There and Back Again: New York

Right now, as I am typing this, I am about 32,000 feet in the air. Specifically, on an American Airlines flight back to Chicago from New York. In less than a week, I will be on another American Airlines flight to New York; a day after that, I will be on a flight back to Chicago. The cause? Callback interviews.

I had a callback interview with a prominent New York firm earlier today. For those of you who do not speak law student, a "callback" interview is the second round of interviews for a summer firm job. Again, shades of sorority rush: after the first "round" of OCI interviews at the school, we minions will get invited (or not) by firms to interview again, this time in the specific office for which we applied, which for me was the New York office. All expenses paid, too. This, of course, is only if they liked you the first time around. Interestingly, the two (and so far only) callbacks I got were with the last two firms I interviewed with. So I guess, like a fine wine, I get better with time?

So, yesterday after my morning class, I headed over to the hell-place (also known as O'Hare International Airport), and got on a flight out to New York. Which was delayed. But since O'Hare is a vortex where timeliness goes to die, this was not unexpected. The flight was otherwise uneventful. Which is the best kind of flight, really. The one good thing about the lateness, though, was that I got to see a really cool sunset over the Manhattan skyline as we were landing. That was pretty sweet. I dunno-- just flying over New York and landing at the airport, seeing from the window all these things I had come to know this summer, I got really, really excited to be back. It was a very similar feeling to the one you get when you go home to see family after a long absence. So I think that says something about what I want, where I want to be. Also, thank god things in New York are open late. I was still able to get a real dinner. A city that never sleeps: My kind of town.

Also proving that my life actually is Groundhog Day, once in New York I found myself again in Times Square (seriously, why do I always end up in Times Square?), where the hotel was located (for a nostalgia connection, it was a hotel right across from the theatre where by boyfriend and I saw Porgy and Bess one of the times he came out to visit me while I was working in the city this summer). This was actually a logical placement, as the firm was located just off of Times Square, at 51st and 7th-- within walking distance.

The hotel was very nice-- très modern, suitably trendy. I wish I could say I got a decent night's sleep, but there was this really low like throbbing vibrating noise-- from whence it came I do not know-- that I could both hear AND feel in my bed. So that was weird. And prevented me from sleeping for a long while.

The actual interview was just OK. It got off to a kind of rocky start: I got to the building right on time, but then went to the wrong floor (the firm apparently takes up several floors, and when I saw this one guy get off at a lower floor with the firm signage, I assumed that was the floor. I was wrong, and ended up putzing on the wrong floor for several minutes, confusedly, until I was able to find someone to direct me upstairs. Needless to say, this made me a few minutes late to the interview, which is never a good way to start things out, and I felt like a putz. I wish there was a way to signal to people that my dingy-ness is really just confined to things like directions and mundane everyday life details, but doesn't translate into my work. When I am not in a focused "work" situation, I think I live in my head a lot, thinking about what I need to do, considering my work and obligations as I go about the day, and thus miss the everyday random life details. Like what floor to go to. Legally blonde, indeed.

Callback interviews are kind of like OCI interviews with a firm, on steroids. Instead of interviewing with one or two people at once, one time, you go through a succession of people-- in my case, four-- one at a time. The lawyers you meet with run the gamut from 2nd or 3rd year associates, all the way to partners. If you don't know what this means, don't worry, it is not really important. Seeing as how it seems unprofessional to go into details about the individual interviews on a blog (even an anonymous blog), all I will say is that I thought a couple of the interviews went well, a couple were a little more lukewarm. So we shall see how it all pans out. I am not really holding my breath, due to the wrong-floor snafu, but you never know. It's too bad too-- everyone I spoke with sung nothing but praises about the firm's work environment, like the fact that everyone cooperates with everyone and gets on with everyone, and are generally on friendly terms, not just professional terms. As one interviewer put it, there isn't really any "yelling." The cooperative and congenial atmosphere at Northwestern is something that I have really valued and benefited from as a student, and would love to work at a place that is similar. Alas.

After the interview, I went to a Starbucks and sat there for a couple hours doing work and taking a phone call for another project I am working on. After that, I had a couple hours to kill, so I putz'd around Hell's Kitchen for a while, checking out some of the indie shops. It wasn't a neighborhood I spent a lot of time in while I was in New York this summer, so it was nice to get to see a couple new things.

And now here I am, heading back to Chicago. We are in theory landing in like 40 minutes. Due to the nature of where I am seated and the internet on-board, I can't post pictures, but I did take some while I was walking around the city. When I get back to Chicago I will edit this post and add them. I have to say though, getting wifi on a plane is pretty baller. Even if I had to pay $10 for it.

Ah, New York City. Love to see you, hate to watch you go. Until next time... in about four days.

On a completely unrelated note, looking out my window to the left, I am seeing lightening over the horizon. This is not disconcerting at all...

The Phantom of Broadway

First. How is it almost Friday? What the hell? I only have a week more of work left. Damn. They ain't kidding about time and flying.

On Monday evening (it's been the kind of week where I am writing about something that happened on Monday, on Thursday) I fulfilled a lifelong goal of mine: see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. For a little context: The Phantom of the Opera was the musical that introduced me to musicals. My parents used to play the original Broadway recording in our house fairly frequently (apparently it is also my mom's favorite musical, which I only just found out. But that would explain the year my parents went as Christine and the Phantom for Halloween. And the lots of playing of the soundtrack. But I digress), and even as a very young child (like 5 or 6), I would dress up in blankets and dance (more like flail) around to the titular song. While I was growing up, my parents would periodically take me to see professional productions of the show when it would be playing in San Francisco. For a long time it was my favorite musical, and even though that has been replaced by Les Miserables (as evidenced by the obscene number of different versions of the soundtrack that currently exist on my iPod, including the obscure "concept" soundtrack done entirely in French), it still holds a special place for me as a show. I remember that when the movie version came out while I was in high school, I was legitimately obsessed with it for a year. Kind of like the way people are obsessed with Harry Potter or (shudder) Twilight. Actually, fittingly at least from a personal standpoint, the guy who was playing the Phantom in this production, Hugh Parano, made is big Broadway break as Marius in the original Broadway production of Les Miserables. Connection! (in an isolating age...)

Anyway, since in addition to my personal love of the show, it is also basically a New York City institution (it's been running for 25+ years now), I felt that I could not not take up the opportunity to see it. My real dream would be to see the original production with Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford; since they stopped being part of the cast back when I was in elementary school, however, that was never going to happen. But seeing it on Broadway is a must. I never do this otherwise, but I even splurged $10 for one of those glossy program things.

I was surprised that for a Monday evening show, the line was already long and queued up at 7:20PM for an 8:00PM curtain. This is sort of what everything looked like as I waited to get in:

Outside the Majestic Theatre, where the show plays. With Signage

The show was very well done. The singing was top-notch, and I think that the guy playing the Phantom, really pulled off the emotion of the well. And he kind of sounded like Crawford, actually. The lady playing Christine had a ridiculously strong voice. I don't recall hearing one botched note. The set was also very well done, although the show pretty much looks exactly as it did when it first opened in the 1980s. In fact, I think most of the production side-- set, costumes, blocking, etc.-- are pretty much the same, or at least very similar, to that used in the original production. But, considering people have an expectation as to what "the Phantom" on Broadway is, I suppose that is not very surprising. The one thing I was slightly disappointed about, though, was the chandelier crash: it was kind of weak. I know, I know, 1980s technology. But you think they could update the technology at least once in 25 years, without detracting from the "vision." The crashes in productions I have seen in San Francisco, were a lot more epic (or at least a lot more drawn out-- in those productions, the chandelier literally hung over the audience then crashed onstage; here, the chandelier was barely over the orchestra, and crashed pretty much straight down). You know where they didn't skimp on the technology? Pyrotechnics. Holy crap dude. On a couple of occasions I had to actually shut my eyes, lest I burn my retina.

The other geekishly cool thing about this production for me, was the fact that the guy playing Raoul (aka loverboy) is a native of Los Gatos, California-- basically my hometown. The cutesy downtown is literally ten minutes from my house, and I have spent a lot of time there over the years. I don't know about other people, but I always find it cool when people from "the old country" aka the Bay Area pop up in the most unexpected places, particularly high-profile unexpected places. I thought it was cool that there is a very good chance that he went to Los Gatos High School, a place I have been to on a number of occasions and can picture in my mind. Even though Raoul is not my favorite character (I am and have always been solidly Team Phantom), I did think having this kind of connection was pretty awesome. Almost as awesome as the time my boyfriend and I went to see a national tour of South Pacific only to see a guy who had been in my boyfriend's college acting class for three years, actin' it up like a boss in a not-ensemble or minute role. For five minutes, I actually considered going around back to meet the actors after the show (apparently you can do this), and use this random coincidence to establish rapport. But I didn't. Instead, I took pictures of the outside.

Illuminated signage of the Phantom's trademark mask

Less epic illuminated signage of the Phantom's trademark mask

You know what wasn't cool about the production? The goddamn audience members. In all my years of going to all levels of theatre-- professional, regional, college, high school, community, children's-- I have never witnessed more appalling and disrespectful behavior. People all around me were talking, whispering, popping--not just chewing, popping-- their gum, flashing their little cell phone lights, crinkling wrappers or jostling idk, Tic-Tacs, throughout the entire show. It really took way from the experience and an ability to "be in" the show, and was supremely annoying because I had waited so long to see this on Broadway. I won't say it "ruined" my experience, but it made it significantly less enjoyable than it otherwise could have been. And it was just blatantly rude. Seriously, are people these days raised in barns? Do they have no respect, not just for their fellow audience members, but for the actors performing onstage? In a word, I was pissed. I did end up angrily "shushing" people a couple times, and shooting a few dirty looks when they *still* insisted on acting like assholes, but on this one I maintain that I was thoroughly in the right. Is it really so hard for people to just be considerate? Honestly, my boyfriend's kid sister, who is nine, displays a hell of a lot more common sense, respect and maturity when she goes to a production, than half the people seated around me. It's just sad. I am seeing War Horse on Saturday; one can only hope that the audience will display more basic decorum than these people did. I implore you all who are reading this: please, when you go to a theatre production (or a movie, or a comedy routine, or whatever),please, please show a little common decency and make as little noise as humanly possible. And if you really must do something noisy or distracting (like answer an important call or text), please momentarily step outside the auditorium. People will thank you and be eternally grateful for it. Alright, rant over.

Anyway, in honor of my having completed my goal of seeing Phantom on Broadway, I give you a YouTube clip of the titular and most famous song from the show:

Music video from 1980s featuring Sarah Brightman as Christine and Steve Harley as the Phantom. Apologies for the poor quality. Interestingly, if you listen carefully, the words in this are slightly different than those in the actual musical

For those of you interested in seeing the show (and I highly recommend it), it plays at:

The Majestic Theatre
245 West 44th Street
New York, New York

Typically, 8:00PM performances are on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 2:00PM matinee performances occur on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On Tuesdays, performances are at 7:00PM. There are no Sunday performances. But do check the schedule before purchasing your tickets.

More information regarding the show and tickets can be found at the official website or at the Broadway website. Discount tickets can also be found at Broadway box.