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Broadway on Broadway

We arrived at 43rd and Broadway just as the Broadway on Broadway concert was getting underway. No dice: nobody — except for the pair of uniformed Navy sailors — were getting through. We were sent over to Eighth Avenue, and began the slow march uptown: West 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th.. at every intersection, we met with police officers redirecting people farther and farther away from the crowds that were rapidly filling Broadway. Finally at 47th, we were able to make our way over.

From our spots behind the wooden police barricades, we could hear the concert sounds being piped out through the massive speakers, but could not see the stage, or determine where it was, really. We heard a song each from The Producers and from Les Miz, (which apparently is being revived for a limited six-month engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre. Already?) and “Seasons of Love” from Rent, featuring infamous American Idol contestant Frenchie Davis (who got lots of love from the crowd.) Also, “It Sucks to Be Me,” from the incomparable Avenue Q, which SYB and I attended together back in 2004.

KATE MONSTER
… I’m kinda pretty
And pretty damn smart.

BRIAN
You are.

KATE MONSTER
Thanks!
I like romantic things
Like music and art.
And as you know
I have a gigantic heart
So why don’t I have…
A boyfriend?
F@&%!
It sucks to be me!

Naturally, that last interjection was edited out for the Times Square audience.

It seemed a bit pointless to stay for the entire concert — though I would have liked to hear Martin Short do his bit — so we left just as the selection from upcoming Grey Gardens was starting. Now where brunch?

The Ninth Avenue restaurant scene has exploded these past few years, and brunch is generally far less of an ordeal than farther uptown in my neighborhood. After dismissing some other options (Pam Real Thai, Island Burgers & Shakes) as not “brunchy” enough, we eventually found our way to Eatery. Unfortunately, it also happened to be the one place on that stretch of Avenue with a line out the door. Uh, no thanks.

We did the next best thing by heading over to Eatery’s lesser known sibling (and fellow WC-designed space) Whym. Good solid brunch of corned beef and sweet-potato hash with eggs – and I think we were the youngest people in the restaurant, excepting the bartender, which I find rarely happens in the city these days… outside the Philharmonic, that is.

Errands at Whole Foods (ulitmately deciding against loitering among the prepared foods), and then we stumbled upon a fair in progress at Lincoln Center. When I asked SYB what was being sold at the stands there, I thought he replied “Crap” when he’d actually said: “Crafts.”

Don’t be sad if you missed it: they’ll be around next weekend, too. (And it’s not all crap.)

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