nyc trip {bye bye birdie + meeting celebs}

One of the most exciting things we did on our trip was head to Broadway to see Bye Bye Birdie. We caught it on the last night of previews [the following night was "opening night"] and due to my long standing crush on John Stamos, I was thrilled to be in attendance. Truth be told, our tickets to BBB were purchased before we even decided on a hotel or booked our flight! I was also excited because Natalie Hill [the author of one of my fave blogs] was in the cast as well and I was looking forward to meeting her in person.

We decided to stop by the bar before going to our seats for some water and as we were walking toward it I couldn't believe who I saw. Before Lee noticed him and before I could think better of it I approached him by saying, "You know he's going to tweet about this." The person I was referring to was John Stamos and the person I was talking to was his good friend, ex-cast mate, and current sparring partner on Twitter...Bob Saget. We spoke for a few minutes about random stuff and then I went on my merry way. Lee was getting our water and it hit me as he was paying that this was my opportunity to get my picture with Bob Saget. While it was John Stamos I tuned into Full House for he was still a big part of my Friday nights for quite some time [sad, I know, please don't judge.] I quickly asked if he would mind me getting a picture and he was absolutely agreeable to it. Although you wouldn't know it by looking at our picture...

The look on his face cracks me up and, quite honestly, I think it makes the memory of it even better!

From there we headed to our seats and found I'd lucked out by doing research beforehand. We were in the left orchestra section, eight rows from the stage, and on the aisle - absolutely perfect! We settled in after quickly taking the picture you see at the top of the post and absolutely loved the show. A few acts in there was a malfunction with the set and cast & crew had to quickly improvise. John Stamos came out to entertain the crowd after the curtain closed [while they worked on fixing the set] and announced that Bob Saget & Don Rickles were in the audience and would his good friends please help him out [they are both famous comics after all]. What ensued after that was awesome. Don Rickles threw some fun barbs at JS and after a decent amount of prodding Bob Saget joined JS on stage where he had to speak into JS's mike that was in his hair [BS joked he was glad it wasn't in his crotch.] It really was hilarious and after awhile Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin joined in the antics. While I hate [for them] that this happened, I was so glad it happened when we were in the audience. We got to see some awesome "real" moments. [You can read more about the incident here, here, and here, and you can see a tiny blurb of it here.]

Once the set was fixed the show continued and I just have to say how much we both enjoyed it! I knew I'd like it but was a bit nervous what Lee would think about it. Turns out I needn't have worried because he liked it almost as much as I did! The entire cast was incredible and it was so fun to see a fellow blogger on stage strutting her stuff!

After the show we headed out to the stage door on the off chance I could catch Natalie and on the off off chance I could get a quick autograph from JS. We got to see the majority of the teens from the show come out and thought they were so gracious as they stopped to sign autographs and have pictures taken with fans. After awhile JS walked out and began to make his way down the line of fans [Lee & I were near the end]. Shortly thereafter Natalie walked out and I'm so, so glad I got to meet her! She was as friendly as can be and after learning I read her blog she gave me a hug and thanked me for coming out. We chatted for a few minutes [did I mention how sincere & friendly she was?] and she even happily posed for a pic...

The next thing I knew JS was getting closer...

and sweet Natalie introduced us. Right after the quick introduction, and before I could say anything [I think], another lady hijacked his attention. It was a rather confusing few moments and while I did get my picture taken with him [please overlook the horribly unflattering (for me) angle]...

...it was a bit anti-climactic. You could tell he was in a hurry because someone with him kept saying, "we need to go...we need to go!" and as soon as this picture was taken he was gone. Now don't get me wrong, I'm INCREDIBLY thankful for this moment and it was totally awesome of Natalie to introduce me. My gripe is with myself. As far as I know I didn't utter one word, NOT ONE WORD, to him and can barely remember the details of the moment. Thank goodness my amazing hubby was there to capture the moment [thank you, honey!] or I'd question whether it truly happened. I really wish I had a better story to tell you but this is it. On the bright side, by not saying anything I was unable to do anything that would be utterly embarrassing.

My highlight of the evening was meeting Natalie. That may sound weird to you given I met the celebrity I've had a crush on for 25+ years but I was just so struck by her friendliness and sincerity. She asked about our trip and I could tell she really cared. She truly is a gem and I wish nothing but the best for her. She's the understudy for the lead female role [Rosie] and I can't wait for the day she gets to strut her stuff in that role. Gina Gershon did a great job but I think Natalie will make an amazing Rosie. She'll be so good, in fact, that I'll wish we were back in NYC so we could see it in person. [Please read this and keep Natalie and her family in your prayers.]

It really was a fantastic night and it's one I'm sure we'll never be able to repeat.

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The following day [our last in NYC] was cold, windy, and rainy. We toughed it out for a bit and walked around the West Village before eating another insanely amazing meal, this time at The Little Owl. Their burger really is all that and I highly recommend it! After lunch we walked over to Magnolia to pick up some cupcakes and then just couldn't take the weather any more. We headed back to the hotel where we took yet another nap and woke up in time to get ready for our dinner at The Red Cat. LOVED IT!! This was where we celebrated my birthday last year and the food was just as good as I remembered.

The next day we headed out for a quick (and yummy) breakfast at Penelope and then had to start packing. Before I knew it we were in a taxi headed toward the airport. Shortly after we got in the taxi he was pulled over for making an illegal turn. Yep, just another story to add to our already full memory bank.

NOTE: In the next day or so I'll post an entire rundown on all the places we ate so it's in one spot for handy reference.