At Open House New York last year, Andy and I learned of “Nothing to Hide,” the magic show directed by Neil Patrick Harris. We had planned to go, but we weren’t entirely sure if he would be performing himself or just directing. Instead, luckily enough, another opportunity arose to see NPH live: “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
We bought tickets as a sort of one-year anniversary present to one another, and on the final day of May we headed into the city. First we had a romantic dinner at 44 SW Ristorante & Bar, despite the attempts of a herd of rude tourists to ruin the moment. In order to actually have something to toast with we each ordered expensive specialty drinks that we didn’t like enough to finish.
And then I did a terrible thing. The waitress left her pen. And because I had some severe delusions about meeting NPH after the show, I “borrowed” it for the night. And karma, in all of her glory, came to me in the form of exploded ink all over my favorite jeans.
The show itself was fantastic. We didn’t know what to expect (there was an unwritten rule between us that we wouldn’t research what the show was about) but as soon as the cast came on stage, neither of us could take our eyes off of the stage. I think my high school self would have been jealous, because it was pretty much everything that I would have wanted to see back then in my imagined future life.
The set design was beautiful – they did so much with lighting alone – that even though there wasn’t much to work with, everything was taken advantage of. I wasn’t a big fan of some of the music, but we ordered the Original Cast Recording beforehand, and those songs have grown on me a lot now that I’ve listened to the album on repeat.
Watching the Tony Awards was really exciting because we saw them win “all the awards” including NPH’s win as Best Lead Actor in a Musical. So that should be enough to sell you on grabbing tickets. NPH is slated to perform until mid-August, when Andrew Rannells is set to replace him.
