Summer Lovin!

THIS looks amazing! See you there ;)

Opening Tonight! Twelfth Night!

There are few things more traditional to a NY summer than The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park. Two shows over the summer take place in the magnificence of the delecorte theater in central park and it's truly always a magical experience.

First up, technically opening tonight and running through July 12th, is 12th night. One of Shakespeare's comedies about a cross dressing woman and the faults of love and gender (how appropriate for gay pride week!) it's a fun show with an allstar cast. (Anne Hathaway for the general population, Raul Esparza, Julie White and Audra MacDonald for theater geeks like me.)

I went this past Tuesday and the show was lovely lovely lovely. Not stand out (read my post about romeo and juliet from a few years ago) but there are a ton of laughs and it's overall delightful. The rolling hillside side sets the scene perfectly and everyone holds up their parts quite well, the singing parts are a total delight and keep your ears peeled for a See You Next Tuesday joke! And honestly, I swoon just sitting in that theater under the stars with the castle in the background, you just can't beat it!

You can also bring anything you like to munch or drink upon in the theater (provided no glass bottles are there!) I highly recommend a nice spread of wine and cheese (Thanks Ben's friend Gerrit with nice eyes!) Shakespeare would appreciate.

So, you may be asking, but LA, how do I get to experience this wonder? Well my friends, there are three ways.

1) buy expensive tickets and become a member (ha! not free and cheap!)
2) wait in line

This is the traditional way folks. Every day when there is a show (Tue-Sunday, 8pm) hundreds upon hundreds are given out for free to those able and willing to wait for hours upon hours to be bestowed with a golden ticket into the gates. Tickets are given out at 1pm at both the delecorte theater (which I love because you get to wait in the park) a short five minute walk into the park from the 82nd street path entrance or at the public theater in greenwich village. I got there at 8 30 am on a Tuesday and was fine but once press picks up I would recommend getting there by 7am for weekends and 8am for weekdays to be safe. Brings blankets and cushions (they blocked off the grass so sadly Ben, my partner in crime, and my butts were quite sore) and food and drink. They have finally opened up a cafe for food but you can always order from the amazing Andy's, the guys guarding the line has the number!

NOTE: If you are waiting in line, people are CRAZY! You can't have friends join you, you can't really leave. Even if the people around you seem cool someone in the back once told on me because my friend showed up 1/2 hour I got there. So you never know

BUT you do get 2 tkts per person, so that is fun!

3. Virtual Line!

Stuck in work all day or can't muster the energy to wake up early? Here is the solution for you! Sign up, cross your fingers and if you win, you get a ticket!

Now go out and enjoy!!!!

PS. This picture isn't of the current set (no photos allowed!) but of the theater with the castle. It coincidentally also looks like it was taken right where I was sitting!

OBSESSED: High Line Park

Words cannot express how in love I am with the brand-spankin new High Line park running along an elevated railroad track from Gansevort to 20th street (and getting expanded this summer and in the future). Here are the reasons

1) It's in the sky! As you walk the paths you feel like you're discovering a magical hidden world. Peeking into broken windows, watching cars fly below you, with amazing views of the hudson, it's a whole new way to see the incredible NYC!

2) It's beyond gorgeous. I want to kiss all the architects and landscapers who designed this place. It is the perfect blend of modern twists and old school park fun. The sleek lines of the benches combined with flowers growing from the preserved tracks and lovely old school stones that remind me of the type I would find back home in MA

3) the sundeck chairs. brilliant! Though I am sure they will most always be snagged, I can't think of a better place to soak in the sun (well, besides grass and sand of course)

Just go already! It's nutso during the weekends now but on a weekday afternoon? Perfect!

This one picture is from their website but it doesn't capture the beauty. Go and take some of your own!

Free events for Summer interns

Just got this email from the fantastic listserve, drinking liberally! Sadly, I am no longer an intern (I'll actually be PAID starting in September, AMAZING) but for any of you progressive poor kids out there this looks like a pretty sweet deal:

Attention All Summer Interns!

Living Liberally will be having weekly events -- comedy, music, picnics, parties and more -- and we'll have special discounts and deals for people working for progressive organizations this summer. If you are an intern, know an intern, have an intern, email contact info to livingliberally@gmail.com to be added to a special summer list.

Mermaid Parade!

Probably one of the craziest parades in NYC, this hours long fest taking place on Coney island features hundreds and hundreds of mermaids and other sea-folk. Child mermaids, painted mermaids, naked mermaids, it's just amazing! If the weather clears up I will most definitely be there, see some pictures from a few years ago attached.

Hint: Bring water and food and sit down below the barriers to get a good spot. The parade lasts sooo long (more mermaids join every year!) so you may want to bring something to sit on as well. PLUS after the parade you can enjoy the crazy/beautiful shores of coney island beach.

Here are the details!

FREE wellness retreat! all weekend long!

Thanks to vital juice, a new health-focused listserve, this weekend you can get massages, workouts, food and drink all for FREE in Union Square. Thursday - Saturday of this weekend. All you need to do to get the free goodness is sign up for their listserve (and I'm on it and am already pleased with what they send out!) here are some of my favorite items:

Free Blackberry Massage
Hula Hoop Pilates
Guided nutritional tours through whole foods!

Get the whole sched here.

Bryant Park film fest!

Hello loves!

In case you're looking for outdoorsy old school classic NY fun this summer there's no better place than at the Bryant Park Film festival. Every Monday night great movies show at sundown, with amazing cartoons from back in the day featuring bugs bunny and the like before the show begins. Fair warning, it's one of the must-do events in NYC and the lawn opens at 5, I recommend getting there around that time if you want to grab a good spot. Just send one member from your group with a HUGE blanket to be there when the frenzy begins and you can join them later!

Here is the sched:

June

Mon15
The Sting

Mon22
Breaking Away

Mon29
Gold Diggers of 1933

July

Mon 6
Dog Day Afternoon

Mon 13
How Green Was My Valley

Mon 20
Harold and Maude

Mon 27
The Defiant Ones

August

Mon 3
Kramer vs. Kramer

Mon 10
The Magnificent Seven

Mon 17
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

This weekend = Mind boggling creative fun!

Here are two kick-ass looking, inspirational, community based crazy creative events happening this weekend:

Figment, an all out anything goes art fest on governor's island (which I'll have to do an entire post about sometime soon)

And Come Out and Play where hundreds of new, innovative games are taking place all over our city.

And, as promised, both are FREE!!! I only bring you guys the best, natch.

Free Pizza! All Week!

Courtesy of the amazing Marie Mark!

FREE Pizza in NYC!

Apparently the recession means that everyone is just giving stuff away! Snapple beverage company has decided to reward mid-morning pizza snackers with free slices starting at 10:30 each morning until the 500th person has been served. Here’s the free pizza schedule:

Monday, May 4
Spinelli Pizza
425 Seventh Avenue
New York NY
(b/n 33rd and 34th streets)

Tuesday, May 5
Famous Joe’s Pizza
7 Carmine Street
New York NY
(b/n Bleecker Street and Sixth Avenue)

Wednesday, May 6
Silver Spoon Diner
58-21 Junction Boulevard
Queens NY

Thursday, May 7

My Little Pizza
114 Court Street
Brooklyn NY
(b/n Atlantic Avenue and State Street)

Friday, May 8
Mezza Lunna Pizza
98 Eighth Avenue
New York NY
(at 15th Street)

Mama Mia! Enjoye!

Back with a Vengeance!

I know how you've all missed me, you've cried nearly every day wondering what free and cheap things will be had in the city without Lauren around? Fear not, summer is nearly upon us (the best time for bargain hunters in this little place known as NYC) and my blog is BACK! (enter applause here)

Well, I've got some great activities lined up this week to apologize for my LOOONNNGGG overdue absence. This post features free everything, from beer to music, even a little foot rub, so enjoy!

FRIDAY, May 1st, Free Tequila Tastings!

• When:Fri 5/1 (6PM)
• Where: East Village Wine & Liquor
• Address: 183 STANTON STREET New York , NY Map
• Cost: FREE! --> Just go here and RSVP to attend

SATURDAY, May 2nd, Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores.

Just like it sounds, check here for deets: http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

SUNDAY, MAY 3rd, Rockin Festival

Free beer? Live music? Crafty workshops? Bike giveaways? All in my new favorite borough of Brooklyn? (I'm behind I know)

Check it out!

TUESDAY, May 5th, Free Spa Services

From 12-7 at Vada Spa in the village get great free services, all day long. And if they are too booked, get a rain check for another day!


Seriously, SERIOUSLY, I heart NY.

Oh what a weekend!

Hello my loves!

This weekend is sure to rock, literally, especially if you are a fan of a little place known as Broadway.

First, HAIR
seeing as this is the 40th anniversary of a little show which premiered at The Public Theater back in the day, Joe's in the park is presenting a free concert in the incredibly gorgeous Delecorte theater in central park. Best yet, tickets are FREE (if you get in line early enough to get them!). Read my earlier posts re: Shakespeare in the park on how to get tickets and stay content while you wait in line. The too dreamy for words Johnathan Groff from Spring Awakening will be playing Claude, while I hear the next big thing to come from the cast is the breakout star, Maya Sharpe. Rock it out and save me a place in line!

The show is Sat the 22 through Monday the 24th. Show starts at 7, tickets are handed out at 1, get in line at daybreak :)


Next, Broadway Flea Market
Every year the Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids hosts every (rich) theater-go-ers dream. A chance to bid on broadway prizes ranging from autographed soundtracks to real life walk on's in your favorite broadway show. AMAZING! Still fun for the rest of us cheapsters you can spend the day making donations to take pictures with your favorite celeb and oogling the goods! The best time to get there is between 4-7 when the bidding heats up and the celebs come out! Don't miss it!

Sunday, Sept 23rd on Shubert Alley and west 44th street, 10am to 7pm!

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Today from 12-4 in union square time out new york hosts their back to schol blowout. featuring a battle of the bands, free food and treats and a spin on the time out new york prize wheel (if you bring a canned good to donate) it's a blast.

The Art Parade Comes to Town!

Some days I ask myself, where can I find glittery half naked people hula hooping on roller skates, wal mart protestors "asking" for lower wages, blow up purple octupi and an all out crazy art filled explosion? and on those days I am answered "the art parade of course!" Lucky for us it comes to town tomorrow, Saturday the 8th at 4pm. Running on West Broadway between Houston and Grand it truly is a sight to be scene (and loudly yelled into), get there early for a good spot!

Inner-city Sanctuary (literally!)

Two weeks ago I was helping out at a photo shoot at one of the best kept delightful little spots of peace in Manhattan. The General Theological Seminary.
Though it's a school for those of us more religiously inclined, it's an amazing spot with ancient buildings, towering cathedrals and plenty of green grass and chairs for those looking for a quiet respite from what is known to some as the hub of the universe. I'm not positive when it's open to visitors, ()there were a few walking through the grounds on the saturday I was there) (more research will soon be had!) but it's on 9th between 20th and 21st and the guards are quite nice, especially so if you beg a spiritual need.

The greatest love story ever told....for FREE!

Another one of summer's all too sweet perks in the city include the infamous Shakespeare in the park presented by The Public theatre. Featuring top notch in-city and imported (from hollywood that is) actors, the shows promise to be filled with big stars, breathtaking sets, and some of the best Shakespeare and classical theater this side of the Rose. Yesterday I had the (ahem) pleasure of waking up at 6am to get in line for the coveted free tickets being handed out at the Delacorte Theater in central park (where the show takes place). Arriving at 7 40 (fucking A train on the weekend) made us number 143 in line, on a Sunday and on opening night. With Scattergories, novels, Othello, cards, blankets, pillows, H and H bagels, hand fans and comic books in tow it ended up being QUITE an enjoyable six hours (thanks Zach and Linds for the great company)! Then, at 1, we were finally given the precious tickets. Our seats were actually quite good, a little off to the right and up but definitely full view, and we brought supplies (you can eat and drink (yes even wine, Shakespeare would be proud, no glass bottles though so be ready to transfer at the gate to a nalgene) in the theater! The set was breathtaking, a water landscape circular and moving (which lead to a hilarious incident when Juliet's bed fell into the fathoms below and the show had to be stopped in the middle, quite wonderful fun!) with various bridges guiding the story's way. Starring Lauren Ambrose as Juliet (and many other wonderful people whose names I do not know off the top of my head) it was probably the best production of R and J I have ever seen. Something about the way the leads were played was just so YOUNG and not in a hurrah I am skipping and have a teddy bear young but I am falling recklessly and passionately and irrationally into love young. And, instead of coming off as TRUE LOVE, it presented itself as a sort of wonderful depiction of that very first time when all bets are off and you'd do anything to be a glove upon that hand.

Here are my tips for the show!

Get tickets Tue- Sun, they are given out at 1pm at the Delacorte in Central Park (near 81st street and west entrance) and at the Public theater at 425 Lafayette just below astor place. They are also distributed throughout the boroughs but you'll have to find that on your own! I would say def get there by 9 if you'd like decent tickets but on other days you can get there much later and still snag a seat! Just beware of the weather, if it rains and the show is canceled you're out of luck! Definitely bring a pillow and a novel and LAYERS. I went in between a sweatshirt freezing to a bikini boiling (and tanning!) throughout the day. They say you all have to arrive at the same time, which is nice for the line but they don't REALLY start monitoring until around 10. That's all my advice, remember 2 tickets per person so if you have an extra give me a call!!!

oh, and the show runs through July 8th, go now!

BRYANT PARK MOVIES!

Does this even need an explination? A perennial favorite of mine, the bryant park films offers free movies on Monday nights to all those with a blanket and a sense of patience! The lawn officially opens at 5pm for viewing the movie (which starts sometime between 8 30- 9 30 depening on sundown) with a race for the best space. Bring a large blanket (potluck picnics are also a favorite) and elbow your way to the front of the masses before the countdown to ensure a great spot! Featuring old time classic movies, it is THE best way to start off the workweek.

Bryant park is located at 40-42 streets between 5th and 6th.

Here is the Sched.

June 18th- Annie Hall
June 25th - The Thing
July 2nd- Paper Moon
July 9th- Wait Until Dark
July 16th- To Sir, With Love
July 23rd- The Sting
July 30th- All the King's Men
August 6th- Bus Stop
August 13th- Casablanca
August 20th- Psycho

More blissful gardens!

I took my own advice this morning and enjoyed breakfast at incredible atlas before heading to the 6 and B garden (see previous posts) to enjoy an afternoon of reading and relaxation. To my dismay, however, 6 and B did not open til 1 and it was 12 30 and my current read, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, weighs approximately 30 pounds! What's a girl to do? Discover another garden right near by!

On 6th street between avenue A and B lies "The Creative Little Garden". Fitting into the space of a townhouse or two, this joyful little area hosts a variety of benches and tables, little design elements and sculptures, small areas of flowers and a birdbath with one VERY bold blue jay. Sitting underneath a towering tree, hearing birds chirp around me in this quiet sanctuary was exactly the sort of respite I was looking for within which to indulge my novel side. Go immediately, I say, just don't tell EVERYONE you know, at least not while I'm there!

The garden is open Sat and Sunday, 12-5

Museum Mile!

Tonight is another one of those annual favorites, museum mile festival! run on over now to the upper east side for a whole array of your favorite museums open for free, plus chalk drawing on the street and street performers! whoo hoo!

Free Stars! (and baseball)

First off, sorry about the lack of posts. Seems the wireless I steal from has been malfunctioning, leaving me sad and on my lonesome with no internet connection (luckily I am in the midst of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Brilliant piece of work, I recommend it, but I digress).

While two blocks from my apartment at this very moment are Leo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet filming their new movie, I had an even BIGGER star encounter today that I had to share with you all. In case you haven't noticed, I am quite the broadway junkie. I'm obsessed with the shows, the stars, the music and haven't shut up about spring awakening since I first saw it in December, just ask Anthony. Being a new yorker (and a regular viewer of seinfeld) I've heard of the famed Broadway summer softball league where cast, crew and tech of shows battle it out for the jockiest of the theatre dorks. Long have I wished to happen upon a game, to see a star walking by, John Gallagher Jr. (soon to be TONY winner) with a bat poised casually over his shoulder (shit, I digress again!) but never did I believe I'd actually find it. WELL my friends, today I was sitting at Columbus circle taking lunch break from a conference with my new friend Melissa when a woman walking her dog wearing a Grey Gardens shirt walked by. Now this was not your ordinary Gray Gardens shirt, no no no, it was a three quarter length sleeve shirt with buttons. AKA, a baseball shirt. I thought I hallucinated and moved on until a similarly dressed woman walked by, this time with a shirt emblazoned with WICKED across the front. Melissa, I say, we have to follow her, I think she's going to the broadway summer softball league!

I literally thought I had died and gone to heaven. Laid out before my very eyes were SIX, SIX fields full of my favorite broadway shows! Company v Frost/ Nixon, Merry Poppins versus Legally Blonde. Ladies and Gentlemen, I was overcome with joy! THEN I spent about 20 minutes talking to the guy who plays Zazu from the Lion King getting the details, turns out games are every Thursday in the park (ask for the baseball fields closest to columbus circle) they start at 11 and go to around 3. When I inquired to the whereabouts of spring awakening, he said they already played as the newer shows tend to go on the fields earlier because they "supposedly" (his words) have less rehearsals. Well my friends, if you are bored on a Thursday and looking for the perfect harmony of music, theater and the all american past time, look no further than central park. I may call in sick and be there too!

Speaking of free comedy....

....and in case you're bored TONIGHT, there is more UCBT lovin happening at 11pm with another FREE show entitled "Crash Test". Hosted by Human Giant's Aziz Ansari, the show features various NYC comics ("top comics" according to the website) and special guests and short videos. I went awhile ago and it was like the PIT, funny and amusing but in the end, I was glad I wasn't paying a whole ton. But hey, someone wants to make me laugh? For free? and it's within walking distance to pinkberry? Dude, I'm THERE (sometimes).

Monday night 11pm at UCBT theater, west 26th between 8th and 9th aves.