Autumn in New York (and Harry Potter on stage)

Yesterday my husband and I returned from a fantastic few days in New York, where he was doing some research at New York Public Library’s Berg Collection, and I was tagging along for the fun. I didn’t have a camera with me, so I can’t share photos, but here are some highlights (and illustrative, found videos).

FOOD

• Mid-morning coffee at the delightful Cafe Borgia II in SoHo, where we shared a melt-in-your-mouth choco croissant
• Lunch at Greenwich Village’s mostly vegan Quantum Leap (we must return with our son)
• Dinner and book gossip at Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro with a friend in publishing
• Dinner at one of our favorite New York eateries, John’s Pizzeria (Times Square location), a former cathedral converted into a restaurant. You can see shots of the interior in this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSzoDX7qtNU]

CITY WALKING

On Thursday, we walked from our accommodations in Midtown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and back, and the next day to the site of the World Trade Center and back, for a total of about 15 miles. I grew up in a very rural area (six people per square mile!) and appreciate wide open spaces, but I also love to walk in a busy city. Brushing up against such a wide variety of people who are speaking different languages, on their way to or from what places I can only guess, reminds me of what a vast, wonderful, complex world we live in, and the realization of the insignificance of my part in it and the resulting, big-picture perspective make me continue on my way with a lighter step.

THEATER

Our “Harry Potter on Stage” tour continued (last month in London we saw Ralph Fiennes as Prospero in The Tempest) with How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We couldn’t decide what was more fun:

1. watching the show from our second-row seats, where we were close enough to see the sweat on the dancers’ brows,
2. enjoying the energy of the cast, who were obviously having as much fun as the audience, or
3. being surrounded by members of the Harry Potter Generation, who cheered and applauded every kick and melody from Mr. Radcliffe (the young woman sitting next to me was on the edge of her seat for the entire performance, and she excitedly emailed a photo of her playbill to friends right before the show started)

Here’s a taste of the musical numbers, from the 2011 Tony Awards:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAlkS2P3JA4]

At the end of the performance, to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette auctioned off a copy of the How To Succeed in Business… book prop that was used during the show (actually Machiavelli’s The Prince in a red cover). Someone uploaded a video, below, of the post-show event, which gives a good sense of the Daniel-mania among the ticket-holders (bidding began at $75, and the book eventually went for $1800). At the very beginning of the video, someone in the audience asks Radcliffe, “Do you come with it?” and John Larroquette answers, “Do you realize how many zeroes you would have to add to that?” This one is for you, Kelsey. Enjoy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SllGkwjC5ns]