BWW Blog: Remembering Summer 2019

I can still recall our last summer. Ah yes, summer 2019. I am so thankful for the experiences I had last summer. I was interning at SiriusXM in New York City and living in an NYU dorm. The independence I had living in the city before my junior year of college was such a coming-of-age story for me. Aside from the lessons and independence, I made sure to make the most of my time living THAT close to Broadway.

The convenience of being only a subway ride away from anywhere in the city was absolutely incredible. There were countless spontaneous performances and concerts popping up all around every day. Times Square hosted various events throughout the summer such as the Broadway Buskers concert series. I ventured over to see Ethan Slater and Drew Gasparini at these concerts. Despite being in the center of Times Square, it was a shockingly intimate set of performances. These were such a relaxing way to end a long day of work and listen to some music. They played original songs and songs from shows that the audience recognized. Ethan was so sweet and even took a second to chat with me (I adored him in Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical). The best part about these concerts was that they were totally free!

There were also the Broadway in the Boroughs and Broadway in Bryant Park weekly concerts. I was such a travel gal and ventured to Queens for the first time to see one of the Boroughs performances. Each of these events consisted of various casts from Broadway and Off-Broadway shows performing a few songs each week. The lineups were amazing and the energy in the parks was always electric even when we were all melting and burning to a crisp from the summer sun.

Another special and rather spontaneous event I attended was a live recording of "Joe Iconis in Concert" for NY1. I was at the wonderful Laurie Beechman Theatre with some of the most iconic performers such as Annie Golden, George Salazar, Will Roland, and of course, Joe Iconis. They filmed each song twice, so I got to hear "Michael in the Bathroom" live three times that day (the third at the actual show, Be More Chill). This was such a cool experience that would only happen living in New York. I recruited one of my friends to come with me and we had an unforgettable day being in that theater and so close to the stage. Looking back at it, Will Roland jumping and fist-pumping to "The Goodbye Song" was probably the highlight of my summer honestly. Either that or running into Broadway Producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper on a random subway and discussing the extent of actors' sweatiness. That was SO New York.

Saving money was not exactly super easy, but in order to see musicals, I knew I had to be smart about purchasing more affordable tickets. This meant an attempt at rushing and daily Broadway lottery ticket entries, and not just the Hamilton lottery that I had been losing for years. I was feeling extra local one day and woke up at 6:00am to get rush tickets to Be More Chill. Waiting outside in line for three hours was totally worth it when I got front row tickets to the show! For the lotteries, I entered numerous shows every day on various lottery platforms. I was somehow lucky enough to win tickets to see Frozen, Be More Chill, and Wicked! I may or may not have entered the in-person Wicked lottery (which involved waiting outside the theatre) five times, but you will never know...

Living in New York City and having the easy commute to Broadway was addicting, heartwarming, fulfilling, and every word you could possibly use to describe feeling on top of the world. I am so thankful this opportunity was able to happen last summer and I cannot wait to live there again one day. I would wish this experience upon any and all college students and Broadway fanatics. Especially the ones with big New York dreams.

Only in New York City....

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