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HEY there fam! It has been a while – for good reason I promise. I was in a show, work got busy, I went on vacation, and, ya know, life happened. I could have rushed and put together some posts, but I knew they wouldn’t be quality, so I decided to wait until I had some time 😊. The biggest thing in my world as of late was my trip to see Max perform in his show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, at the Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, Connecticut, and I have wanted to share all the details with everyone! And, although I spent less than 24 hours in NYC, it is always fun to be back, so I will share a few things I did there.
I never thought I would do a blog post about a tiny town in northern Connecticut. I have been to other parts of CT, but I am not an expert. There was just something so charming and captivating about the town of Sharon that I fell in love with in just 3 days. The views, the people, the vibe – it was all so relaxing, and I did not want to leave. Ask Max, he was there for 5 weeks. He would tell you the exact same thing.
I flew up on a Wednesday morning (6am) by myself to NYC. This was the second time I had flown by myself. If you haven’t been following along for a while, flying is a part of my anxiety story, and even though each time is a challenge, even with medication – I now have confidence I can do it with the help of prayer and strength from the Lord! Baby steps! As soon as I got off the plane, got my luggage, I took the first Uber I could find to Grand Central Station and hopped on a train to Connecticut – and there he was!! Just two hours later I ran and jumped up and gave Max the biggest hug & kiss! He kept saying “I can’t believe it, you are finally here!!" We had talked about the trip for over 5 weeks now, and it was just exciting to finally be with him in person!
First thing's first – he drove me all around Amenia, NY – where he was actually staying. It’s about 10 minutes from Sharon, CT, and showed me all the restaurants, views, little towns, etc.! Then we went to Sharon and toured the theatre, met some of the staff, and drove all around Sharon. It was all so gorgeous! It felt AMAZING outside. It was a nice change from the TX heat – in the 70’s and low 80’s when I was there and cooled down to the 60’s and 50’s at night. We checked into our hotel, the Sharon Country Inn, which was about 5 minutes from the theatre, and it was so charming! A spacious room, friendly staff, free breakfast, great location, and more views to take in…we were pretty happy! 😊
Wednesday night, we ate at Monte’s Kitchen and Tap Room – one of the nicer restaurants in Amenia – and the food was delicious. Max got the burger, of course. And it was QUITE the burger, and I got the roasted chicken and potatoes! After dinner, Max took me to meet some of his cast mates at the cottages where he was staying, and we hung out there for a bit. They were all small little houses close together – the cutest!
As you might imagine, I was wiped out from all the travel and excitement, but Thursday – I had a lot of the day to myself because Max had two shows that day – I was going to go to the one Thursday evening! He had a car, so I was able to get around town and explore. I went to the farmer’s market, hung out at Max’s cottage, laid by the pool, went on the walking trail and just had a day to myself of being out in nature and taking in all the beautiful views! It was so quiet and peaceful!
I picked Max up from his show, met more cast members – THEY ARE THE NICEST PEOPLE! – got food for Max, and we went back to the hotel to relax and I got ready to go to the show. Needless to say, the show was excellent! I had actually NEVER seen a live production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I was blown away! Every single person in the cast was fully committed to what they were doing on the stage, the choreography was outstanding, the Narrator (Merrill Peiffer) should be on BROADWAY – please go look her up and listen to her SING! I also firmly believe this about my husband! I knew going into it that it was going to be good – the reviews were excellent and maybe I am biased, but Max never ceases to amaze me when he performs. He sang to the heavens, and this performance – especially “Close Every Door” – was no exception. I think overall, the energy in the room was what made the show so lovable. It was funny, charming, serious, clever, and you couldn’t help but want to sing along and dance with them, which some people did! I know Max had the time of his life doing this show and it showed. I am and always will be so proud of his work.
Friday morning, we went hiking at Kent Falls State Park – more gorgeous views and a relaxing atmosphere! I got a pedicure at a local spa while Max picked up his family at the train, and we all went to lunch at JP Gifford’s, another popular lunch spot in Sharon.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting ready to all go to the show together that night! I ate dinner with his family at a place called Cafe Alfresco, a little Italian place down the street from the theatre. So much food, but I was on vacation, so it doesn’t count! We got to the theatre just in time to enjoy some drinks before the show started on the patio, and I would say his family LOVED IT. I am positive they would have seen it several more times if possible. I am so glad I was able to see it again. You always see things you didn’t catch the night before! I actually thought this performance was better than the night before – just cleaner in my opinion! After the show, Max took us on a tour of the theatre and rehearsal space, and we chatted with some people outside while they did a cabaret performance.
I took the train the next day back to NYC with Max’s family because I had to catch an early flight Sunday morning! Max had 3 more shows to do before the run was over. We all did our own thing and I was feeling QUITE uncomfortable that day due to a random rash I started getting on my face the day before. Little red bumps, lots of redness and some swelling kind of freaked me out – even Benadryl wasn’t helping! I was in NYC though, so I got out and found my cousin in the middle of Times Square – small world!! Walked quite a bit and went in some stores, ate some pizza (always) and got a ticket to see MOULIN ROUGE! I was so stoked, I had been wanting to see this in person, because I fell in love with the movie years ago! Take a look at inside the theatre…
It did not disappoint. They put in some pop songs that I thought were unnecessary, but some of them worked perfectly for the show! However, they did remove some songs from the movie – which SHOCKED ME! But, the choreography, singing, dancing, costumes were spectacular! It is truly a beautiful spectacle! An entertaining piece that audiences are LOVING!
The trip did not end how I wanted it too. I know a lot of you may not relate to this, but I have what you may call “medical anxiety.” I don’t know if it’s a term, but I am making it one. The whole day Saturday…actually the past 3 weeks, I had been having anxiety spells. On Saturday, I think it was the combination of a lot of different flying, but mainly the flight the next morning, staying in a hotel by myself (yes, I do not do that often), the rash on my face, lots of other unknowns, I had a panic attack in the middle of the night and I hadn’t had one in a very long time. It took me by surprise and, of course, that only made it worse. I had already taken my medication or the flight. You’d be surprised – medication does NOT always help. I was able to just focus on my breath and fall asleep for another hour or so until I had to get up. I was uneasy all morning, but also completely exhausted. It takes everything out of you. I knew I was going home, so I think I was comforted by knowing that. I want to do a separate post on this very soon, because my “medical anxiety” is a big portion of why it all started for me. All in all, I truly had a blast in Connecticut, seeing the show, spending time with Max and with his family. It was never a place I thought I would fall in love with or blog about – but I did, and I hope you all get to visit there. I know there are so many other small towns up there that are just as charming and gorgeous as this one!
Have a great week - stay tuned on IG for the next one - "medical anxiety."
Xoxo,
