Though the hotel was lousy (It was actually in Woodbridge and not Iselin) the rest of the trip was good. The class I taught was a great group of IT Pros (my second great class in a row) and I really enjoyed my time with them.
So after the last day of class Thursday evening (as I had planned all along) I took the train into New York City to see a show. I taught in Iselin, New Jersey through Thursday, and the deal (with myself) was that if I scored good evals for the week I would go into town and if not… well, not.
I wanted to see Les Miserables on Broadway. I have seen it a few times in Montreal and Toronto, but seeing it on Broadway was exciting. It was also a letdown.
Our seats were not great and the two male leads were lousy. It could be that I am so intimately familiar with the roles, and that I have dreamed forever of playing either Valjean or Javert. Either way I felt throughout the first act and most of the second that the parts were very poorly cast. Early in the play Valjean's voice actually cracked. I was shocked.
At Intermission my friend and I - who were in complete agreement on the quality of the performance - tried to find someone to complain to without success. One of the ushers actually agreed with me when I told him I thought it was lousy.
During the second act I realised that Valjean had been cast for one song - Bring Him Home, which he sand brilliantly. Unfortunately that was at the expense of the rest of the play. Valjean, who was not nearly as bad but was not good, did not have one brilliant song to redeem himself. I held out hope for Stars, and was sorely disappointed.
I want to be clear that I still enjoyed the evening. However I have seen plays that have truly been magical, and this was not one of them. Maybe my expectations were too high, but next time I'll try to see something where my expectations are not so high.
By the way the lovely Yocasta was right - Papaya Hotdogs is definitely worth the trip, though it was only by pure accident that we found it. Two dogs and a mango juice for $3.50... how can you go wrong? :)
Have a good Memorial Day to all of my American friends, and to all of the men and women in uniform I send you all of my best wishes... wherever you may be.