OINY: Singing Happy Birthday to Sweeney Todd

I've decided I need a new category- OINY: Only in New York. This applies to random occurrences that were not premeditated, expected, or even dreamed after eating Mexican food. These posts can only happen on an ordinary day, in ordinary circumstances in New York. And they are priceless.

Tonight, I attended a reception at the Friar's Club. I am the grateful recipient of a Friar's Club scholarship this year and dutifully attended this little gathering. The Friar's adopt performing arts students across the city- because they actually believe and put money on actors, dancers, singers, designers, and managers.

I digress. Guess who else was in the Friar's Club enjoying his birthday dinner? LEN CARIOU. Tony award winner for Sweeney Todd. Nominee for Little Night Music. They brought Len into our room and we sang Happy Birthday to him. Only in New York

CHEAP: Broadway Flea Market

Today, I give over the blog, to Amy, who was able to attend the BC/EFA Broadway Flea Market.

Hello readers! To accurately describe the experience of attending the BC/EFA Flea Market I'll invite you to close your eyes and picture salmon swimming upstream. Then take that mental picture, and compress the size of the stream to about 1/4 of what it was. Not for the faint of heart, or the claustrophobic, the Flea Market is an experience. Definitely worth checking out, even just for the amazement factor that this many people are willing to arrive two hours early to stand in the rain.

That was what Tori and I experienced yesterday morning on 52nd st. Normally, the Flea Market is held outside, but because of the rain the PTB (powers that be) made the decision to move it into the Roseland Ballroom on 52nd St. So I imagine that my experience this year would have been very different if it had been held outside.

Folks, I've been in some crowds (the Inauguration Day in DC? I was there, on the Mall, elbow to elbow with everyone else). But this was insane. Rows and rows of theatres/arts organizations were selling memorabilia, Playbills, costumes and props from shows ranging from Hair to the Little Mermaid for cheap. Now, I'm what Whitney kindly says is "pixie" sized, so trying to find stuff to buy was a challenge, especially when you can't see over the person wearing the "Throughly Modern Millie" shirt they had purchased at the Flea Market in years past.

I did, however, end up front and center at the Shrek table, where after a small dialogue with Christopher Sieber (Excuse me a fangirl moment... I LOVE him.) I ended up purchasing two awesome red hoodies that were opening night gifts from Christopher to the Shrek cast. Bright red, with the Farquaad crest and opening night date, I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing this hoodie every day when I get back from work.

The total for these completely practical and amazing sweatshirts? $10, with proceeds going to Broadway Cares. Definitely worth it.

So next year I may be back at the Flea Market (which, God willing, will be outside) to find more stuff- posters, Playbills, and props. All for cheap, and all for a good cause.

OCCASIONALLY EXTRAVAGANT: New Apartment!

Ok, dear friends, I sincerely apologize for my lack of posts....because I got a new apartment!!!! This is an extravagant (not in NY terms) but completely necessary endeavor. Pictures to be posted in spurts.

CHEAP: Home Cookin'

Lots of free stuff this weekend, which is unfortunately not free for you in general, dear reader, but start getting to know people who know people and it can be you, too!

Friday night I went to a place I have dreamed about…. S’MAC in the East Village. S’MAC serves macaroni and cheese….in a skillet….any way you want it. It was heaven. And it was cheap. When it gets cold, I'm planning on getting take-out there all the time. And if you come to visit me, and I serve you "homemade" mac and cheese, I might be lying....

Later, I went to Joe’s Pub for a concert. It’s an excellent intimate cabaret-style venue at the Public Theater. Honestly, I had no idea who the songwriter was, but his guest stars included Alan Cumming and Cheyenne Jackson. I had a friend with connections, and we watched the show from the light/sound booth. It's all about networking!

CHEAP: 20 at 20

We went and saw Ken Davenport's hilarious off-Broadway show, Altar Boyz and paid only $20 for our second row seats! It's off-Broadway's way of filling the summer/fall gap. Show up 20 minutes before curtain, pay 20 bucks, and get the best available seat.

Really, I'm quite impressed with the amount of theater I have seen in the last month and all for less than $36.50 each time.

Altar Boyz is hilarious, and I got serenaded during my favorite song, "Girl, you Make me Wanna Wait". And yes, it's about what you think.....

If you've been eyeing an off-Broadway show, you have until 9/20 to take advantage of this offer. Click here for the website.

CHEAP: Hippies, Free Love, and Box Seats

A trend that you will see here on the Frugal New Yorker, is all the ways I see off-Broadway and Broadway theater for dirt cheap. Saturday was a prime example!

On my second try at the HAIR lottery, I hit the jackpot. $25 for box seats at the Tony-award winning revival.

A bit sad that Gavin Creel was not at this performance (but we did walk past him on 9th Ave with his dog Wally the other day and his foot was still in the boot, so I guess his sprain is still bothering him), but his understudy was great. Will Swenson, whose performance is freakin' amazing, injured himself and his standby went on for Act Two. I hope to see the show again with both of these actors, because I felt that the show, especially Act Two was only a B-.

But we danced onstage with some hippies and let the sun shine in on a rainy New York Saturday...

FREE: Fashion's Night Out

Mayor Bloomberg and Anna Wintour wanted us to shop. So stores stayed up late and had celebrities work the open bars...

I tagged along with my fashion blogger-extraordinaire roommate, Kristin. (Check out her blog here) We hung out at Scoop, across the street from where Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, was exploiting his celebrity status. After a long day at class, a free drink and photobooth were welcome. (The skinny people make me nervous...)

FREE: Back 2 Broadway Month

The Broadway League has declared September "Back to Broadway" month and has a TON of free events. Today was the Broadway on Broadway concert (which I did not attend, but I try to stay away from the crazies as much as possible.) But yesterday, I partook in a fabulous freebie: Broadway Open House theater tours!

The Broadway Theater, home of Shrek the Musical, was one of the three theaters open yesterday. I was interested in seeing what kind of special treats we might get, if any. I happen to have a friend who works for the producing company, and as we are making our way to the theater, she texts and informs me that we will be getting a one-on-one Q&A session with two of the principal actors. Not going to lie....I almost don't go out of fear. However, it was incredible. Our tour group of about 15 people sit on the first couple of rows while BdJ and Ryan Duncan answer any and all of our questions. Knowing that I would mumble like an idiot if I tried to talk, I simply listen and enjoy every second.


There are more tours each Saturday! Check out the website and schedule here

CHEAP: Coney Island

Hope you had a good Labor Day Weekend. Friday night, I went out to Coney Island. Coney is one of those places where it's what you make of it. And with a bunch of friends or a date, you can make a lot of fun!

Ride the F train to the end of the line and head on up the boardwalk. Start of slow and walk towards the Brooklyn Cyclones side (on your right). Leave the crowd and slightly messier beaches for some nice isolation on the beach. When you're ready to join the masses, head back towards the noise.

$3 Photobooth by the wonderwheel. 50 cents to find out what kind of lover I am. (The machine said nympho, Amy was just desirous.) $6 to scream like a little girl on the Wonder Wheel. (You think it's just a ferris wheel, oh no, it moves!) $4 Nathan's hot dog and cheese fries. $1 for two glow-in-the-dark necklaces. Firework show on the beach=free.

Good, good day.

CHEAP: Travel

The visual/olfactory connotations of bus travel are not positive. Years of choir tour being stuck on the yellow bus (Bellevue Choir Tour Colorado- you know what I'm talking about!)have jaded me to the joys of bus travel. Not any more!

Recession travel is here in the form of MegaBus, BoltBus and its spin-offs. These delightful double-decker tranport devices are CLEAN and have WI-FI and if you book early, it's like... a DOLLAR. No joke- We booked the night before and it was only $20, but if you book ahead it's really, really cheap. And I know, you're all still thinking about noisy, annoying people and vomit smell. It was silent and I slept through Jersey, Philly, Wilmington, and Baltimore.

Thumbs up from this traveler.

CHEAP: Indian Food

A big shout out to Minar Indian Restaurant at 136 W 46th St.

If you are hungry and killing time around Times Square and don't want Applebee's or Olive Garden, I highly recommend this little hole in the wall that serves on cafeteria trays. I ordered chicken korma for 6 bucks, and Amy tandoori chicken. We were served huge portions of rice, and I'm pretty sure Amy got a whole chicken. Delicious, dive-y and they deliver.

Picture of food posted tomorrow.