With an entry title like this, one might think we'd be celebrating another person's death. But in this case, I am talking about a visit to NYC to see the play "Dead Outlaw" on Broadway. As much as I should have gone into NYC yesterday when the weather was cooler, or earlier today, when more tickets were available, I have no complaints. The play was well worth what I paid to see it.
But first....
I keep adding more clothes to the "Dirty Laundry" baskets, and I have enough to fill two washers. Since RQS is coming up on Friday, I figured that I could either do the wash today, or put it off until tomorrow. Guess what I chose? If you thought I'd stop putting this task off, you'd be wrong. If anything, I started putting winter clothes into storage containers, and figured that I have to start on a third donation bag with excess clothing that's currently in the closet.
Around 3:30 pm, I decided that I was finally going to go into into NYC to see a Broadway play. Only one problem. By the time I would get to Croton-Harmon station, I would be on the margin of being able to get tickets to one of the plays I want to see before those plays started. As I got to the station, the 4:46 pm train was leaving the platform. So I took my time walking to the elevator to the ticketing area. At the elevator, there was a mob of friends packed inside and the doors weren't closing. Taking the stairs, I got to the ticketing area at the same time as this group. Luckily, I was able to get to one of the ticket vending machines without having to wait for this group to be done, And then, I had to wait 20 minutes for the train.
Once on the train, it took me 45 minutes to cool down from the heat outside. Thankfully, I was wearing one of my favorite dresses, as I would have died if I were wearing much else. (Too bad that I have to wear wigs, as they don't allow my head to radiate heat the way natural hair would allow.) When I got to Grand Central Terminal, I skipped the chance to take a bio-break, and this would be a concern later on I took the crosstown subway, then walked to the TKTS office in Times Square to buy a ticket for a Broadway play.
For those readers not familiar with NYC, Times Square has been a place that true New Yorkers avoid as much as possible. It is a place fit only for tourists and for people in transit to Broadway plays. Assuming one has taken the subway to Times Square / 42nd street, even a native New Yorker can get confused where uptown and downtown is due to the buildings with scaffolding on them - it's hard to see the street signs and traffic lights which give clues as to which way to walk. So it took me a couple of minutes to find my way to Duffy Square (at the Northern end of the Times Square area) and the TKTS office.
Of the plays I wanted to see, only Dead Outlaw was on sale. $95 later, with ticket in hand, I went to the theater and went to my seat. (Or, I thought it was my seat.) A few minutes later, the usher came by and directed me to another seat - he mistakenly told me to sit in the wrong seat. Now, I was dead center, 7 rows out, with no way to sneak out for a bio-break. Throughout the next 1 hour, 40 minutes, I was hoping that the play would end soon, so that I could go to the loo. Yet, even with this annoyance, I enjoyed the play. Would I have paid $190 to see it at full price? No. But for $95, it was worth it to me.
Before I go on too far, Dead Outlaw is a musical based on a real person's life and afterlife. Elmer McCurdy was a person who lived a complicated life, wanting to become a bandit from childhood. His life took him in many directions, and he ended up becoming an incompetent bandit before being shot to death in 1911. And that's the beginning of his afterlife story. The coroner who embalmed his body mummified him, and charged money for people to see his corpse. The body ended up being an exhibit in several traveling shows, a prop for movies, and a display for a scary amusement park ride before being forgotten about for decades. It was only in the 1970's did the body show up again, and finally put in its final resting place. Hopefully, they will find a way to make this person's life and afterlife into a movie.
But back to the play....
I first heard a clip of the musical's opening number being sung in front of the Coney Island Sideshow Museum - and it was a perfect fit to be performed there. (Sadly, I can't find that clip now.) So, it became one of several musicals I wanted to see. The music was a blend of rock and Broadway styles, and had an energy that I like in my musicals. The story was wonderfully macabre, without being gruesome. Once one gets used to the main character being a corpse for 45 minutes, it's fun.
Luckily for me, the play ended with enough time left to make it to the ladies' room without incident. As I left the theater, I fought the usual Times Square crowds to make it to the shuttle, and grabbed a bite to eat when I got to Grand Central. Sadly, the train I took home stopped at Yankee Stadium, and got crowded with fans who saw the home team lose. At least, the play had a happy ending - the corpse is finally buried, encased in 6 inches of concrete (to prevent further use of the corpse).
