WICKED at the Gershwin Theater

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Today we started our day with a rehearsal in the hotel's ballroom with Anthony Giles our conductor. In this way we began to learn about Mr Giles, musically. He was very precise about how we were to sing Faure's Requium. He would stop and correct us as far as pitch, phrasing, breathing, dynamics, pronunciation ( we were singing in Latin), and paying attention to the director. Then he would have us repeat the line as many times as necessary to get it right. He would also use his own voice to demonstrate, so we got to hear how beautiful and well trained his singing voice is. We all worked hard through the rehearsal (3 hrs) and came away with remarks such as "That was fun" and "I love getting to rehearse long enough to correct and improve."

We all dispersed and found a place to have lunch. John & I found a restraurent with Jerry and Bobbi Wilson and had Brunch. It tasted good and was satisfying. After our meal, we had the afternoon available to do some sightseeing. A tour of Lincoln Center had been planned so we started walking after looking at our map. Two hours and several blocks later I asked "HOW FAR IS IT?" The answer was "Not much farther ". Needless to say, I was tired and had sore feet when we finally arrived.

After a sitting rest period, our tour began. We back tracked 3 more blocks (#*&X%@!!) and entered the Jazz center building. Our tour there was very impressive including viewing Columbus Circle and the beginning of Central Park through the "window wall". Our tour guide was full of many stories about Jazz musicians, Dizzy, Pops, Winton, Ella, etc... There was more touring planned but John and I decided to rest. This was when we learned to ride on Bus 104 back to our hotel (much better than walking).

Many of our group had tickets for WICKED at the Gershwin Theater for tonight so we started looking for a restaurant close to the theater to have dinner. The piano player at the restaurant added to the general din of the Bar where we had our dinner. The performance of WICKED was spectacular!!! Great set, costumes, sound lighting, special effects, singing, character development,and acting. It was a Prooo-duction and we enjoyed it!!

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Photos

Colorful NY Street scene
Mural painting at the Jazz center

half of Columbuts Circle
check out the many taxis

the other half of Columbus Circle
also with many taxis

Globe structure
At Columbus Circle subway station

NYC skyline
through the performance window - note the speakers in the window wall

New Orleans Jazz Funeral
painting in the jazz center

GMA - ABC broadcast studio
ABC broadcast studio in times square - we see going home on 104 bus

The Palm Restaurant
we ate dinner here before the musical

Ceiling dragon from WICKED
Yes, the Musical was great - quite a production!