NYC Valentines (Broadway Binge 2025 Part 1)
If you’ve been following us, you’ll know that we gorged on Broadway shows last fall, when we lived in New York City for two months. You would think that we’d had enough of Broadway for a while. But NOOOO! We go to NYC every year in February for my birthday, and since this year was a milestone birthday, we couldn’t possibly skip our annual Broadway Binge. And now that we are retired, and embracing nomad life, there was no reason to limit ourselves to just one weekend. So this year’s Broadway Binge would have two parts. The first was a four-day visit spanning Valentine’s Day.
Here’s what we saw in Part 1:
All In, a brilliant comedy about love with a rotating cast. Our performance starred Lin-Manuel Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Hank Azaria, and Tim Meadows. It was awesome seeing Miranda live, from the second row!
Dianne Reeves: With Love. This legendary jazz singer’s annual Valentine’s Day concert was outstanding. I loved the eclectic selection of songs, the expert jazz musicians, and the way Reeves engaged with the audience.
New York City Ballet. Amy joined us for a performance featuring two notable pieces by George Balanchine. John Lithgow starred in Christopher Wheeldon’s clever and whimsical production of Carnival of the Animals.
We made a return visit to the Museum of Modern Art to see a new exhibit, Pirouette: Turning Points in Design. It showcased objects that were surprising and unconventional at first, but had a big impact on everyday life. There were consumer products like the Sony Walkman, the Macintosh computer, Post-It Notes, and Spanx. There were symbols like emojis, desktop icons, and signage for public spaces. And there were ingeniously simple life-saving devices, like a wristband for diagnosing acute malnutrition in children, and a wind-powered sphere for detonating land mines. The exhibit was a testament to the power of design to change the world.
A special bonus for this trip was the chance for me to spend time with two of my Zoom Buddies, Jennifer (who lives in Manhattan) and Linda (visiting from Pennsylvania). They gave me the best birthday gift - tea at the Blue Box Cafe, Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant at Tiffany’s! Wow! We also had a lovely evening together. It was like being back in college again - good friends, endless conversations, and hugs and laughter. I’m grateful for my “gal-entines.”
Of course, my most special Valentine is my husband Steve - the love of my life, my fellow traveler, my person. I’m grateful for him every day.
