Day 2.5: First Date on Broadway

Fortunately, it was a short walk from Bar Americain to the Longacre Theater, so we had plenty of time to get to the theatre and get settled in our seats before the show started. We'd bought tickets months earlier for the brand new musical, First Date, with Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled, Thor: The Dark World) and Krysta Rodriguez (Smash, The Addams Family). As soon as we got to the theater, Marsha scoped out the stage door. Madison was really hoping to get Zachary Levi's autograph after the show. She was all set with her pink Sharpie.

We had perfect seats -- front row mezzanine, with Madison on the aisle so she could rush outside as soon as the curtain went down. Yes, we're old pros at this. Our worst fear was that Zachary Levi wouldn't be doing the show that night. That happened to me last year when I went to see Sutton Foster in Anything Goes. We were all quite relieved when the replacement notice in Playbill was only for a minor cast member. Whew!

The show was a lot of fun, about mismatched pair on a blind date in an NYC cafe. It was largely on one set with no intermission. What was really cool is that the supporting cast played multiple characters, constantly switching with just a simple accessory, like a hat or scarf. In addition to the other cafe patrons, they played exes and family members commenting on the action in the two leads' imaginations. The set, too, was a character, using video screens and hidden props to instantly transform at any moment. Just amazing.

When the cast was taking their final bows, Madison rushed up the aisle and down the stairs. I was right behind her, but waited for a minute when Zachary Levi stopped to let everyone know that they were collecting donations for Broadway Cares. I went ahead outside to find Madison. There were only two other people waiting outside, so she got a perfect spot in the autograph line.

We were only there for a couple of minutes before John came out and then Marsha called for us to come back inside. For various donation amounts, they were giving away posters and CDs. The top give-away was going backstage to meet Zac and Krysta, getting their autographs and a photo. Marsha raced downstairs and was second in line.

I have to say that Zac and Krysta could not have been any sweeter or more gracious. They shook our hands and introduced themselves, asked if we enjoyed the show, and thanked us many times over. He was thrilled that we were big fans of Chuck and told us that it's (finally!) on Netflix streaming. Krysta was impressed that we'd seen both Smash and The Addams Family, and she just loved Madison's pink Sharpie! When they signed our Playbills, Zac noticed that we were one short so I could grab mine from my coat. Yep, it was all pretty darn awesome.

Every time we've waited by a stage door, we've always wondered about the regular folks who come out. This time it was us. Needless to say, we were all on Cloud Nine for the rest of the night.