As we all know by now, theatre is what first drew me to New York. I was two years old. Not long after, New York started to become a character of its own – not just “the place where Broadway was.” All About Eve. The First Wives CLub. Soap Dish. You’ve Got Mail. The stories that resonated all had New York in common.
Enter The Muppets Take Manhattan (which opened on this day in 1984).
Y’all. It was so real. It was so specifically me. I was watching all of my New York dreams come true. All I had to do was get there and pronounce that I was gonna do this and whackiness would ensue and somehow I’d end up in exactly the right place! Lol.
It hasn’t turned out exactly that way – I’m still very much in the “whackiness ensues” portion of the film – but as long as there is Manhattan Melodies there is hope for all of us.
P.S. I think I was too young to connect the Lonny Price dots at first, but I Always saw myself in him as well. You can only imagine how my brain exploded when I finally realized what I didn’t know. We all know the saying, “You should never meet your heroes.” Well, Lonny has always been a hero of mine and I couldn’t be more grateful to have met him (and even have him on the podcast!).
Still From Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)