To see the webpage for this play from the Help is on the Way Today website, please click HERE
Part I – Manhattan Melodrama
“Wintry Mix”. “Nor’easter”. NOT the weather report I wanted to hear on the heels of a giant
ice storm – especially when I had tickets to see Lara Parker in “Mrs. Scrooge” the day said storm was to
hit.
So, the next three days were spent in suspense, waiting for the storm, hoping it would arrive early so it would be cleaned
up before I had to leave for Manhattan. Alas, it didn’t even start till late on Saturday, leaving me not knowing until
the next morning whether I could hack my car out, or whether my alternate – and convoluted -- mass transit backup routes
would even be running.
Fortunately, by the time I went to check the damage, it had already started to rain in Westchester, so hacking the car out
of its ice floe was less than an hour’s work. A further stroke of luck came when the highway was almost completely
empty, rather than the bumper to bumper slippery mess I had expected on a Sunday this close to Christmas. Manhattan traffic,
too, was no worse than normal, so I had time to peruse the area for a garage on the lower end of extortion rates, but still
close enough to the theater to not be a hardship.
Monkey wrench in the works #2 – I walk around to 9th Avenue and start checking for the address in the Shadowgram printout
I had brought along. Oh-oh – looks like a typo in the building number, as the number they gave is part of a parking
garage. I walk up 44th to 8th avenue, figuring I will find either the building, or a cop to ask. The cop I find never heard
of the place and suggests I try the next block east, where the big theaters are. That didn’t work, so I segued back
to 8th to stop and ask in a hotel I saw there. On the way I see another little theater complex on 45th, so I play a hunch
and stop in there – and hit paydirt. The gentleman at the desk didn’t know the exact number, but he heard of
it and knew about where it was, and what businesses were next to it. So, off I go and find the building with the black door
by 9th avenue – with a poster for Mrs. Scrooge hanging right there in the window. Despite the little adventure, I’m
still obnoxiously early due to the good time I’d made. So, I stopped to pull out the digital camera and take some shots
of the poster before braving THE STAIRCASE (Since most who will read this don’t know me, I have spinal and knee injuries
resulting from a fall ten years ago, and walk with a crutch. Stairs are on the list of things which are no longer my friends.).
As it turns out, I am still obnoxiously early, but the nice folks at the Producer’s Club direct me to where the box
office will be and offer me a seat. Think I dozed a bit, since I’d not slept much the night before worrying what the
weather would be in the morning. Some time later, people started coming in, then some time after that, the box office opened
to check people in, and after a while we went to the theater itself to be seated for the performance.
Part Two: The Play's the Thing
Help is On the Way Today: As mentioned above, these performances were a fundraiser for this organization, with the services
of all the actors donated. But, although the performances are over, the need still remains. Speaking as someone who works
for a 150 year old child welfare organization, I assure you that there’re always far more kids with a desperate and
legitimate need than there is money to help them. Government grants, even when available, can’t be stretched far enough.
So, I’m sure this organization would love to hear from you, and get donations to help more kids at this holiday season.
To find out more about this worthy charity, please check out their webpage:
Help is on the Way Today
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