There are TONS of reasons I love living in New York City. One of the biggest is having the ability to see Broadway shows whenever I want. Another is randomly seeing celebs throughout the city. When these two things come together it’s just the best. Last night, the best of both worlds collided and gave me one of the best Saturday nights ever.
One thing to know about me, I love celebs, always have, always will. Another thing to know about me is that my most fav celeb of all time is Clay Aiken. I have been a PROUD Claymate since the early 2000s. I have seen him in concert many times and have followed him since the AI days, through the Celebrity Apprentice and now into the political world. He’s just the best in my eyes. I’ve been lucky enough to meet him two times in my life, most recently in 2008 when he was performing on Broadway in Spamalot. After the show, they offered people the opportunity to come on stage with Clay for a picture, if you made a donation to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Obviously this was a no brainer, a good cause and picture with Clay. More recently, since I found out Clay was living in NYC as well, it has been my dream to run into him somewhere randomly. Last night that dream came true.
Last night, I decided to see the Broadway musical In Transit. I walked in and sitting in the lobby with his mom, was none other than Clay himself. I about died. I was so nervous but was bound and determined to say hi and take a picture with him. He sat directly across from me during the show but I knew I had to wait until after to approach him. Hard to not be distracted watching Clay watch the show, but the show was so fun. It’s the first ever A Capella musical, following the lives of the characters as they navigate life in NYC. It was an original show with a great cast (Justin Guarini, James Snyder, Telly Leung and Erin Mackey to name a few). It was at the Circe in the Square Theater, which is a theater in the round, so literally not a bad seat in the house. It was different and creative, and I’d definitely recommend seeing it if you can.
After the show, my friend Natalie (another long time Claymate) and I went to the stage door, as we always do to have our Playbills signed by the cast. We also knew, this would be our chance to see Clay as he was leaving. After waiting about 10 min, he appeared. I was a nervous wreck, but knew I’d regret it if I didn’t say something to him. So as he was walking by, I called out his name and asked if I could take a picture with him. He turned to me and graciously agreed. Natalie also took a photo with him, then we got a group shot, while I told him how we used to go see his shows together years ago. He asked me my name and shook my hand and thanked us for being fans, then was off. It was 2 minutes, but the best 2 minutes of 2017 for me thus far. I am so happy he was so kind and gracious. It was just the best experience.
Jay-Z was right when he sang about New York City, “New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do.” Thank you New York City for always providing me with amazing experiences. This one tops the list and I’m forever grateful.
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