New York trip enchants Clarence Brown fans

Some of us went to New York a day earlier than the “official” visit. Mostly so we could work in more restaurant time! Here are Alan Carmichael, Margie Nichols Gill, center, and Jane Creed at the entrance to Cafe Boulud.

Located at 100 E. 63rd Street on the Upper East Side, Cafe Boulud is owned by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud, who describes the cuisine as “French American.”

At the table, from left: Jane Creed, Alan Carmichael, me, John and Margie Nichols Gill, and Kenneth Creed.

Some of the dishes we ordered, clockwise from top left: foie gras rhubarbe, lobster ravioli, excellent bread for the table, black sea bass wrapped in crispy potatoes, red lentil soup, and grilled sea trout.

Alan and his favorite course: dessert!

Here’s what it looked like before Alan dug into it! Called “Mille-Feuille,” it’s caramelized puff pastry with vanilla creme filling and a caramel sauce. It didn’t last long!

After dinner drinks back at the hotel. From left, John Gill, Jane and Kenneth Creed, Alan Carmichael, and Margie Nichols Gill.

The next day, before everyone was set to arrive, Alan and I had brunch at one of our favorite comfortable little French eateries: Marseilles, located near the hotel at 630 9th Avenue.

They serve the best Eggs Benedict I’ve ever had!

Yay, time for the first show! “Gypsy” starring Audra McDonald at the Majestic Theatre.

Knoxville friends Gary and Julia Bentley at “Gypsy.”

Our friend Amanda Jennings and her husband, Mark, joined the group for this show. She was an outstanding member of the Moxley Carmichael team and is thriving in New York now.

Curtain call for “Gypsy,” which is nominated for five Tony Awards.

Audra McDonald. This musical revival really was a vehicle for her to shine. We enjoyed it.

The next day would be jam packed. It started at 10 with a tour of Radio City Music Hall, located at 1260 Avenue of the Americas. Members of our group waiting to be admitted, from left, Pandy Anderson, Ken Martin, Lisa Carroll, Peggy and Carl Pierce, and Pam and Jim Given. Ken Martin is artistic director of Clarence Brown and head of the UT Theatre Department.

The grand foyer of the venue, which was built in 1932 and was the largest indoor theater in the world.

Our guide, Kenny.

The carpet in the foyer supposedly depicts six different musical instruments! Can you see them? (I can’t!)

The auditorium is 160 feet from the back of the room to the front of the stage and the ceiling is 84 feet high. Seating capacity is 5,960 in the auditorium and three mezzanines.

In a lower foyer is this aluminum sculpture called “The Spirit of Dance (Rhythm)” by William Zorach. It was installed and then removed immediately before the theater opened in 1932 because some considered it risque. After a public outcry, it and two other statues were returned to the theater.

Loved the look of the Men’s Room — what I could see without going in! The mural, called “Men Without Women,” depicts “male icons and nicotine themes.” Ha.

The Women’s Room was lovely, too.

Backstage, we saw some Rockettes’ costumes!

And we got to meet a real Rockette! The Rockettes are known for their precision dancing.

A historic Rockette costume.

Which was good because we had our traditional lunch reservations at Sardi’s! From left, Joe and Shelly Payne, Ken Martin, Margie Nichols and John Gill, and Alan Carmichael. Shelly deserves a medal of some sort! The Clarence Brown’s external relations manager, she was in charge of herding all of us around.

This drawing of George Clooney is front and center when you enter the restaurant, located at 234 W. 44th Street. Over 100 years old, Sardi’s is known as “Broadway’s longest running show!” Ha.

These two theater students sat at the same table as we did. They were great! Dyllan Tillery and Elisabeth Dupuy.

From left, Shelly Payne, Ken Martin, Neno Russell, Kenneth and Jane Creed, and Joe Payne. Neno Russell is assistant professor of costume technology at UT and Joe Payne is professor of sound and media design.

From left, Jim Grossen, Sara Phillips, costume designer Tori Niemiec, Pam and Jim Given, and student Chance Beck.

From left, Clarence Brown’s audience experience manager David Ratliff, scenic designer Kristen Martino, Carl and Peggy Pierce, and Gary and Julia Bentley.

From left, Carol Beilharz, Lee Riedinger, students Leilane Bertunes and Alondra Castro, Jessi Arnidis, and Myrwood Bessozi. Jessi is senior director of advancement for the UT College of Arts and Sciences.

From left, Julie Howard, Kyle Schellinger, Elizabeth Weatherly, Lisa Carroll, Mindy Cooper, and Ted Flickinger. Kyle is a cutter/draper with Clarence Brown’s production department; Elizabeth is executive director of advancement for the UT College of Arts and Sciences, and Mindy is marketing and communications director for Clarence Brown.

Some of the great food! Clockwise from top: Fishers Island oysters, French onion soup, tiramisu torte, sauteed jumbo shrimp, chicken cutlet parmigiana, spinach cannelloni au gratin, orange teriyaki glazed broiled salmon, and shrimp salad. Delish!

Back at the hotel, Shelly Payne showed us a bobble-head of Clarence Brown’s managing director, Tom Cervone. Tom couldn’t make the trip this year because he was recovering from an operation. But Shelly took him everywhere in spirit!

That night we attended the hysterical “Oh, Mary!” at the Lyceum Theatre. It also received five Tony nominations.

“Oh, Mary” is about Mary Todd Lincoln. UT graduate Conrad Ricamora played “Mary’s husband.” He is nominated for a Tony for his performance.

Ricamora did a “talk back” with the group from Knoxville after the show.

Here he is chatting with other UT alums, Bailey McCall, left, and McKinley Merritt.

This is the kind of experience that makes this trip so special each year.

To cap off a really busy day, Alan and I paid a visit to our favorite jazz club, the legendary Birdland, located right across the street from our hotel.

Guitarist Peter Bernstein was playing there with his quartet. That’s Aaron Goldberg on piano.

We found some others of our party still up when we made it back to The Stinger after the show! From left, Julie Howard, Ken Martin, and Margie Nichols Gill. Cheers!

Brunch the following day was at another casual French place: Cafe Un Deux Trois, also near the hotel. Alan Carmichael, in rear, with John and Margie Nichols Gill.

Here were our great food choices. Clockwise, from top left: Quiche Lorraine for me; an omelet for Alan, crepes with French ham and maple syrup for Margie, and Eggs Benedict for John. Yum.

Then, a matinee performance of “Maybe Happy Ending” at the Belasco Theatre. It’s the play that was nominated for 10 Tony Awards!

The play is about two robots who fall in love. This character, who was on stage before the start of the show, is the owner of one of the robots.

Curtain call. The two robots.

After the play, we headed to the Backstage Tavern, 346 W. 46th Street, where there was a reception for all the Knoxville crowd and various Clarence Brown alums who now live in New York.

Ken Martin, right, with Hogan Wayland, left, and Mayson Knipp.

Lee Rieedinger and Mary Zuhr going through the food line.

The food was good!

From left, Alan Carmichael, LeAnne Dougherty, Gary and Julia Bentley.

From left, Pandy Anderson, Carol Beilharz, and Jane Creed.

Our friends Amanda and Mark Jennings were there!

Ken Martin making remarks and introductions.

Then, it was on to our final play, which we added on to the Clarence Brown selections, “Good Night, and Good Luck” starring George Clooney was playing at the Winter Garden Theatre. It garnered five Tony nominations.

George Clooney at curtain call. He played broadcaster Edward R. Murrow.

Every night after the show, a very gracious George Clooney would mingle with fans outside the stage door and pose for photos. Margie Nichols Gill snapped this one.

We cut through Times Square on our way to dinner at Becco, a favorite Italian spot of ours.

Located at 355 W. 46th Street, it’s also just a short walk from the InterContinental Times Square.

Another New York restaurant with great bread service! We split a Caesar salad and I had crispy shrimp (which is what I always have there!) while Alan went for the salmon.

As a wrap-up to the trip, we always gather the morning we are to leave in a hotel conference room for breakfast and to share thoughts. This year a special shout-out went to John and Margie Nichols Gill who provided scholarship funds that allowed so many students to join us.

I thought Ken Martin hit the nail on the head when, after hearing how moved everyone was by their New York experiences, he summed up theater as a craft. “We do emotional impact well,” he said. “That’s what we teach, along with the technology.”

Great trip, everybody! All the shows were excellent. Here’s how Alan and I ranked the ones we saw: “Maybe Happy Ending,” first; “Oh, Mary,” second; “Gypsy,” third; and “Good Night, and Good Luck,” fourth. (That last ranking was due mostly to the bad acoustics from our seats in the Winter Garden Theatre. It was difficult to understand all the words — in a play with a lot of important words!)