna realizes that it is not possible to pack up one's dorm room in an afternoon. Freaks out and packs faster, flinging her belongings into boxes at random.
7pm: Davie suggests that Anna request an extension from the front desk.
7:15pm: Front desk is not useful. Mike Doucette is not around. Anna resumes flinging her belongings into boxes at random.
7:45pm: Daniel points out that we will get back Saturday night, that Anna can finish packing then, and that he's not really sure why she's freaking out about finishing it immediately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SZ6k9RoR0

8:00pm: We leave French House for Daniel's house in New Jersey. Our earliest-possible arrival time is now 12:30am.

Annoying (and entirely my fault) but not a HUGE deal - it's not like we were running impossibly late for the musical itself, or anything.

Ahem.

Saturday May 26

Midnight: We're hungry, so like any good college students stop at IHOP and feast on a variety of unhealthy breakfast foods.

2:15am: Arrive at Daniel's house.
2:30am: Get in the hot tub.
3am: Exit the hot tub and go to sleep.

10am: Wake up.

11am: Realize we should leave.
11:10am: Discuss the fact that we should really leave.
11:20am: Actually leave.

12-12:30pm: Get to the hardware store, and realize that our key business cannot actually be carried out there. Instead, Daniel gives us a tour - we admire the cool paint-mixing devices, and give Mr. Levine some cinnamon rolls.

12:50pm: Arrive at the train station in New Jersey, freaking out a little bit because we were supposed to be in the TKTS line already. Are reassured by the fact that the train comes often, and the ride into Penn Station is short.

12:52pm: Find out that the train is delayed by HALF AN HOUR - it won't come until 1:20. Realize that we're screwed, and that there's no way we can possibly make it, because the line for musicals is really long. Consider going to the play line instead, because it tends to be shorter. Acknowledge that it's probably too late for that too. Start talking about seeing an evening show instead, and getting home at an obscene hour.

1:20pm: Train comes, doesn't stop, and leaves. Um.

1:30pm: The *actual* train comes.

1:41pm: Pull into Penn Station, which is on 34th street. The TKTS booth is on 47th. We're NOT running 13 blocks in the boiling heat, despite what Davie (we love you Davie) would like to do. Daniel whips out his iPhone, which tells us that the next useful subway train is the E, and will arrive in two minutes. We sprint through Penn Station.

1:42pm: We don't have a Metro card. We buy one and puts $20 on. Daniel, ever the gentleman, swipes each of us through in turn, as the train pulls in - we all rush to the door, Daniel swipes...and it doesn't work. Swipes again. Doors open. Doesn't work. Doors still open. We watch him. Swipe, swipe. He shouts "you can't swipe more than four people through at once." Briefly consider abandoning Daniel. Decide against it. Doors close, but get stuck, because some guy had his luggage in the doorway. The emergency exit opens, and we start shouting and pointing. Daniel runs through the emergency exit. The doors are, at this point, entirely closed, but cracked open by the stuck suitcase. We reach our hands in and pull the doors open, and tumble inside.

1:44pm: Our train pulls into the 50th street station. We sprint out.

1:45pm: Daniel and I lose the rest of the group, as we sprint the four blocks to the TKTS booth (it's on 47th street, but a block over.)

1:53pm: Daniel and I reach the TKTS booth. There is no one in the play line, so we buy five tickets for Peter and the Starcatcher, because it's supposed to be good and the theater is nearby.

1:55pm: Julie, Davie, and Ashley catch up to us - we hand them their tickets. All five of us sprint half a block to the theater.

1:57pm: Get to our seats.

2:00pm: The show starts. It is absolutely. Freaking. Fantastic. I spend the rest of the day with an aching jaw + sore tummy muscles from all the laughing.

5:10pm: We arrive at Daniel's sister's restaurant, feast, and continue to be amazed at what we managed to pull off.

Moral: 

We're awesome.

...and maybe a little bit lucky.

Also, you guys should all go see Peter and the Starcatcher.


With that, I will stop spamming the blog and get on my plane. I miss you all very, very much. DC, here I come!