New York Cit-Dee, Dee Three

I’ve always enjoyed musicals, dating back to my youth when my mom and my aunt would take my siblings and me to the St. Louis Muny in Forest Park. The Muny is a large open air auditorium, and summer musicals there are a St. Louis institution.

These days, I still like musicals, but my wife isn’t a big fan (although she is willing to go to them on Broadway in New York–my son likes them too). So I don’t go too often–except when my wife isn’t around, and Dee has a chance to get dressed up and go. My first musical dressed was Hamilton in Chicago (bought a cute dress, needed a place to wear it), and have since been to Hairspray and Tootsie with my GG friend Karla, and to Moulin Rouge with my BFF Michelle. If Oh-Oh-Oh-klahoma ever comes to town, I will drag Ms. Dee-ism out to see it together, as that is her favorite. 

With three full days in New York, I was guaranteed to see a musical. At the top of the list was “Back To The Future”, as it had been recommended to me a while ago by a friend who makes regular trips to NYC to see Broadway performances. Originally, the weather forecast for Wednes-Dee was rain, so I decided a Wednes-Dee matinee was a good use for a rainy day (I got lucky and it didn’t rain any of the four days I was there).

I had some time to fill before the 2 PM matinee, so I walked to the Nordstrom near Central Park. I tried on a few things, bought a fun yellow summer dress (which I later decided didn’t fit well enough so I returned it, a rarity for me). 

I returned to my hotel room to change into a “love at first sight” blue dress that is one of my three or four favorite dresses, worthy of a Broadway musical. I wanted to wear heels with it, but in no way was I going to walk the mile (or so) to the theater in heels. Easy solution, one I first saw one of my co-workers in Sydney do twenty years before; wear sneakers and carry the heels. Once at the theater, off with the Red Keds, on with the sparkly heels.

Back to the Future was pretty faithful to the movie, with some added song and dance, of course, and the special effects were fun too (hard to get that DeLorean up to 86 mph on a small stage without getting creative). The theater was about half full, the understudies were in the main roles, but it was still a fun ride. I also noticed the sign next to the restrooms stating all should use the facility most compatible with their gender presentation, so that was a positive too.

My return walk to my hotel was via Times Square, in particular enjoying a stroll in a cute dress and heels in downtown NYC. Amidst Times Square, fashion gave way to comfort, and I sat and changed into my sneakers again. Later that evening, a return visit to Macy’s was in order. I found a junior’s black dress that I really liked–and it appeared to like me. I refused temptation for a couple of weeks, but cyberstalked the dress for a couple of weeks, until I was able to buy it online for about a third off.

It was getting late, but the blue dress I bought in Atlantic City was whispering to me that it wanted attention. I realized the music bar a block away–that I had been to Mon-Dee–still had desserts and the fine cider I had liked. While late for me was still relatively early for NYC, I changed, but wore the more comfortable heels this time. I went, enjoyed my drink and a different dessert, and savored my last Dee night in New York Cit-Dee.