“Gimme a silver, gimme a gold. Make it a million for when I get old. Art for art’s sake; money for God’s sake”
- Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman (10cc)- 1975
I distinctly remember about 25 years ago when my parents went to a Broadway play, and my dad telling me later he didn’t care for it- he thought the story was stupid. He told me it was a play about a painting that was nothing but a blank white canvas that the lead character bought for a lot of money. As dad described it, it did sound silly. It reminded me of the 1975 song “Art for Art’s Sake” by 10cc which got some airplay when I was young. It was a critique of the commercialization of art and the prioritization of financial gain over artistic integrity- “Gimme a silver, gimme a gold; Make it a million for when I get old. Art for art’s sake; money for God’s sake”. I forgot about the play until we saw 10cc in July 2024 and they sang that song, and dad’s old play review came to mind. When I saw last month that Neil Patrick Harris, James Corden, and Bobby Cannavale were appearing on Broadway in a limited engagement revival of a play called “Art”, I remembered that was the show that my parents saw many years ago. In many ways my parents and I had different tastes and I loved the new cast, so I ignored dad’s old negative comments and Eva and I decided to check out the play revival for our anniversary.
New York City has become our favorite getaway spot. This was our third trip this year, with a 4th trip planned for December (for the 45th annual John Lennon tribute concert). With a sick cat that needs continuous care due to cancer, getting away for more than a few days is difficult and creates undue stress for our Emmy, whose days are numbered, so we’ve been limiting our trips to overnight of late. New York is the perfect getaway- a 2 hour drive, catch a show, stay overnight, and we’re home the next day. We love the impressive hotels, restaurants, plays, concerts, museums, attractions, culture, and the hopping nightlife of Times Square and the Broadway district. It’s always a fun time.
Because of its location right next to the Music Box theater where Art was playing, this time we stayed at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. The hotel has two wings, one on 45th Street and one on 46th Street, connected by a podium at ground level. The first two stories contain retail space, while the Marquis Theatre was built within the building’s third floor. The hotel’s atrium lobby is at the eighth floor and also includes meeting space and restaurants. Thirty-six stories of guestrooms rise above the lobby, overlooking it. An architectural feature of the hotel is its concrete elevator core, which consists of a tower-shaped structure with twelve glass elevator cabs on the exterior. With its perfect location, excellent restaurants, and luxurious rooms with nice views of the city, this may become our preferred hotel for future stays in the Big Apple.
It took a while to get used to the hotel’s futuristic elevator system. It was the first time I was ever on an elevator that had no floor buttons to push. You step up to the kiosk, flash your room key card, and the kiosk tells you which elevator number to go to, and then that elevator takes you directly to your floor. When going down, you don’t use your key, but you only have two choices available- the 8th floor lobby or the 1st floor street level. You select which level you are going to, and again the kiosk assigns you to an elevator. One time I inadvertently got off at the wrong floor, and for the life of me couldn’t figure out how to get back on the elevator to take me up another level. Someone from the housekeeping staff had to show me what buttons to push on the kiosk to get to my floor. As complicated as it was, the elevator system for 36 floors of hotel rooms was very efficient.
Before the show, we had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant “The View”. It is one of New York City’s highest restaurants and revolves for a 360° view of the city. The bar and lounge, located on the 48th floor, complete one 360-degree rotation every 45 minutes, with the lower-level main dining room spinning at a slightly slower rate of one rotation per hour. Everything about it was wonderful- the rotating city view, the complimentary champagne for our anniversary, the attentive staff, and an excellent meal. We can’t wait to go back.
After dinner, it was off to the play. The staff asked what time our show was and at what theater, and made sure we had enough time to enjoy our dinner and get to the play on time. The show was just 90 minutes, with no intermission. It’s hard to compare it to Broadway musicals, since there is just a cast of three, no music, and a minimal set design. But the cast was very entertaining, and the dialogue thought-provoking. Art’s take on the fragility of friendship, ego, and identity is as relevant as ever. Although the theme was art, the friendship dynamics could just as easily apply to politics, religion, or other controversial discussion topics of our time. When Serge (Neil Patrick Harris) buys an expensive all-white contemporary painting, it sparks conflict with his friends Marc (Bobby Cannavale), who thinks the work is a joke, and Yvan (James Corden), who tries to stay neutral, revealing deeper tensions bubbling under the surface of their relationships. When Corden erupts into a four-minute monologue about his family feuds regarding his upcoming wedding, it’s a sight to behold. As one reviewer noted, “You laugh, you wince, you want to hand him a whiskey and a hug.” The whole cast was fantastic, in my opinion Corden stole the show.
An added bonus (if you want to call it that) is that I missed watching the Phillies playoff loss in the first game of their series against the Dodgers. Unfortunately, I did make it home in time to see the Eagles loss against the Broncos. It was not a good weekend for Phillies sports fans, but it was certainly a great weekend for Eva and me. We can’t wait for our next New York City getaway!
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