Half sleep thoughts on NYC

On our last night in New York City I laid in my cozy coffin- like bunk and thought about the past couple days that I had just experienced. It was much more amazing that I think I had planned on it being. Truth is we didn’t get to see as much as one might think. New York City is so big that it’s impossible to explore everything in a week let alone three days. With that being said I would like to think that we spent our time exploring some quality parts of NYC. That night as I lay in bed, I tried to think about what my favorite experience was from the past three days.

I thought about Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty which we did that Sunday morning. After experiencing Mt. Rushmore and not really enjoying it, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Lady Liberty, but I did. I was honestly expecting it to be a bit larger than what it was, but I was ultimately pleased. I think that for me the difference between the Statue of Liberty and Mt. Rushmore is that the Statue is more of representation of freedom and liberty and its sole purpose is to honor that freedom that America was founded upon, while Mt. Rushmore is more about honoring specific people. It seems like a difference between the manifestation and the ideal. Liberty is the ideal that America is constantly striving for, and Mt. Rushmore is a marker of a temporary manifestation of that liberty. This manifestation is not complete in that it doesn’t fully represent the ideal, so we need to continually evolve and move forward, and I think that the statue of liberty does a much better job in conveying that thought. But I decided that the statue wasn’t my favorite experience.

Neither was Ellis Island, although I thought it very interesting to get a taste of what that experience was like. As we approached the tiny island on the ferry, I couldn’t help but think about how immigrating to America must have been such a gamble. I thought about the countless number of boats that brought over hopefuls from Italy, Poland, or China and I wondered what dictated their success? What would determine whether they would share a fate similar to that of Jurgis from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle or Tateh from E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime? Given these are fictional characters I think that they represent the dichotomy of immigrant success in America very well. From there I started to think about other people, my own people who also came to America on a boat, but very different boat, and completely against their will. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like to be on a similarly sized boat, but with 5 times more people surrounding each other without a glimpse of sunlight for days. From there I started to wonder why there is such a range of success even within the black community. How does one black male from Cabrini Green grow up to become a successful doctor, while another black male from that same neighborhood thrust into a lifetime of crime? Some may say that it’s about personal choices, but I would argue that there are other factors to take into consideration as well. I’m just not sure what they are yet. And while Ellis Island stimulated me mentally for a moment, it wasn’t my favorite experience either.

I also thought about some of the street performances that I ran into while in the city. I don’t know many people who like to watch street performances, but I do. What I think I enjoy so much about street performance is that despite the fact that it is so raw there is still of suspension of disbelief going present in the audience. As soon you see a street performance taking place, it automatically draws your attention, and although you know that they just want your money you still go and watch. This is similar to theatre and film where spectators know that what they are watching isn’t reality and they still allow themselves to become emotionally invested. The funny thing is that many street performers—like the one of the groups I watched in Battery Park—will say things in their routine like “We need your money,” and even then people won’t leave, and in fact will give money when they didn’t plan on it. Why? Because of the charm? The skill? The performance overall? Or is it just the fact you can relate to the performers on a basic human level and see the need that they may have. For me it’s a mixture of the four. And as fascinating as I find street performance to be, it still wasn’t my favorite experience.

Neither was Central Park, the Subway or Times Square. However, all of these were great experiences. I loved Central Park because it was diverse. Not only was there a diverse group of people present, but there was also a wide variety of activities for this diverse group of people to engage in like Summer Stage concert, the skate party full of random people, the wedding photo shoot, and several other options including hanging out in the shade with someone “special.” All of this was happening at once in the same park, and no body was in anybody else’s way. I think that Dr. Stepnick summed up Central Park best when she said “You can be whoever you want to be here, and no one will judge you.”

Riding the subway ended up being enjoyable for me as well. I say “ended up,” because my first day on the subway was overwhelming. Even as someone coming to New York with some years of subway experience, I had no clue of what to do or where to go. But by the third day, I felt completely comfortable hopping on the Blue 1 heading to Greenwich Village or the Orange B to get from lower Manhattan to Central Park. And although being able to get around made the Big Apple seem a little easier to bite into, but there was more at the core of my feelings towards New York.

For a second I thought it may have been Times Square. The lure of the bright lights is definitely enough to make someone rethink its significance. With advertisements for everything from Yahoo! and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company to LG, HSBC and the New York Police Department placed practically in front of MTV studios, you get a clear picture of what apparently gets people’s attention. And there are so many people walking around that it really does feel like the center of the universe sometimes. It’s interesting because people have turned Times Square into such an icon for New York City and American Pop Culture that it felt very familiar to me, although I had never been there before. And as I familiar as it felt, there was still no moment of “Ah” for me in NYC yet. I wasn’t sure if I was just getting sleepy or if I just couldn’t remember this “moment” that I was sure had passed.

That was until I remembered walking down a street called Broadway on Wednesday night headed for the Richard Rodgers Theatre with tickets to see In the Heights. Emily and I had lucked up on rush tickets earlier that day and I was thrilled about it. As I lay in the bed that night I thought about why the show was so important to me and I came up with a couple reasons. As an actor seeing my first Broadway show is important, but even if it was my twelfth it would have been equally as important because of what it represents. I think that Broadway serves as a manifestation of the American Dream for performers. You get a glimpse of the possibility and you work and work until you make that possibility a reality. It happens for some and doesn’t happen for others, but that doesn’t keep most from trying. It seems like the beauty is more in the trying than the actual accomplishment.

Looking at in the Heights specifically I think that the show embodies a large part of the New York way of life. There’s mention of small communities within boroughs, immigration, Hip Hop culture, Latin culture, and the tragedy and triumph of life in the inner city. Looking at the show through a sociological lens, it examines topics like: the economy, gentrification, brain drain, immigration, education, racism, and even cultural identity. It’s funny because Emily and I didn’t even have real seats. We stood in the back of the first upper level, which was slightly unfortunate because the top half of the set was cut from our line of vision by the next balcony above us. I thought it was so symbolic that this would occur in my first Broadway and my first New York experience because I didn’t get to see the whole picture as far as the show is concerned, and I didn’t get to see the whole picture of New York or Broadway. As I mentioned earlier, it’s like a glimpse of something better to aspire to.

And I would say that as an artist In the Heights serves as a great story and overall piece of art to aspire to emulate. I say that because it is a clear example of what I believe to be the one of the highest achievements in art: having such a grasp on a culture that you can then create art that affects that culture. With his story about life in Washington Heights, I think that Lin-Manuel Miranda is doing just that: doing his best to make a change. It reminds me of how possible change is; both through one’s art and also in one’s own life.

And once I finally came to some closure about my time spent in NYC, what impacted me and in what ways I was at peace. So I closed my curtain to my bunk, turned off my light, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and said farewell to the never-sleeping city, if only for just a season.