Mamma Mia!

That expression worked on SO many different levels today. It started with our journey from the Statue of Liberty to finding our way back to the hotel. I totally forgot we still had to stop by Ellis Island to pick up passengers before reaching Battery Park. (Mamma Mia!) Thinking this location was a prime spot for taxi’s to pick up tourists, we were quite surprised to see no yellow car in sight. No worries. Its five o’clock, so I took Annette and Sara on a little walk through the financial district while keeping my eye out for a way back to Lexington. We passed the bull, Wall Street, and the World Trade Center memorial site… still no taxi. (Mamma Mia!) We finally were able to hail one near Century 21 (incredible shopping store) by 5:40. Keep in mind, its rush hour! We were back at the hotel about 6:15. We had 45 minutes to get ready and be at the restaurant to meet Amy’s friend, Natalie and eat dinner. Honestly, I don’t know how three women managed to use one bathroom in that short amount of time, and not kill each other. Believe it or not, we made it to our destination on time. Our waiter was slow, some orders were wrong, but yet we still had about 10 minutes to spare before the show began… Mamma Mia!


Side Note: Funny little story about the theater tickets… I ordered them online just days before leaving. LONG story short, the person who initially took my order put in the wrong e-mail address. After several phone calls, the e-tickets finally arrived. I also found out the e-mail address was not the only mistake. The name on all the tickets was Stiffany Womack! Needless to say that became my new nickname during the trip.

If you don’t like ABBA songs, don’t bother going to see this adult comedy. We all enjoyed it, but more so when Natalie (Amy’s friend) took over as our tour guide. You see, she’s a Broadway star herself and her really good friend, Brandi Burkhardt, happens to be one of the leads,

Sophie, from the musical. Brandi’s theatrical credits also include The Civil War (National Theatre concert), Li'l Abner (Los Angeles Reprise series) and Jekyll & Hyde (international tour). Her screen credits include "Passions," "Boston Legal," "Law & Order: SVU" and the film "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Without any problems or hassles, we Orlando girls were now behind the curtains of a major Broadway show. I noticed two things right off the bat. 1. Back stage reminds me of Disney behind the scenes – no thrills and frills. 2. The cast and crew exit the theater faster than the audience. Well, not all of them… we were able to meet a few. I was personally excited to touch the costumes as you can see in some of the photos below.

Oh if I only had enough time to put those shoes and jumpsuit on for a quick photo op…

Mamma Mia!

Last but not least we walked onto the actually stage where the “ghost light” had already been set in place. I had never heard of one before (expect from when Mater shouts it out in “Cars”). Natalie explained that it is a light which is left burning in a theater after everyone goes home for the night to allow the dearly departed actors to perform during the night. Actually it has a more practical reason than to summon the dead. It actually reduces the risk of injury for someone who is in the theater after it closes (hence us tourists), or for those who come in early. The light can also serve as liability protection incase a burglar breaks into the theater afterhours. There was a case once where a thief sued a theater after he broke his leg due to falling off the stage in the dark. Go figure!

But the best application of the show’s title had to be when we graced the doors of Serendipity. I have never seen the movie, but no one must in order to savor the ambiance and pure delightful aroma and delectable flavors of their menu items which by the way are HUGE… literally and figuratively. You can order anything from hot wings, omelets and hamburgers, but their claim to fame is none other than the Frozen Hot Chocolate. The best way I know how to describe it is as a rich and creamy chocolate Icee. Oh so yummy! Oh so “Mamma Mia!” What an incredible way to end the night!