We were watching TV one night and happened on an interview with Sally Field on some late night talk show. She mentioned that she was making her first Broadway appearance in Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie. Just out of curiosity I went to Playbill.com to see what the price of tickets might be to see a show like that. To my amazement, I found we could get top balcony seats for $50 each. It’s not often two people can see a Broadway show for $100 so we thought, sure why not! I booked us tickets for a Saturday evening performance two weeks away. I’d always wanted to expand my Broadway experiences to plays in addition to musicals so this was a great opportunity.  As time grew closer, though I mentioned to Janet that Miss Saigon was also back on Broadway in a revival performance. We’d seen the show in Portland, OR and really loved the it. How about tickets to a matinee? Sure why not. Might as well fill the day.

Miss Saigon was just as great as we’d remembered it. Some of the effects, including the helicopter, were even better than the original touring production we’d seen. I didn’t like one of the songs that had been changed for the revival, but other than that the show was amazing.  The Glass Menagerie was acted beautifully. However, the set was minimalist at best, with merely a folding table, some chairs and a few props. This wasn’t what I’d come to expect on Broadway. To make matters worse, the actors played some scenes so close to the front of the stage, we couldn’t see them over the railing of our balcony. We were a little disappointed with our first play experience, but still excited we were able to see the show.

The Glass Menagerie was scheduled to end around 10:00 so I thought we might try driving home after the show rather than spend the night. Our parking garage was on the east side of Times Square, but I had planned that the drive to the Henry Hudson Parkway would be a straight shot. However, when we got to Times Square, the road was blocked with snow plows. I had to turn into Times Square to get to 42nd St., which was the next one way that would take me west to the parkway. I’ve never spent 30 minutes to go two blocks, but then again, I never drove through Times Square at 10:00 PM. We made it home around 2:30 AM. and after serious reflection have decided not to try that again. It still amazes me though that I can drive to New York, see two shows, and still get back home to sleep in my own bed.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller