Last Wednesday we sneaked in a quick bus trip to New York City for our oldest daughter Megan's birthday and new play. Interesting to leave Maine during peak summer.
For those of us who occupy Maine year round, travel aboard Concord Coach “Plus” bus is pretty cool — direct to downtown NYC. The Maine to New York run offers a little perspective when considering what its like to go the other way, NYC to Maine. Imagine arriving in Sprucewold from downtown New York City. “Tennis anyone?”
The new bus leaves the relative calm of Portland and arrives, six hours later/twenty degrees warmer/and considerably busier, East 42nd Street. It's an adjustment. But we were excited to see Mae .
“Zamboni,” her new play, is part of the New York International Fringe Festival. It's a riotous theatrical overload packed into diverse spaces near The Washington Square Park neighborhood not far from NYU.
The streets were jammed with tourists, theater goers, students and the smells of a hundred different foods. “Red’s Eats” without the wait!
Megan dedicated her performance to old friend Dominic Garvey who we all miss. She would have been pleased for his keen observations. Her part was a good fit, very different from roles played in previous shows. That was nice.
“Zamboni' was written by Sean-Patrick O'Brien and co-produced with Veronica Shea. Megan (aka Mae) played the part of Chloe, a quirky and unlikely friend of lead character Jaimie who is experiencing some “unusual” resurfacings while preparing “new ice.” The play is directed by Leslie Kincaid Burby and was performed at The Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre, on MacDougal Street.
After the show we celebrated with others, spent the night in a hotel off “Times Square” then loaded back onto our bus Thursday, returning to Maine.
Just FYI. We parked at the bus station in Portland for $8. A parking garage in New York near our bus stop shouted “DEAL $10.14 for half hour!” The bus ticket was $69 each way per person.