Sunday
9:30am- Mouth is dry. Try to get water out of refrigerator, but my bed is in the kitchen and I can't open the door. Drink two glasses out of the tap. Return to slumber.
10:58am- Wake up to contemplate the day. We are supposed to be at a pool party in Brooklyn at 11 with my friend Amy. Little Shop starts at 2. I know we are in trouble when it looks like lounging by a pool proves to be too much activity.
11:05am- I whisper, "hey guys". Ben is the first to stir and Christa lets out a groggy moan. Erica's head is cocooned in fabric and I am not entirely sure she is under the covers. Before I can get the word party out of my mouth, I am greeted with no's when I say the word pool. Something about it being too early. Erica finally stirs and we are able to reach an agreement that the three of us (sans Christa) would go see Little Shop.
11:20am- In recapping the night, Ben complains about how rude the guy was outside the club in the green jacket. I make him aware of his aggressive nature and that in his drunkness, he mistook fear for rudeness. We rehash the evening prior as we try to piece together the events that lead to Erica's many bruises.
12:15pm- Thinking we are ahead of schedule, the three of us walk two blocks to Cafeteria on 7th and and 18th to meet Eric for breakfast. Only in New York can noon still be an acceptable time to call it breakfast. The wait for a table is 15-30 minutes. It will be tight, but we will make it work.
12:45pm- Ben begins to worry out loud that we won't have enough time to eat and get to the show by 2. I tell him (yell kindly) we will be fine and not to fill the air with bad energy and now feel an internal pressure to make sure we eat at Cafeteria and still make it to the show on time.
12:50pm- Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn Used-to-be-Stamos walk by.
12:55pm- We finally have a seat. With some generous smiling and sweetness, we explain to our waiter that we need to be out the door by 1:30pm. He doesn't fill us with confidence as he says it may not be possible, but I have to keep my cool so that Ben doesn't see me react.
1:15pm- The waiter comes through, I pretend like I knew it all along and we all begin to come to life as the food finally hits our stomachs.
1:50pm- The cab drops us out front of the theater. Dre is by the backstage door and tells us to come back and say, "hi" after the show.
4:00pm- Joey is on stage dressed as a giant plant, a baby Audrey 2. It is one of best moments ever! The show is great and I feel a sense of pride seeing Joey star in a broadway show. I haven't listened to, or seen this show since 1991 when I was in it in High School. The entire performance I was flooded with memories. Gabi singing as one of the street girls. Bryce Judd drowning everyone as he sang. Denny as the dentist who behind the scenes was developing a crush on Audrey who would someday become his real life wife, Andrea Taboada. Their plant did things that ours didn't. During the curtain call he says my name and waves to me and I clap louder. It's good to be me.
4:15pm- We walk around to the backstage door where throngs of girls wait to get an autograph from their Superman-loving-'Nsync-er. Dre sees us and tells us to walk through the crowd. It's good to be me.
4:16pm- Joey greets us at the door. Big hugs. Big smiles. So great to see him and catch up. Invites us to the Cast Wrap Party later that night. He tells us about the new billboard in Times Square for Little Shop. It is the chance to see Joey's nose as big as the Empire State Building.
4:30pm- We walk to Times Square to snap pictures of the biggest billboad I have ever seen of Joey's face. You know you have made it when you're face is as big as a building in Times Square.
5:30pm- Back at Christa's we are all running late for out picnic in Central Park, so we quickly get ready.
6:00pm- Reyna, LoriJean and Stephanie join us in Central Park for a picnic before Gavin Degraw's concert. We all laugh and catch up and eat. Knowing that I am the glue that is putting this wonderful group of people together makes me feel warm inside on this beautiful New York day. It's good to be me.
7:15pm- We take our seats to see a new singer, Michael Tolcher, singing away. More impressive than his nice voice and guitar playing abilities: he is tall and GORGEOUS. Note to self, must visit his website and determine if he is worthy of my love.
8:00pm- There is a girl singing. I think I am too busy fighting with Eric to notice.
8:05pm- That girl is still singing, but have made up with Eric and am now busy trying to keep his hands off me.
8:10pm- Give up the fight and make out with Eric on the spot, not worrying what the sold out crowd thinks. The setting is too gorgeous to not enjoy a good snogging. It is the outdoor amphitheatre where they perform Shakespeare in the Park. The backdrop from our vantage point is a giant castle. God has blessed us with a perfectly temperate evening, not a cloud in the sky and a crescent moon dangling sleepily in the sky.
8:11pm- Awake from day dream to realize that the girl is still singing, the surroundings look the same, but Eric and I were never making out. In fact, he was in the bathroom. I go back to gazing at the moon waiting for Gavin to come on.
9:00pm- Gavin takes the stage. As usual, I am overwhelmed by the whole experience. Sure I love his voice and music and all of that, but there is more to it that gets me. It is the reality of sitting there in a crowd, a sold out crowd, in Central Park, under a beautiful sky, with some of my most treasured friends. Reinspired by Gavin's journey from the Mint in Hollywood where I had to beg people to come and see him play, lucky if 15 would show up, to a sold out Central Park show. Life is a world of endless possibilities if you are willing to grab hold and make your mark.
11:00pm- The show is over and we are all walking through the park. I am the first to spot it and my laughter almost doesn't allow me to share it. There in front of me is the gated entrance to an enclosed area in Central Park known as "Diana Ross Playground". I envision rides such as drunk bumper cars, an airplane ride where you smoke a joint and get stoned before you can ride and carnival games such as "see who can slap the cop the hardest". As we pose for the picture at the front of the gate, Ben dunks his head in the trash can as if he is throwing up. Wouldn't that be just how you would end a day at Diana Ross Playground??
11:30pm- It is a school night for most, so I part ways with everyone but Lorijean, Stephanie and Ben. We walk up to Suede to join the cast wrap party for Little Shop of Horrors. As we walk in, Joey sees me and grabs me by the hand, yanking me to the back corner of the dance floor. Large commotion and pandemonium ensue as Richie and I embrace, ecstatic to see each other. In the midst, I also see Kelly, Erik, Mikey, Alfonso and others while Richie snaps his digital camera. Unbeknownst to me, when a club member asks Richie who I am, he tells him, "he is a big time producer from Los Angeles. Big time!" I don't find this out until the following day, but it suddenly makes sense why people all evening insist on introducing themselves and giving me their business cards in non-sexual ways. Found myself making many promises that "what happens at Suede, stays at Suede". Again we dance and carry on until 3:00am.
3:15am- Another stop at the pizza parlour, no visits to South Beach anytime soon. Like an episode of Sex and the City, the four of us, well really just me and Lorijean, share some of our best sex stories. We learn that Lorijean is one lucky bitch and I am very committed.
3:45am- My head hits the pillow, but my brain is too blissful to sleep, so I read an article about Margaret Cho on her way to terrorize the Republican National Convention. More bliss ensues and I finally fall asleep.
6:00am- Erica kisses me on the cheek as her car picks her up for her return to Los Angeles. The day just won't be the same...
to be concluded...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment