Winning the Broadway lotto

Wednesday, Kym and I journeyed into New York City… and we conquered Broadway. We went in with the intention of getting student rush seats for Young Frankenstein. But what we never expected was that we’d end up on the Spring Awakening stage as well.

After discovering that we’d have to play the Young Frankenstein lotto at 11 a.m. if we wanted tickets, we went to the Spring Awakening theater to pass the time and… wait on line for tickets – what the hay. While waiting on line, we wondered what we would do if we got tickets for the matinee and won the Young Frankenstein lotto. We decided we’d hock the Spring Awakening tickets if we won the lotto, and if not, hey, we’d be seeing Spring Awakening. But when the box office opened and we found out there was no matinee (because, duh, half the cast was in school), we realized we could potentially see both shows. We got to the ticket window and by an act of God, there were two (and only two) seats left on the stage! We snatched them up.

After a rather palm-sweating episode in the McDonalds across the street from the Young Frankenstein theater (a very strange place to hold a lotto), we won the drawing. Kym and I both must have been wearing our lucky underwear.

Young Frankenstein was what we expected. Great scenery and effects. A fantastic supporting cast. But forgettable music and a trite show, overall. But very fun, and front row seats for $25 creates an enjoyable time by default.

Spring Awakening: on stage. Lord. Have. Mercy. It has to be one of the most magical and incredible experiences of my life. Seeing all those amazing actors up close, sitting next to them at times, and feeling actually in the show, it was priceless (technically, it was worth $30, which makes it even more fantastic). As always, the cast was incredible. Blake Bashoff as the new Moritz (you’ll always be missed, John Gallagher) was an incredibly pleasant surprise. He did a fantastic job (especially for his second performance) and fills the void left by Gallagher.

Sitting on stage was a Broadway experience like I’ve never had before. Being able to see the audience during the show was freaky. It did feel like we were being watched, and especially during the curtain call, it felt like the audience was applauding us. Seeing these massively talented actors - people who have become a part of my every day routine, whether I’m listening to the cast recording, reading about them, or talking about them – up close, sometimes just inches away, was incredible. Seeing the beautiful Lea Michele that close was overwhelming. Observing Jonathan Groff, who is absolutely spellbinding, was incredible. It was fantastic to be able to study their facial expressions from that close range and truly be transported inside their performances.

After the show, Kym and I joined the fanatics outside the stage door and met the cast. It was the most incredible thrill. As I said, these people have become a part of my every day life, so being able to meet them, shake their hands, and get our pictures taken with them was… a dream come true. I took Kym’s picture with mostly everyone. She was really natural with them and joked around with a lot of them. It was so cute. I pretty much clammed up and was very awkward. But I DID get to talk to Lilli Cooper, whom I interviewed for The Temple News. She remembered me and the article and was so sweet about it. Kym took our picture. She also took my picture with Lea Michele!! If things don’t work out between Anne Hathaway and me, I’m going to marry Lea. She is so incredibly beautiful and talented. Putting my arm around her and hers around mine – I just hope I didn’t have a double chin in the picture. Kym and I also had our pictures taken together with Jonathan Groff. That was incredible too, just because he’s the star of the show and such a massively talented person.

It was a day I’ll never forget. It was fantastic to share it all with Kym. I don’t think we could possibly be more obsessed with Spring Awakening right now. We’re going back with basically everyone we know on January 2. Also, it must be known that the entire day and all we did only cost us a little over $80. Who says Broadway has to be expensive?

NOTE: Pictures will be coming soon. We have to get the photos developed. We were without our digitals.