"An American in Paris"

This post and these pictures won't do it justice, but this was one of the coolest things I've done in a long time...

When Jae and Amy were in town they wanted to see a Broadway show and they invited Josh and me to join them. Josh is studying diligently every night for the CFA exam coming up, so he couldn't take the time to see the show (since he had already taken off a full Saturday from studying when we went into NYC on Saturday). I felt bad seeing a show and having a fun night while Josh stayed home and studied, but he encouraged me to go. 

Anyway, what show should we see?? Well! It just so happens that my childhood next-door-neighbor is the lead actor in the new Broadway show "An American in Paris". Let's talk about Robbie for a minute. Robbie - and his sister, and his wife - have been a principal dancers at the New York City Ballet and then all three of them have crossed over to do Broadway shows this year. This is Robbie's first Broadway show and yet he's already been nominated for a Tony award. (Along with the additional 11 Tony nominations "An American in Paris" received this year). It has been so fun to follow Robbie's career and see all the success he's achieved. 

I still remember talking to Robbie through the backyard fence and performing with him in our middle school play. (He made it a whole lot further in his acting career than I did in mine! Ha!) It was such a cool experience to watch Robbie perform. The show was fantastic and Robbie is amazing in his role. He has been called "the next Gene Kelly" and it's true!

 Robbie knew we were coming to the show and he was nice enough to put us on his VIP list and take us backstage. (His dressing room was once Judy Garland's dressing room...pretty cool). We hung out with him while he stood in a thigh-high bucket of ice. We chatted all about Broadway life, Robbie's funny celebrity run-ins at the Met Gala the week before, and good memories from our days in Sandy, Utah. Robbie is one of the most talented people I know and yet he's still as down to earth and gracious as ever. It will be fun to stay in touch and see where his career takes him! 

Such a fun night! 

P.S. This was my second time taking the train into NYC on my own, but my first time taking it late at night. I know it's funny, but I always feel like a rockstar when I can navigate the trains/subway on my own and actually make it to my destination. I was a little nervous walking to Penn Station late at night, especially when I got turned around and thought I was going to miss my train! I'm sure I provided some good entertainment for anyone watching me frantically run around the 34th street area trying to find the Penn Station entrance(!!), but I somehow made my train and made it safely home. Whew!