Mark was nearing the end of his "independent study" and we just really wanted to have one last fabulous outing before he had to return to the grueling schedule a third year med student faces. So, we played the lottery for a Wednesday matinee showing of Kinky Boots.
Winning the Lottery
For those who don't know, playing the lottery for a Broadway show slightly differs at each theatre, but in the case of Kinky Boots, you show up 2.5 to less than 2 hours before showtime (so for a 2pm show, the lottery starts at 11:30). When you show up, you find the table with the slips where you write your name. Each person present can win up to 2 tickets, and by "win," I mean "gets the chance to buy" certain tickets. Because Mark was there, we both got to put our name in the drawing, each aiming to win two tickets. If both of us would have won, we would have just declined the second pair. Kinky Boots typically gives out around 20 tickets, only 10 names, designated "partial view" priced at $37 each, which is a great deal considering the original tony-winning cast doesn't have any regular tickets priced under $75. But, for whatever reason (probably weekday matinee), they were giving out 40 lottery tickets! They close all lottery entries at 2 hours prior to showtime (so noon), and you must be present with a valid, matching ID to win. They mean business. 10 seconds to say you're here or they'll call the next name. So the people who were playing the lottery at Matilda's matinee and at Kinky Boots were being really optimistic. Anyway, the whole lottery drawing process really only takes about 15 minutes and can be quite entertaining! Kinky Boots gives out pins to wear announcing your victory.
<tangent: We had previously played the lottery at Book of Mormon and were unsuccessful at winning tickets on a Saturday night. We played against over 200 other people for 22 tickets, most of which were front row orchestra seats!)>
We were really lucky to have my name called fourth, meaning we got to buy ticket numbers 7 & 8 (but really 3 & 4 because there was a larger group trying to see if they could win more tickets and get seated together!). So, we were sitting in the right box, second row! The couple behind me said not to spit on the cast; that's how close we were!
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| Me. And the stage. 😄 |
The Show
The show was fabulous! I love catchy books. And Cyndi Lauper knows catchy! I also love shows that make you reevaluate everything you know, while teaching valuable life lessons. In this case, I really opened my eyes to cross-dressing and accepting people for who they are. (Not as life changing as Wicked which asks my favorite question: is good vs. evil really so black and white? And it makes you question everything you ever knew including the clearly obvious good vs. bad witches in The Wizard of Oz.)
The costumes were outstanding. The characters were easy to catch on to but still very deep. And my favorite was Don because he reminded me of everything I hate about close-minded Texans and still grew to be a very decent human being. Oh, and the plot being centered around shoes was totally relatable! Good humor, not too cheesy, yadah, yadah. I loved it. Really I just want to highlight how I felt at the end. I'm a sapper. I cry when I see others cry and/or when cheesy music tells me to (among other motivators). Kinky Boots has a happy ending and I just couldn't stop crying. I'm pretty sure I made eye contact with several of the cast and they were probably like, "why the heck is that person bawling?" Uhg. But it was SO good. I just felt a flood of emotion. I told my husband I was crying because I didn't want it to end. But honestly, I just wasn't able to process so much emotional awesomeness that my body was like "must eject emotion somehow" and thought tears were better than standing up and shimmying. I approve of crying if torn between those two choices I guess... But they were definitely tears of happiness. Tears of fulfillment. Tears of "thank god other people want this world to be a more tolerable, loving, cheesy, fun, full of life place, too." And they were slightly embarrassing outward emotional neon-sign tears, but my heart was too full of joy to keep it all in. So. Good.
At the end of the already tearfully amazing show, some of the cast members stayed on stage to let us know they were collecting donations for an even greater cause--we just had to look for the cast wearing the boots. Simply incredible, selfless acts. Why aren't these guys making the money of NFL players? 8 shows a week, man. And they work hard.
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| Really annoying "awww" that accompanies really adorable couple pics. |
After the Show
My senses and emotions already spilling over the brim, we walked the half a block to the Art of the Brick at the Discovery Times Square. My MIL had bought us a Living Social deal so we could see the temporary exhibit. I went from one amazing expression of creativity to another. The Art of the Brick was fabulous also. Artist Nathan Sawaya seems like a cool dude. I loved his explanations on the pieces (why he created what he did, what it means, how he hopes to inspire young artists, etc.). We definitely had a great time in awe of his work. No more tears but one totally happy camper. Oh and did I mention I was reading a book called "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" written by a former Creative Director (and Creative Paradox) at Hallmark, Gordon MacKenzie, the whole subway ride home and back? Since the basis of Myramark originally started with greeting cards and wanting a "logo" like Hallmark, it was pretty awesome. And the author had such a cool life in such a wacky corporate world. Yeah. Life is bliss when in a constant state of inspired.
Real life pixels!
