I'd only been to New York a couple times and the last time I was in Manhattan was just for a day. It was a great opportunity and excuse to be a tourist.
But this is about Mr. Manilow:
The 2 shows I saw were similar to the "This Is Not A Tour" tour last year (2012). He's changed up the prelude music - more upbeat electronica with splashes of Manilow songs. My favorite part is the familiar "Right Here, Right Now" - brings back memories from those One Night Live shows. The opening is the same - It A Miracle/up beat CIBM. The usual hits run through the show. Barry's banter is slightly adjusted to fit the venue, letting the audience know early on that this is not a typical Broadway sit back and watch show. He did the same song list both nights I was there including but not limited to Stay, Even Now, WINE, I Am Your Child, Lay Me Down....with the exception of doing TTGTF the first night but not the second. How could I forget - Every Single Day.
The first show he said there should be news about Harmony in a couple weeks. Then the second show he said there'd be news in a couple days. Not sure if that meant there was actual progress that quickly or what, but I heard a British fan who was there this weekend reported Barry said Harmony would be a the St James in September. I sure hope especially for Barry that is true.
The audiences were VERY enthusiastic but more likely to yell out than stand. In fact when he was setting up Every Single Day people kept yelling they love him and he got a wee bit perturbed - who could blame him. He said, "are you going to let me sing this". That shut them up.
One of the great things about the NY theaters, I discovered, is the stage door. In a knowingly moot attempt to get Mr. M to sign my photo in the program I was able to get my ass out of the theater and up to the front of the barricades placed for his departure from the stage door. The first night was a really long wait - over an hour. The wait just about gave me a heart attack. Finally after over an hour standing in the cold - HE came out. Not signing of anything but for just a second he looked like he might.
Sorry about the crappy blurry photo but I was multitasking.
Wed I had an aisle seat so I was one of the first to those red barricades.
Tried a different camera setting - not blurry but dark....guess I should have stayed the entire week to practice......
As you can see the crowd is 5-6 deep. They were in the street and the security had a hard time containing the crowd.....Manipandimonium. A woman and her mother were next to me. The security guard asked how she was holding up. She told him the show was her 90th birthday gift. She had her little flip phone and told the guy, "I just want a picture of him." Of course I knocked her out of my way when Barry came out....;-)
Keep checking back as I will post a few photos and a link to Snapfish soon.
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