Words can’t describe how beautiful today was. “Gorgeous” doesn’t do it justice.
I was up early, early, early for a meeting at work and then I came back home to grab a quick nap. Elizabeth and I had back to back show tickets for today. A musical, I Love You Because, then a revisit to a play I saw a couple of weeks ago, Based on a Totally True Story.
We were seeing both for under $10.
I am my mother’s son…I know how to find a deal.
We left early to explore the neighborhood where the first theater was. Ended up it was a couple blocks from Washington Square Park and some of the greatest little streets in lower Manhattan.
We came across a cute little store that Elizabeth feel in love with. It’s called Purdy Girl. Very unique and trendy, in a throw-back kind of way. Elizabeth found hats and dresses that she fell in love with as well as several pairs of shoes she heard calling her name. She only bought one pair but she vowed to return for more. She forged a fast friendship with the store’s manager…so I have a feeling Elizabeth will be spending more and more time down in the Village.
We walked through Washington Square…the fountain is still drained and many New Yorkers were encircled in the cement soaking in the sun. Around the park there were Tulips EVERYWHERE. Gorgeous yellow tulips with hints of red and black tulips, which I’d never seen before. There was a dog park…with huge Great Danes and small Jack Russell’s running and playing together.
As we walked down the sidewalk we talked about how we both want to spend more time in parts of the city we don’t know very well. The Village is high on that list. There is so many streets and nook to check out…and there are off-beat restaurants and shops around every corner. Stores like Purdy Girl and restaurants like Peanut Butter & Co. which use to be a favorite place of mine to hang out at when I’d come up on vacation. I haven’t been there since I moved here.
Peanut Butter & Co. is restaurant with variations of peanut butter and PB flavored items on the menu. Elizabeth and I ran in on our way to the theater. I got a PB & J Milkshake.
That’s right. A Peanut Butter and Jelly milkshake. They have it all.
The musical, I Love You Because, was really cute. It is a new romantic comedy about the ups and downs of dating and breaking up in New York City. It isn’t the greatest musical ever written but it was cute and funny AND there was a story line to follow…unlike…um…Lestat.
Visit: www.iloveyoubecausethemusical.com
After the show, Elizabeth and I headed uptown. We got off the train at Columbus Circle and walked across the bottom of Central Park on the way to see Based on a Totally True Story.
This was my second time seeing the show and I was again moved by the story and performances.
This time I was able to process more of my feelings about the characters. I am fully aware that it is “just a story” …a play…but I was able to connect to what it is in the relationships of the characters that touches me.
It’s forgiveness. It’s embracing the mistakes and the hurt. It is acknowledging the betrayal and pain and then healing.
There is a great moment of…acknowledging and embracing in the show. When faced with that moment, the lead character, Ethan, says, “It’s hard to pretend you weren’t in love with someone.”
That is the trick. When you’ve betrayed and hurt, it is a process to get back to a place where you can see that person again and find the love you had for them.
THAT is the moment I love in the show.
Though the characters lives are moving in different directions they can look at each other and see beyond their history. They can’t go back and recapture or even redeem what they lost, but they can appreciate their time together.
That alone is a journey.
