Musical street theater

Tonight I decided to walk home because the clouds finally parted and it seemed too beautiful not to long a few thousand steps. It took a little more than half an hour, which is close to how long it take to ride the subway.

On the way, about a half dozen blocks from home I started to hear loud music. At first I thought it might be a car driving by with its stereo cranked up, but it was louder and clearer than that. A band? I looked around and couldn't see anything, so I kept going.
When I got back to my apartment, I opened the door to the balcony and heard the music crystal clear. From the balcony way up here, I could look down and see that an apartment building about a block away was having a party on its outdoor deck. So I enjoyed dinner sharing their sort of Caribbean-sounded live music.

That's part of what I dig about NYC. It's like free street theater all the time.

Which reminds me of two things related to theater:
-- Last night, I was coming home from a b-school alumni meeting, walking through Times Square when I overheard two guys talking behind me. One was describing how after he got his first show, A Chorus Line, he took his paycheck and treated just about everyone he knew to dinner at a restaurant that's gone now. He felt like a big spender because some of the dancers were so poor they could barely afford apples and peanut butter. I loved picturing that NY moment.
-- Over the weekend, John and I were walking around after dinner. A lot of the theaters are just south of me, so we happened upon a big crowd standing outside a stage door after a show ended. Then we realized it was The Odd Couple, which is the show Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are doing now. So like tourists, we stood around and waited. A few of the supporting cast came out and signed autographs, then Matthew came out and talked to people, got pictures taken, generally seemed really gracious with the eager fans, before he was chauffeured off. Sadly, the security guy told the still-waiting crowd that Nathan had left already. Somehow, the little squealing giggle that he did in The Birdcage has become part of our lexicon so JT and I were hoping to see him. At least we got a good celebrity sighting.