New York, New York

Following my college graduation, my family hit the city to see the Columbia University campus, my soon-to-be-home for the next two years. For those who’ve never seen it, Columbia has a large, beautiful campus that’s hundreds of years old so, there was much to see. From there, we went out and about on a quick adventure.

We had a typical New York City day, milling around, eating at a bunch of restaurants and dipping into whatever stores interested us. Le Monde, a French restaurant near Columbia’s campus, may take all of my disposable income by the end of the year due to its proximity to where I live. We made a pit stop at Kinokuniya, a Japanese bookstore, and then had dinner at Bryant Park Grille. After a long and almost-over stimulating day of doing that and more, we went to see a Broadway show.

New York, New York is the remake of the 1977 film by the same name, starring Robert Dinero and Liza Minelli. This is from where we get the song “New York, New York.” It was a beautiful musical about being in New York City, and trying to make it there, in the post World War II era. Fun fact: when the Yankees win, they play “New York, New York,” by Frank Sinatra. When they lose, they play the version by Liza Minelli. That sexist ass bullshit aside, it is an incredible song no matter who is singing it.

Now, with Lin Manuel Miranda’s help, the show has been remade and brought to Broadway with some key changes made to the overall show. Needless to say, the performances were incredible. It was funny, the singing voices were powerful, and the two main characters had more chemistry than the periodic table–– exactly what you’d expect from a Broadway show. The lead actress gave such a stunning performance with a show stopping voice that brought the house down. People were jumping out of their seats, cheering, and singing along, making me realize that perhaps this was the finale. The show was nominated for 9 Tonys won a Tony for best scene design, to the surprise of no one.