Polar Opposite Perfection

Awesome NYC.

This past weekend Dr. H and I went adventuring in New York City to two could-not-be-more-different activities. Since both were absolute Manhattan perfection, I figured I'd let you all in on the secrets!! 

The adventuring began on Friday night, when Dr. H and I went to see Queen of the Night, an immersive theater experience which was honestly, beyond explanation. When I heard that Randy Weiner, the unique genius behind The Box and Sleep No More (an in-an-"abandoned hotel" interactive production of Macbeth which I saw/loved several years ago) was at it again, I was quick to scoop up tickets to the first of Queen of the Night's 6 week limited run. 

The show, hosted in the recently renovated (and truly stunning) Diamond Horseshoe theater beneath the Paramount Hotel in midtown is loosely based on Mozart's Magic Flute, but is best described as "an immersive-cirque-dinner-theater-orgy experience". Moments after checking my coat, I was snatched away from Dr. H by a costumed gentleman who (completely in character) required that I imagine I was being snuck into the party (I was. We raced through the hotel lobby and down a back stairwell where he introduced himself as "Master Q" and led me past a series of characters and finally into the main supper club/theater space where I eventually found Dr. H). The space itself is dark and sexy, the  inventive cocktails (included in your ticket price) flow freely and people are invited to touch, look and explore before being escorted to various large tables for the main performance which is a wild combination of acrobatics, dance, acting and feasting (mid-show massive trays of beef ribs, suckling pigs on spickets and bird cages over-flowing with lobster are brought out and you are invited to feast on what's placed on your table or anything else you wish to walk around and procure). The show evokes your curiosity and an open-minded sense of adventure is absolutely required (nudity, slow dancing with strangers, hugging and being spoon fed dessert by a cast-member are all part of the gig!) but the circus-meets-theater-meets-dinner format is wildly exciting and not to be missed! (NY Times review HERE, Wall St Journal HERE).

For a complete change of pace, on Saturday, Dr. H and I had our most adorable niece and nephew come visit (their periodic sleepovers are a favorite treat for all 4 of us!) and we adventured over to CMA, the Children's Museum of the Arts to check it out. The hands-on museum amazed me and at ages 6 and 8, my kiddos were perfectly able to participate in the wide variety of activities from learning how to do stop-motion animation to painting chinese new year dragons and creating "musical Van Gogh" with old cassette tapes!

Ball Pond up top, entrance/galleries down below

And one of the nicest things about the museum is that each activity station is fully staffed with (impossibly patient!) artist employees who explain everything the kids need to know and assist them as they engage with the project at hand. Parents (or aunts and uncles!) can relax a bit and rest assured that the kiddos are getting a fully entertaining, educational and creative experience. And though going berserk in the Ball Pond (a room stuffed with various size/color yoga balls) was probably the kids' favorite part of the day, I think the animation, clay, painting and art-making made an impression too:) For a great kids activity in NYC, be sure to check out CMA.