The Adam's Family on BROADWAY

The Adams Family has been on television starting in the 1960's and now in 2011 it is on Broadway.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I planned on going to the show.  Honestly I was more interested in seeing Bebe Neuwirth who played Morticia.  I have seen her on the show Cheers and I saw how she can play a dark character with humor.  I thought her to be Morticia in The Adam's Family was a great role to see her play.  The rest of the cast included Roger Rees as Adam Gomez, Adam Grupper as Mal Beinke, Heidi Blickenstaff as Alice Beinke, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma, Zachary James as Lurch, Rachel Potter as Wednesday, Adam Riegler as Pugsley, Jesse Swenson as Lucas Beinke and Uncle Fester was played by an understudy Jim Borstelmann.

When I go to the theatre I saw the gift shop and it was pretty cool stuff.  They had several shirts that had quotes the characters in the show say during the play.  Some of them were kind of funny or just plain old cool.  I got one because I thought the saying was pretty interesting it was a quote said by Wednesday.  When I went to my seat there was one thing on everybody's mind who was sitting down.  Why is it so cold here?  Well at least I think everyone was thinking about that.  It felt like it was 55 degrees in there.  I was glad I brought a sweater with me.  

About 30 minutes later the show started.  I have to say I was not all impressed with the show.  The Adam's Family on Broadway seemed to be more happy and cheerful than usual.  It seemed strange and then having a plot about Wednesday an 8 year old who wants to get married.  I know the Adam's Family is a strange family but I wouldn't expect them to let their 8 year old daughter get married.  Also Wednesday didn't have her pig tails.  In the cartoon picture for the Adam's family you can see they drew Wednesday with pig tails.  I guess this show was more for little kids than older ones.  

Jesse Swenson

Adam Riegler

Rachel Potter

Bebe Neuwirth and Me

Jim Borstelmann

Jim Borstelmann

Adam Grupper

Zachary James

Roger Rees and Me

Well after the show was over I got my stuff and headed out to the stage door.  I was glad I got a good spot up in front.  It wasn't long until some of the cast started to come out.  I have to say I was quite shocked about this cast.  I know it was late at night but I still have never seen a cast of people move so quickly in a line signing autographs trying to get out of there.  It really sucked because since they kept moving it was hard to get decent pictures.  Jesse Swenson was the first one to come out.  He seemed nice but tired at the same time.  Then Heidi Blickenstaff came out.  I don't think anyone realized who she was because she looked completely different out of costume.  Jackie Hoffman came out and she really wanted to get out of there because she signed playbills so fast like I have never seen before.  It was actually quite amazing to watch her go down the line so fast.  Then Adam Riegler came out and he seemed nice.  Rachel Potter was next to come out and she was pretty cool.  I thought she was pretty good on the show because her voice sounded amazing.  Then Bebe Neuwirth came out and before she came out we were told she wouldn't stop for pictures, but only just signing autographs.  Luckily someone next to me asked for a picture and got one so I did the same and I got to take a picture too. Jim Borstelmann came out next and he was very funny.  He actually kept coming out at random times to say hi to people.  He even came out in his make up and he was just so up beat.  Then Adam Grupper came out.  He seemed very nice and tired.  He signed everyone's playbills, took pictures and spoke to people in the crowd.  Zachary James came out and he was tall.  I wanted to ask Zachary James how tall he was but he moved by pretty quick.  About 10 minutes later the last cast member came out to greet the fans.  His name is Roger Rees and he was pretty cool.  He was very nice and calm after his performance on stage.  He did look a bit exhausted.  I was glad to get  a picture with him.

In the end it was a pretty long day, but I still enjoyed it.  I got to meet Adam Carolla and the cast of the Adam's Family all in one day.

In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks

June 23, 2011 Adam Carolla came to NYC to do a book signing for his new book In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks. I got to say after hearing that title it made me want to meet him.  I was curious about what his book was about.  So I decided to go to his book signing to see him in person and read his book.

I got to the store around 9am.  It was taking place at Books and Borders and it is right next to penn station.  I didn't know how many people would be there so I like to go early.  I figure if I'm going to a book signing I might as well be close to the front because who wants to wait in a long line.  Besides you also get better pictures of them in the front because there are less people in front of you.

The book signing started at 1pm so I had a few hours to waste before actually getting on line.  I was exhausted because I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep.  I remember I kept trying to read the book before closing my eyes.  Eventually I realized I needed to get up and start walking around to keep myself awake.  After that failed I went to Duane Read and bought some energy drinks.  Now that really helped A LOT.  I was able to stay awake and read Adam Carolla's book.  I know this sounds like I thought his book was lame but I'm not saying that at all.  I found it quite interesting what he had to write.  Do I agree with all of it? No, but it is his opinion and everyone has opinion.  I will say the book is very blunt.  He gets to the point and tells it the way he sees it.

Adam Carolla

Well after the few hours of reading his book I decided it was time to get on line.  I was the third person on line and I was okay with that. Since there was still some waiting time left I decided to continue to read.  It wasn't a very social line to be in.  Actually to be honest there was not a lot of people there.  I'm not completely surprised because it was at 1pm on a thursday.  I figure most of his fans are just working and had no way of going into the city or leaving their job to come.  I think that sucks because if you are a fan of someone and they come to your hometown and your at work and can't go really sucks.  Also I think book signings should be scheduled later in the day.  If Adam Carolla's signing was at 6pm I bet a lot more people would show up and a lot more books would be sold.

Cowgirl Lady

Me and Adam Carolla

Eventually 1pm came around and the event was starting.  Adam Carolla came and there was only one photographer there.  He took pictures of Adam Carolla sitting, signing books and holding his book.  It literally took a minute before the line started to move.  At that time I had some time to think about what I would say to him .  So I figured it might have to do something about his book.  The title is In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks so I showed him a picture of the cow girl lady in NYC.  I'm not really sure what to call her but all I know is that I was GROSSED out from this image when I took the picture.  It was a 60 year old something in small underwear, boots and a hat.  That is all she wore.  So when I got up to meet Adam Carolla I said while showing him the picture "I hope we don't end up like this in fifty years".  I think he was caught of guard because it was just so random.  He took it in all good humor and he and a few of the people with him started to make some jokes.  I don't mean to be rude to this lady but at her age she shouldn't be doing this.  No one should need to be parading the streets half naked to make money.  To me it's strange and weird.

Right after that I then asked for a picture with him.  He was cool about it and I got to take a picture with him.  That was the end of that experience but in my next blog I will talk about what happened later that day in another blog.  I'll give a hint THE ADAM'S FAMILY.

La Toya Jackson

On June 22nd 3 days before the 2nd year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death.  La Toya Jackson came to NYC to do a book signing for her new book Starting Over.  This book is about La Toya Jackson and her brother Michael Jackson.

I went to the book signing because I thought it would be cool to meet someone from the Jackson family.  I thought about how cool it would be to meet her but I didn't think about how I would get to the book signing.  I went alone to the book signing and it was in Tribeca.  I haven't been in Tribeca that much so I had no idea where I was going.  I took the subway and then I walked to the Barnes and Nobles.  I thought I would be fine getting to the Barnes and Nobles because I had a GPS in my phone.  Well I was wrong because my phone decided it wanted to be a real pain.  For some reason it couldn't find a signal and I was shocked.  That had never happened before with me.  I was just glad that even though it couldn't find a signal.  My phone had shown the map of where I was and I tried to figure it out by looking at the map and street signs.  About 15 minutes later I finally arrived at the Barnes and Nobles.  It was around 10am and I had to wait until 6pm til the book signing.

Normally I don't mind the wait.  I'm just use to it because I been doing it for about a month and a half.  I actually like having the chance to be able to read the book and talk to others on line.  I find it fun and almost peaceful. Since  I been going to a lot of the book signings I started to see other people that I have met on other lines at different places around the city.  For most people who don't go to book signings let me tell you this.  People who go to a book signing usually have been to several more book signings before the one they are at now.  Some people make a job out of it.  If you are at a book signing and see someone getting about 3 to 10 books signed then that means they usually sell them online for money.  It seems like a nice job.  You get to meet famous people and get money for your time.

Majority of time I spent on the line I was just reading and talking with others.  It really helped make the time go faster.  I was actually shocked how fast the time past.  Before I knew it the time was already 5:30pm.  I'm not going to lie and I have said this before the closer it gets to the event it really sucks.  I say that because you start to get excited because it is just only minutes before you get to see the star of the event.  Still I tried to keep myself busy so time would pass by faster.  I'm not going to lie that plan really failed.  I was still excited for the event which made time go by slower.

La Toya Jackson

Finally it was 6pm and the paparazzi were getting ready to get their pictures of La Toya Jackson.  Usually the paparazzi only have about a minute or less to get their shot before they are kicked out.  What sucked about this and this does happen is when the star of the event is running a bit late.  La Toya Jackson came 20 minutes late.  I didn't really care I just started to get annoyed about the extra 20 minutes of waiting.  When it was 6pm people in the line were starting to watch every movement to see if she was coming.  Some people would get a bit excited a bit to early and start yelling she's here.  Usually the people to walk past were either security or workers at the Barnes and Nobles.

La Toya Jackson

Finally when she arrived everyone was clapping and cheering for her.  She then sat down at the desk and let the paparazzi go crazy with their cameras.  Their minute was up and then they were pushed to the side to let the rest of us get the chance to take pictures and get our books signed.  I didn't know what I was going to say when I got up to her.  I figured I would say something about her being on The Apprentice.  So that is exactly what I did.  When I met her I said hi and she said hi back to me.  She was really kind.  I then told her "you were great on the apprentice".  She said "Thank you very much".  I then said "Have a nice day".  And she said " Thank you and you also have a nice day".  Then I left with my book signed.  I thought it was pretty cool. La Toya Jackson was really nice and talked to everyone who came up to her.  She genuinely was happy to be there.  It was a pretty good day and I was glad I got the chance to meet her.

The Crazy Journey of meeting Robin Williams

Alright for those who read my blog about the broadway show Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo then know that I met majority of the cast and not Robin Williams.  I also added that I had planned on going back to meet him, but I didn't know what a crazy day it would be.  So let me start from the beginning.

On Tuesday June 14th, 2011 I had plan on going into the city to see Jennifer Hudson perform a few songs while being filmed.  I was going to bring my sister along because I got an extra ticket.  The concert started at around 11am and if you wanted to get a good spot you have to go early.  I remember waking up and my sister Brooke and I were to exhausted so we just went back to sleep.  I'm a fan of Jennifer Hudson but I would never go anywhere with my sister if she didn't get enough sleep.  Brooke can be very cranky and if I'm also tired it is something I don't want to deal with.

After going back to bed and getting up a few hours later there was an event honoring a few celebrities.  Jennifer Hudson was one of the celebrities to perform in that event.  I was going to meet my friend Maria and maybe have Brooke come along if she wanted too. I went with Brooke into the city in mid afternoon to head to the event.  When we arrived at the event there was no one there.  People were still setting up and the weather was lousy.  It was raining on and off.  It was a real pain.  Maria still wasn't there and we could only do is just wait.  It didn't seem like a big event.  I wasn't to excited to be there.  The weather was giving me a headache and that just made things lousier.  About 25 minutes of waiting I get a call from Maria telling me that the Spider Man show on Broadway was having its opening.  I don't think anyone would of thought it would of made it out of previews.  We all figured that might be a better event to go watch because there would be a lot more people there.  It was like a 15 minute walk because we were like 15 blocks away.  When we got to the theatre we saw a red carpet and a few people lined up waiting to see who would arrive.  Maria showed up a bit later.  It would be about an hour and a half until people showed up.  It was very hard to take pictures because of how many people were there and also they went in pretty fast into the theatre.  When the people started to arrive I saw one of John Lennon's sons, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Loren Michaels.  They didn't stop because I guess they had to get into the theatre quickly.  Brooke left before people were showing up because she was hungry and wasn't feeling well.  She was at the Apple Bee's getting some dinner.  I planned on meeting her there because I barely ate that day.  After I saw the few celebrities I decided I needed to eat something because I figured I wouldn't see anyone else.  Maria decided to go check the other side of the theatre to see if there was another red carpet.  Turns out there was and that was where most of the celebrities were arriving.  I wasn't to upset about it.  I figured Brooke and I could just go meet Robin Williams after the show finished.

After we ate we still had a few hours to waste.  I decided to go to Dave and Busters because I LOVE GAMES.  I am addicted to the claw machines and I am great at them.  If you don't believe me well tell me have you ever gotten 13 stuffed animals in one night from the claw machine?  Well I did and I gave them to my mom to give to her kids at her school.  I even won two  stuffed toys that were a 100 dollar bill.  I figured I would give one to Robin Williams as a joke saying I was paying him because he was so good.

Finally the time passed and it was time to go wait out in front of the stage door.  Luckily for us the play wasn't finished yet so we got great spots.  We even started talking to one of the workers at the theatre who makes sure the fans don't go over board crazy.  I asked him if there was anyone famous watching the play and he said he wasn't sure.  I mentioned I saw Kirk Douglas and he kept saying he didn't come to the show.  I was thinking OMG did I just post everywhere that I saw Kirk Douglas and this was some random old guy.  I was thinking OMG I made a fool of myself.  I just want to add I'm not familiar of what Kirk Douglas really looks like.  I have never met him in person and I have not watched many of his films.  The guy then said here I have a picture I'll show you of who was really here and he brought me in through the back stage door.  Honestly I didn't care I was walking through the stage door because all I could think is how stupid I was to mistake someone for Kirk Douglas.  He then shows me this picture of two old men at a barber shop.  Turns out he was just playing with me.  It was Kirk Douglas who I saw and he was just having some fun watching me freak out.

Me and Robin Williams

Robin Williams and Brooke

Probably about 20 minutes later after that joke Robin Williams came out.  I was shocked he came out so fast I figured he would be the last one to come out.  I couldn't wait to take a picture with him and I know Brooke was excited to meet him.  He comes up to us and I told him I want to pay him a $100 bucks.  He said sure thanks I'll give it to my dog.  I gotta say that was pretty cool and funny that he would at least be honest to what he was doing with it.  I didn't mind he was giving it to his dog because that dog could now have its own fake money to brag about.  Then I got to take a picture with Robin Williams and then I had to take Brooke's picture.  Now everyone who knows Brooke also knows never to let her take pictures.  Brooke managed to take my picture upside down and extremely blurry.  My picture I took of Brooke looks amazing.  So after I saw the picture I was pretty pissed because of how horrible it looked.  I hate to say it but it isn't hard to take a picture.  You press a button wait three seconds and its done.  Easy right?  For Brooke its extremely difficult.  Here look at the pictures to see for yourself.  I wan to add that I turned the picture right side up, but I can't fix how blurry it is.  That was the end to our long crazy day.  At least we got to meet Robin Williams.

GO CRAZY FOR THE TONY AWARDS

June 12th 2011 was the day of the Tony Awards.  For those who have never heard of the Tony's then you need to come to NYC from where ever you are because you need to see a musical on Broadway right away.   The Tony's celebrates Broadway just like the Emmy's, Ocars celebrate actors and actresses in movies and television shows.

I brought my sister Brooke to come along with me to watch celebrities walk the red carpet.  Now let me tell you it really sucked that we had to watch from across the street.  What was worse is that the streets weren't blocked off so buses, trucks and all cars would be passing by.  That was not cool.  Well before all of this since Brooke and I arrived at the Beacon theatre where it was taken place at around 2pm.  We had to wait about 3 hours until people would start arriving around 5:30pm.  Luckily for us there was a fair in the front of the Beacon theatre.  Out of all the days in the week they choose that day of the Tony's to have a street fair.  It was kind of funny but a great way to pass by the time.  Brooke and I were going to all the booths to check out what they had.  It was mostly jewelry and clothing.  It was a pretty good street fair.

Brooke and Christine and Me

Around 3:30pm Brooke and I rushed back across the street behind the theatre of the red carpet to find a good spot.  What really sucked is that the carpet was filled with reporters and camera crews.  It really wasn't fair.  That still didn't stop us from trying to get attention to our side.  I was wearing a Doogie Howser shirt for Neil Patrick Harris and Brooke came up with the idea to write a sign saying "I need a doctor in the house is Doogie Howser here".  That sign got us a lot of attention.  I also wrote another sign saying "WE LOVE THE TONY'S".  We watched the reporters turn around and start reading our signs.  They even started filming our signs which was awesome. Our sign even caught the attention of some people who work at a radio station SiriusXM.  They were really nice and they interviewed us and took pictures with us. When the celebrities started to come it was impossible to see them because of all of the reporters and camera crews on the carpet.  Like I said that didn't stop me from trying to have some fun.  I started to  scream to everyone across the street especially celebrities.  I would find out which celebrity was near our side and I would belt out one big yell of their name.  When Judith Light came by I kept yelling "Judith Light you were awesome on the Who's the Boss.  You are the boss on Who's the Boss"!  When it was Whoopi Goldberg I yelled out "Whoopie Goldberg you're awesome. Can I have tickets to the view"?  When I saw the cast of the musical Book of Mormon I started yelling to them and when they started reading our sign I think I started yelling as if we were in a conversation as a joke.  I also did this to several reporters looking our way.  "Hey. How are you?  I'm good.  Show some NYC LOVE"!!!  All of the people around me were finding it entertaining.  Brooke kept her hands over her ears because when you scream next to someone it usually hurts their ears.  I was having a blast.  One of the cops said from across the street "your loud".  I said "Thanks".  I never knew how loud I could be.  I was quite proud of my accomplishment.  What was even great is the attention I got for my yelling.  Besides some of the pissed of reporters the celebrities were actually waving to us.  I always got their attention.  It was quite hilarious and cool.

Me and Brooke

Since it was hard to get pictures of the celebrities I just got wide shots of the crowds and the red carpet.  You can see for yourself how crazy it was.  Even though we didn't get to meet anyone it didn't matter.  Right after the red carpet Brooke and I got on the subway to go to Times Square.  They were showing the Tony Awards on a big screen in Time Squares.  They even had a place where you can take a picture if front of Tony Awards background.  Brooke and I took a picture 5 minutes before the Tony's ended.  It was pretty cool.  I had a lot of fun and I would surely go again.

The Normal Heart

This is a continuation to the last post I put up.  The same day I saw Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, I also saw the show The Normal Heart.   This is a must see show.  When Ellen Barkin won a tony award for her performance in The Normal Heart it was well deserved.  During the show she has a speech that she gives with emotion and power.  It was an amazing performance.

Lee Pace

Joe Mantello

The Normal Heart takes place in the early 80's when the AIDS epidemic was just starting.  Ned Weeks played by Joe Mantello is a man who decides to spread the word about this disease because no one is doing anything about it.  He had teamed up with Dr Emma Brookner played by Ellen Barkin who informed him about the epidemic.  You follow Ned Weeks in his journey of letting everyone know about the disease.  You see him succeed, fall in love and his hardships.  The rest of the cast are Felix Turner played by John Benjamin Hickey, Jim Parson as Tommy Boatwright, Lee Pace as Bruce Niles, Patrick Breen as Mickey Marcus, Luke Mcfarlane as Craig Donner/ Grady, Mark Harelik as Ben Weeks, Richard Topol as Hiram Keebler/ examining doctor and Wayne Wilcox as David.

Jim Parsons and Me

Right after I had gone to see Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo, since Robin Williams wasn't coming out to meet the fans because it was in the middle of the day I decided to go see some of the stars of The Normal Heart.  Not all of the cast came out because it was in the middle of the day but I just really wanted to see Jim Parsons.  I did get to meet Lee Pace, Joe Mantello and Patrick Breen.  When Patrick Breen came up to me and asked "Why don't you get your play bill signed"? I had given him an envelope to sign and that's why he asked that. I said "I didn't see the show yet and I was going to see it tonight and I figured it would be easier to meet the cast now".  He thought it was a bit interesting and then went on to sign the other fans play bills.  Then I got to meet Jim Parsons.  I was really excited because he was a very funny actor on television and I couldn't wait to meet him in person. When I met him I actually didn't say anything except "Can I take a picture with you"? When he said sure  I just said "Thank you" right after the picture.  I thought it was pretty cool.  He was very calm and kind to everyone.

 I recommend this show to everyone.  The show is just phenomenal and it is based on the truth.  When I was at the show by the end everyone was in tears.  I felt like people working at the theatre should of been handing out tissues.  Instead what they did is hand out a letter that someone wrote.  Watching the show makes you feel different emotions such as anger, sadness, happy and you even might feel like you have power.  The power to stand up for a cause and fight for it.  I think this is a great show because of the education it provides the audience.  When ever there is a new disease out their in the world people handle it differently.  Everyone is equal and no matter what part of the population is affected by the disease those people should not be treated differently.  We are all equal and we are all people.  If one part of the population has a disease we should help them and not ignore it.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

Yesterday I went to two broadway plays Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and The Normal Heart.  I will talk about the The Normal Heart in my next post.  For those who don't know Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad  Zoo is about the beginning of the war in 2003.  Robin Williams also stars in the show.  The other stars are Glenn Davis, Brad Fleischer, Hrach Titizian, Sheila Vand, Arian Moayed and Necar Zadegan.

Hrach Titizian

Arian Moayed

Glenn Davis

I went to the first showing of the play of that day at 2pm.  I was very interested in what the play would be like.  I also wanted to see Robin Williams perform live.  I have to say the play was very interesting.  I'm not sure how else to put it.  The show gives you a look at how the war was, and how the soldiers and people were effected.  The play shows how the people felt after loss and killing others to survive.  You got the feeling that all of the people effected were haunted.  I think people should see this show because it lets you see how people effected by war feel.  For those who are not fighting the war or in the places where war is taking place, we really don't have an understanding of how the effects can be devastating.  Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo showcases all of the effects.  I wouldn't recommend young children to see this because I don't think they could handle the show, and it wouldn't be appropriate for them to see.

Kirk Douglas

After the show ended I rushed outside to meet some of the cast members from the play.  I found out that Robin Williams wasn't going to come out and that really sucked.  But it didn't matter because I could always come back and try to meet him.  What was really amazing is the first person to walk out of the stage door.  It was no other than KIRK DOUGLAS.  This man is 94 years old and looks fantastic.  He came to watch the performance just like anyone else.  He couldn't stop to take pictures or sign autographs but that didn't matter.  To see him in person was just fantastic.  I even got to take a quick picture of him coming out the stage door.  Since this was the first show of the day not all of the cast members would be coming out to meet the fans.  I did get to meet most of the men in the show.  They all were very kind while meeting the fans.

CHRIS ROCK on Broadway

Annabella Sciorra

There is a show on broadway called The Motherf**ker With the Hat starring Chris Rock, Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Annabella Sciorra and Yul Vazquez.  I really enjoyed this show and I recommend for people to see this show.  I also want to add that if you do not like cursing you will not like the show.  As you can see they have f**cker in the title and they really love to use that word A LOT.  Also the show would not be appropriate for younger kids.

Yul Vasquez

Elizabeth Rodriguez 

Alright let me start off this story by saying I had no plans going to see the show The Motherf**ker with the Hat.  What was originally suppose to happen that day is I got tickets for my sister and I to go see Jennifer Hudson perform.  We waited in line under the hot sun for about 3 hours for the event to start.  As the time passed for the show to start they told us that that Jennifer Hudson was admitted to the hospital.  Everyone on line was bummed out, and wished we would of known sooner.  But at the same time I felt bad for Jennifer Hudson and hoped she would be okay.  She had food poisoning, and if she performed in the heat with that it would be gutsy and crazy.  Since we didn't get to see Jennifer Hudson, that wasn't going to stop me from doing something with my sister Brooke in the city.  I remember going to the box office to the show The Motherf**ker with the Hat and asking if they had any discounts for the show, which they did.  So we headed to 45th street to the box office and checked to see if there were any tickets for the show that night.  And guess what.  There were extra tickets and for a decent price.  I didn't care that we would have to waste about 6 hours until the show.  At least we were going to be doing something in the city, rather then go home and do nothing.

6 hours in the city in the heat is not always the greatest.  It makes you tired and freaking hot.  It also makes some people cranky not naming names Brooke.  What was good about that day is that there was a drink product being advertised in times square.  I forgot the name of the drink but it was some sort of lemonade.  People were taking 5 bottles of lemonade because it was free.  I'm not a big fan of lemonade, but if its free I'm taking it.  I grabbed about 5 bottles to take around with us.  Brooke and I started just walking into stores in times square to pass the time.  Also I liked going into random stores because of the air conditioning.

Eventually it became 7pm and we started to head back to the theatre because the show started at 8pm.  I won't tell you that much about the show because I don't want to give it away.  I will tell you that the writers did an amazing job with putting some comedy in the serious situations.  I feel like it lifted the mood in the theatre, so it wouldn't all be a very dramatic and serious play.

Brooke and Bobby Cannavale

Bobby Cannavale and Me

Brooke and Chris Rock

Chris Rock and Me

After when the show ended I ran out of the theatre to get a good spot to stand by the stage door.  I think Brooke caught up to me when I got outside.  I think we got pretty good spots.  After about 10 to 15 minutes of waiting Annabella Sciorra came out to sign autographs.  She was really nice, and she sounded as if she was losing her voice.  I'm not surprised because her character does a lot of yelling in the show.  Then Yul Vasquez came out.  His character was awesome and hilarious.  When I got to meet him I said to him a line from the show "Where's the vondoom"?  He said "You mean vandawm".  I said it wrong but I'm going to go with that where I was sitting I couldn't hear well.  We then got into a short discussion about how a martial arts teacher taught him about pressure points.  Then Elizabeth Rodriguez came out.  She looked exhausted and anyone who does a broadway show is expected to be exhausted.  All of the actors and actresses came out exhausted, but she was the one who looked like she wanted to go home to sleep.  I actually felt a little bit bad because she had to meet people after the show.  Bobby Cannavale came out soon after.  I know my sister and I were a bit excited to see him because we met him about 2 years ago at our high school when he was filming the movie Weakness.  Brooke and I got to be extras with several other kids in our high school in the movie.  When he came to our side to where we were standing we told asked him if he remembered filming that, and we told him we were there.  Brooke and I also got to take a picture with him.  I just want to say this ahead of time that Brooke is the worst at taking pictures.  I know she may not like me saying that but she hears me tell it to her every time she takes a picture.  Alright finally Chris Rock comes out and starts taking pictures and signing autographs for his fans.  He was a cool guy, but also seemed dead tired at the time.  We go to take a picture with him which was awesome.  I was glad I got to meet him.  He is a very funny guy and to watch him perform live was a great experience.  And to thinks if Jennifer Hudson hadn't canceled Brooke and I may have not of gone to see the show.

STEVEO-O from JACKASS

On June 8, 2011 Steve-O came to NYC to do a book signing of his book called Professional Idiot: A Memoir.  I think the title is perfect for his book.  For those who don't know Steve-O, he is a guy who stars on the show Jackass.  Basically he does insane things that most people would be out of their mind to do.

I got to the Barnes and Nobles where Steve-O would be book signing around 9am, just a few minutes after the store had opened.  So far no one had gotten on line and after I purchased my book I headed straight outside to get my spot in line.  Luckily I arrived 30 seconds before two people had also shown up to get online.  I was first on line.  This was the first book signing that I was the first person in line and I thought that was pretty awesome.  I had 3 hours to wait before the event would start so I just started to read his book.  At first I didn't think I would become interested in his book, but I actually did.  He as lead quite an interesting life so far.

Steve-O

When it was 5 minutes to 12pm I knew I had to get ready if I wanted to see Steve-O come out of his car into the store.  I learned to be ready at all times after going to Sugar Ray Lenord's book signing.  As I looked to see the line I noticed a lot more people had shown up.  The line went around the corner of the store.  I wasn't surprised that a lot of people showed up this late.  Usually a crowd starts to form when it gets closer to the event. Some reporters from VH1 were waiting for Steve-O's arrival too.  I got to stand right next to them.  I thought that was cool. Minutes later Steve-O arrived.  I was glad I got to get a picture of him because he didn't stop to take pictures he had to get in to the store.  This was when he would have to do a few interviews and a quick photo shoot.  Turns out this interview would last longer than I had expected.  We weren't allowed to line up inside until 12:20pm.

Still inside we had to wait another 20 minutes until the event would start.  He was still doing some interviews, so we had to be very quiet.  I would try and take a sneak peek of him doing his interview when ever the guard in front of me wasn't looking.  I found it to be cool.  He seemed very down to earth unlike a very insane guy.  What I found to be interesting is that in the interview he mentioned he almost didn't make it to the book signing because earlier that day he had gotten an injury during another interview.  I was thinking to myself "Are you serious.  This can't be real".  Really it shouldn't of been surprising because for one he does crazy stunts and in his book he talks about all  of the injuries he has received, and there are a lot of injuries.  Luckily he was okay and he was able to make to the event.

Steve-O and Me

After the interviews just minutes before we were told we could take pictures with him.  I kept saying "yay".  I was up to meet him and turns out I wasn't first because there were a few people who had to go before me.  I wasn't upset about it.  I was totally cool about it.  When it was my turn to meet him I got nervous.  I didn't know what to say.  Thankfully the person next to him told him that my shirt said Normal people Scare Me.  He said "That's awesome".  And I responded very softly "It's true".  I said it so low I don't think he heard me, but 10 seconds later he took a picture with me. I was glad I went to the event.  Book signings for me are like adrenaline rushes and I love going to them.  I also meet great people and I'm glad I get to go to these events. 

LEGENDARY SUGAR RAY LENORD

All boxing fans listen up.  Sugar Ray Lenord was in NYC signing his new book The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring.  I really enjoyed this book signing, even though there were no discussions or questions it was still pretty cool from the start to the end.

Sugar Ray Lenord

On June 7, 2011 I went to Sugar Ray Lenord's book signing event around 7am.  I was pretty tired because it was so early in the morning, or at least was for me.  I was the third person in line and I couldn't wait for Barnes and Nobles to open up at 9am so I could get the book.  I thought the book might be interesting because I'm not a big sports fan.  I still like to read about new things and boxing is one of them.  When the store opened I kept to myself in line and started to read the book.  I did this for about an hour and a half and then I decided to get some breakfast across the street.  The people on line were very kind and they weren't going to kick me out of the line if I left.  After I came back I went straight to reading again.  I was very interested in the book, and I hoped to get it finished by the time the book signing started.  Sadly I wouldn't be able to finish on time, but that doesn't matter.

Signed boxing glove

While reading the book I started getting tired, so I decided to take a break from reading.  I then decided to see how many people were on line, and by this time a few more people had gotten on line.  One person on line recognized me from one of the book signings I went to and he came over and we started to talk.  It wasn't a long conversation and when we were done he left and I went back to sitting.  When I was trying to stretch my legs I accidently kicked one of the guys on line on the back of his leg. I thought "My god I'm an idiot"  I then started to apologize.  I told him I didn't mean to I was just stretching.  He was cool about it.  What he did next was ask if I wanted to buy a boxing glove for a $1 to get signed.  I thought what the hell its a dollar and its something to get signed so I bought it from him.  I really liked the boxing glove because it gave me something to do.  Even though it was just one I put it on and started to pretend to be a boxer.  Yes I did get a few stares, but this is NYC everybody does crazy things there.  If you can go to NYC and not find anything interesting happening on the streets.  Then your not in the real NYC.

I started to talk more to the people in line.  The time was passing by very fast, and I didn't mind waiting.  I had my boxing glove to play with and the book and the people in line.  I even met a young boy about 5 years old who was going around to everyone in line and just talking to them.  He was very cute and I think he was very excited to meet Sugar Ray Lenord.  Finally it was 12pm just 30 minutes away from the book signing.  While I was sitting talking with the young boy, Sugar Ray Lenord came out of his car and into the Barnes and Nobles.  I was like come on couldn't of waited two more minutes so I could take a picture.  I wasn't really upset.  I just found it funny during the one moment I was not paying attention he shows up.   It wasn't to long after until we brought inside to wait for the book signing.  I was excited and I didn't know what I was going to say to him.  I knew nothing about boxing and about his career.  I figured maybe I would just wing it like I normally did.  Luckily this time I wouldn't have to.

Sugar Ray Lenord

Finally the signing had begun. I waited for 2 minutes until it was my turn to go up to him.  When I got up to meet him I was very nervous.  My mind went blank and I didn't know what to say.  He then looked up at me and said "Are those head phones for your music"?  I said "Yea".  Then he said " They look cool.  Who makes them".  I said this in a very chipper voice "Radio Shack".  He said "That's cool".  I said "Yea they are you should get a pair".  I then walked away because if I didn't the workers probably would of told me I had to leave and I didn't want that.

I couldn't believe what had happened and I was pretty excited that I got to meet him.  He was a very nice guy.  I enjoyed getting to meet him, and I'm glad I came to this book signing.

Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars

Rick Harrison

Anybody like the History Channel?  Are you a fan of the show Pawn Stars?  If you said yes to both questions then let me tell you about Rick Harrison's book signing in NYC.  Alright for those who don't know who Rick Harrison is,  well he is just a regular guy who has a reality show.  His show Pawn Stars is exactly what it sounds like.  He owns a pawn shop and its a family business.  Basically he gets very unusual items in his store and we get to watch him work.

Rick Harrison came to NYC for his book signing on June 6, 2011.  I got their around 2pm because I figured that's when people would show up.  I thought this might be a big crowd to come see him.  I was surprised when nobody really showed up until around 6pm.  The book signing didn't start til 7pm.

Still even by 7pm there weren't a lot of people.  There was a decent amount of people, but I thought maybe there would be some late comers to the signing.  When Rick Harrison arrived at 7pm he was walking up to the podium.  It was pretty funny because no one was applauding him.  I think it was because it was a small crowd and no one was really paying attention to anything, but reading his book.  Then the lady who made this event possible said softly "You can give him an applause now".  I thought that was funny for someone to have to tell an audience to applaud for the main event.  Then everyone started to applaud and yell out.

Rick Harrison

Rick Harrison walked up to the podium and he started to read a few chapters of his book.  I felt bad for him because he seemed to be very nervous. While he was reading he was stumbling on some of the words, but then again I don't blame him.  He's just a regular guy on a reality show doing one of his first book signings.  If I were him I would of been freaking out.  I believed the audience gave him sympathy and didn't judge him.  I think they didn't care because they just were glad he was here.  After he read about 2 chapters of his book he took questions from the audience.  Most of the questions were about what items he gets in the store, how he got the show, and about the rest of the cast.

Me and Rick Harrison

I was in the first row, so I was the second person to meet him.  When I got up to him I said "Hey I really like your pawn stars facebook game.  I'm really addicted to it".  He said thanks and then I got a picture with him.  In overall he was a nice guy.  He was just nervous because he never did anything like this.  I think it's pretty cool that he got this opportunity.  He loves what he does and now he gets to show the world, and teach them about rare items in the world.

Lombardi

Vince Lombardi was a coach for the Green Bay Packers.  He was such a great coach that they decided to make a broadway play about him.  Well at least the part of how Lombardi led The Green Bay Packers to several victories.  For me I had no idea who Vince Lombardi was.  All I knew was that Judith Light and Dan Lauria were both starring in the play.  When I found that out I knew I had to go because I loved their shows Who's The Boss and The Wonder Years.

I was lucky to get tickets because when I found out about this play, the play was about to end in about 2 and a half weeks or so.  Luckily I got tickets to see their final performance.  I have never seen the last show of any broadway play or musical before so I was pretty psyched to go see it.  I remember May 22, 2011 was the day I went to see the play with my sister Brooke.

The show started at 3pm and we had gotten to the city sometime around the morning because we had plans before we went to go see the play.  But I remember I wanted to get to the theatre around 2pm because for one we had to pick up the tickets and two I wanted to make sure there was enough time to get to the place if we got lost.  Luckily we got to the theatre pretty quickly.  I remember standing on line waiting to get my tickets.  It wasn't a long wait.  I got the tickets and I looked at them to see where we would be sitting.  Honestly I couldn't tell if they were good or bad seats.  They just looked confusing and Brooke didn't know either.  Instead we decided to just find out when we got into the theatre.  It was about 2:30 when they started letting people downstairs into the lobby.  They had a stand where they were selling souvenirs of the show.  I decided to get a poster so I could get it signed by the cast, and I got the last teddy bear they were selling.

20 minutes later the doors opened and we could get our seats.  When I walked into the theatre I was surprised that there was only a small stage and it was in the center of the room.  Around the room were all the seats circling the stage.  I have never been to a theatre like that so I wasn't sure how they were going to do the play.  Brooke and I got to our seats.  I had an aisle row and Brooke was sitting right next to me.  10 minutes later there was a lady who was with her elderly father.  When she arrived at the aisle which we were sitting in, she was upset to know that she had ordered aisle seats and didn't get them.  I felt bad and so did my sister so we decided to move down the row and take their seats so her father could sit in the aisle.  I didn't mind moving and actually I'm glad we did because they were better seats.  We got to see one of the doors leading to the stage and we were above the other door.  I couldn't wait for the play to start.  I really wanted to see Judith Light and Dan Lauria live on stage.

By the time 3pm came around people were still coming to their seats.  The play didn't start until 10 minutes later.  The place was packed with football fans, and people who just came to see the show.  I felt a little bit out of place because I had no idea who Vince Lombardi was, nor am I fan of football.  But when the show started I didn't care about that.

The play was incredible.  It actually made me want to become a fan of football.  Everyone who was apart of the play got on stage.  Everyone stood up and applauded everyone on the show for the amazing job they did.  It last for about 15 minutes because they also made a few short speeches.  I found it to be pretty cool.  As the crowd started to empty out of the theatre there was one  actor who didn't go backstage yet.  Brooke and I walked down the stairs to see if we could speak to him and to give him a rose.  Luckily we got to meet him, Robert Christopher Riley who played Dave Robinson.  He was very kind, and he let us talk to him.  I gave him a rose and he signed my poster.  We then headed upstairs to wait for the other stars to come out.  I was really shocked that only a few people were there waiting.  I figured it was their last show a lot more people would be waiting.

After waiting for about 20 minutes Bill Dawes who played Paul Hornung came up to the lobby.  At first Brooke and I weren't sure if it was really him, and Brooke said go ask and so I did.  I didn't actually ask if that was him because luckily someone else went up to him before I did.  I handed him a rose and asked if he would sign my poster.  He was cool about it.  He even made a joke about me giving him the rose saying "Oh now I see what you're doing.  Your bribing me with a rose".  I laughed I then tried to play along.  I forgot what I said but it was so bad it was funny.  After me a few more people asked him to sign their playbills. Then Keith Nobbs came out to the lobby and he played Michael McCormick.  He was a nice guy.  He signed everybody's playbill and poster in a line.  Brooke even handed him a rose. As a joke I started to give him a sales pitch on the rose.  I said "It's a fake flower perfect if you have allergies and you don't have to water it". He laughed then thanked her and then he had to leave.  Chris Sullivan who played Jim Taylor came to the lobby.  Brooke handed him a rose when he came by us because he had been signing autographs in a line.  I want to add that we were lined up that way and nobody told us where to stand.  He was a sweet guy because he said thank you and he just seemed down to earth when you spoke to him.

Me and Dan Lauria

Finally one of the people I had been waiting to see was less than a foot away from me.  I was very excited and there were moments when I forgot to breathe.  It was Dan Lauria. He was the lead of the play because he played Vince Lombardi.  He then walked over to the fans and started signing autographs.  I kept saying "OMG OMG!! He's COMING".  I think Brooke thought I was acting insane but I didn't care.  He first met Brooke and she started talking about The Wonder Years.  She said she really liked it.  Dan Lauria said "it was all because we had such great writers". So I said "Well I'm not a fan of the writers because they killed you off on the last episode.  I just thought that was just not cool.  Especially when they announced it in the last 3 minutes of the show".  He found it a bit funny and he laughed.  I asked him if he could sign my poster and he did.  My sister then asked him if he could sign her notebook which is technically mine.  He said "Why don't you get your playbill signed"?  Brooke said "This is just a book full of autographs its basically of every famous person we meet".  He understood.  I then asked him for a picture and he said sure.  I was like OMG this is awesome.  Brooke then asked for a picture and she got to take one with him.  He was very down to earth while talking to us.  He also seemed very tired, and I don't blame him because he just performed in a play.   Now the last person who was left was no other than Judith Light who played Marie Lombardi.  I didn't care how long it took to meet her I wanted to wait.  It was about 15 minutes we waited until she got into the lobby.  Then about 4 older guys came out of no where into the lobby and tried to cut me and Brooke in line to get an autograph.  I was annoyed about that because we waited and then they just come out of no where.  It's just disrespectful to do that.  Judith Light was walking and signing autographs all at once because she was in a hurry to get somewhere.  I tried getting my poster closer to get her to sign it and I just became star struck.  All I could think is that I am meeting Angela Bower from Who's the Boss.  It didn't seem real.  I was glad that she could sign my poster.  I wanted to yell out "You were awesome in Who's the Boss".  I'm not sure if I said it because I was too star struck to realize what I was saying.  I did hear Brooke yell out "You are amazing on Law and Order SVU".  Judith Light eventually made it out of the door and I met up with Brooke and we walked out behind her.  I wished I could of gotten a picture with Judith Light but just getting to watch her on Broadway and to sign my poster was good enough for me.  I really enjoyed the experience and normally I don't like plays or football.  But this play got me to like plays and I liked football a little bit.  I'm still not a huge fan of football.