Crispo - West Village

My wonderful friend Andrew took me to Crispo (240 West 14th Street) for my birthday.  We had a fantastic meal of pasta (Trofie al Prosciutto) and the steak for him.  I'll tell you, when you've got great service, you never want to leave.  We just ordered glass after glass of wine and Andrew had an after dinner drink to boot.  I can't wait to go back!!

HARVEY

My #broadwaybuddy and I went to see Harvey starring Jim Parsons (Elwood P. Dowd), Jessica Hecht (Veta Louise Simmons), Charles Kimbrough (William R. Chumley, M.D) and Carol Kane (Betty Chumley).  What a delightful show!!  It was lighthearted, funny, witty and made for Jim Parsons.  I walked out smiling ear to ear.

If you're looking to get discount tickets for RTC's shows, use this site (HIPTIX) if you're between the ages of 18-35.

DRAMA DESK AWARDS

My #broadwaybuddy and I thought it would be fun to get dressed up and attend the Drama Desk Awards at The Town Hall on Sunday, June 3rd.  The show was co-hosted by Brooke Shields and Brian d'Arcy James.  The show was a lot of fun mainly because we saw a ton of our favorite singers, dancers and actors.  Here's a list of some of the people we stood just feet from:

• Bernadette Peters
• Norm Lewis
• Kevin Spacey
• Judith Light (winner Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Other Desert Cities)
• James Corden (winner Outstanding Actor in a Play, One Man, Two Guvnors)
• Audra McDonald (winner Outstanding Actress in a Musical, The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess)
• Alan Menken (winner Outstanding Music, Newsies)
• Judy Kaye (winner Featured Actress and Actor in a Musical, Nice Work If You Can Get It)
• Tracie Bennett (winner and best speech Outstanding Actress in a Play. End of the Rainbow)
• Michael Cerveris
• Linda Lavin
• Marin Mazzie
• Molly Ranson
• John Larroquette
• Martha Plimpton

Maybe one year we'll actually make it to the Tony Awards!!

marX - Midtown East

marX (208 E 58th Street bw 2nd & 3rd) is by far my favorite happy hour spot in Midtown East.  The drink specials are amazing and the food delicious.  Plus, you can't beat the company of the staff at this place.  My friend hosted her birthday dinner here and a lot of people from the area visit for lunch & dinner.  The decor is contemporary, the music chill and the smiles endless.  You'll thank me once you try the parmesan white truffle fries and basically anything else on their menu.  Come check it out!!

ONCE...Again

Jill (#broadwaybuddy) and I could not resist seeing Once for the second time in less than three months.  We loved it even more and we shed just as many tears listening to the beautiful score from this show.  Even my friends who are not theater fans were touched by the music and the story.  I can't recommend it enough!!

Take a look at the performance from the Tony Awards:

GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES

On May 10th, my #broadwaybuddy and I went to see Gentleman Prefer Blondes with Megan Hilty (Lorelei Lee).  Wow...what a production!!  I had never seen Megan perform live until I saw this show and she knocked the entire audience right out of their seats with that voice, her acting chops and her uncanny resemblance to Marilyn Monroe.  This role was meant for her!!  The entire cast did a fantastic job and I'm so happy that we got these last minute tickets.

Disney World - The Happiest Place on Earth

My childhood best friend Erin and I went Disney World for Cinco de Mayo.  Good Lord did we have a good time!!  I was able to get us a free room by signing up for a timeshare presentation via Wyndham Resorts.  The hotel was beautiful!!  Our room, bathroom, the grounds, the pools and the people were all top notch.  The only negative was the length of the presentation.  What should've been a few hours literally last 5 hours.  It was so long that we missed our dinner reservation and I was borderline tearing up but in the end, it was worth it.  I highly recommend the resort!!  There was free transportation to & from the parks and you were able to buy your park passes in the hotel lobby.  Erin and I went to Deep Blu (restaurant in the hotel) for dinner.  Amazing food!!  Later in the evening we went to Jelly Rolls (at Disney's Boardwalk Resort) until closing.  I had been there several times and knew it was a guaranteed good time.  On Cinco de Mayo we went to Bongos Cuban Cafe for drinks and Paradiso 57 for dinner.  On Sunday we went to Epcot and drank our way through the countries.  Of course this doesn't compare to the Food & Wine Festival but it was still a ton of fun.  Needless to say, we weren't feeling too hot on Monday.  Disney can be done on a budget...even as 34 years olds, we managed to find happy hour specials, park discounts and bargained for cab rides.  I've been to Disney over 30 times and I'll never get sick of it.