ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE

All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players
                 -- from "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare


These words gained new meaning this weekend at my cousin's wedding in New York City.

The stage at the Hudson Theater for my cousin's wedding
The wedding program was on a Playbill
with head shots & bios of the Newlyweds and Bridal Party

My cousin, the Bride -- born and bred in New York and a lifelong devotee of Broadway musical theater -- held her wedding reception at the historic Hudson Theater in Times Square.  She and her brothers often entertained our family gatherings with song & dance routines from the Great White Way.  This time, the Groom joined the Family Act and got onstage too.

Details of he Hudson Theater, historical landmark building from 1903
Ethel Barrymore and Louis Armstrong performed on this stage
The mosaic tiles are original Louis Comfort Tiffany

The Newlyweds got to star in their own romantic musical.  The wedding show even came with its own Playbill, possibly designed by the Groom himself, who is a graphic designer.  Like all Playbills, this came complete with Bridal Party bios and head shots.

OK, everyone always demands to see the Bride's gown.  Here it is.  She told me the corset was laced up exactly like traditional corsets.  So, she endured quite a bit of tugging at the party, what with a few "costume changes" back and forth into the wedding gown.

The Newlyweds star in their own Love Story

Back to the show.  It was altogether fitting that the Bride's brother, my other cousin, opened up the "show" with "Something's Coming" from West Side Story.

Bride's brother, my cousin too, opening with
"Something's Coming" from West Side Story

The Newlyweds soon followed, portraying their forbidden romance with a sexy Salsa number.

The Newlyweds impressed us with some
really good Salsa dancing

We had a blast gazing up at the Wedding Cake in the royal Box.  I kept daring my niece to tip it overboard (she's more like a cousin, in her twenties).  She was wiser than her naughty auntie and satisfied herself by jumping from below in an attempt to reach it, like Tantalus, grasping for elusive branches.  The Newlyweds did give us the Perón wave during the Cake Cutting ceremony.

The cake was perched up in the royal Box
so the Cake Cutting Scene was rather Evita-esque

We guests had our turn on stage for some wild line dancing throughout the evening.  People really boogied on down!  (If the party here is starting to resemble a Bacchanalian feast, the guests increasingly did bring their champagne and drinks on stage.)

Guests in the line dances on stage

The Bride closed with a final song about New York, guests piping in as chorus.  Unfortunately, I didn't know the lyrics since my knowledge of Broadway & West End shows ended with Cats.

Grande finale with the Bride leading a New York song
accompanied by the wedding guest chorus
Video shows director Spike Lee (my sister in-law's film advisor at NYU)!

Of course, it was difficult getting my other cousins, nephews and nieces offstage once they were on.   Family trait?  Here, the wedding guests -- unprompted -- kicked out "New York, New York" after hearing Ol' Blue Eyes crooning.

Wedding guests inspired into high kicks for "New York,  New York"

I now realize how the Talents were divided in my family.  The creativity for art, animation, film & photography, and musical theater manifests itself on my father's side.  My mom's side breeds the straight-laced corporate bankers, lawyers, and intellectuals!  (Family parties on my mom's side require being armed with literary references, barbed wit -- my 98-year old grandma's prowess here is legendary -- and a steady onslaught of multi-syllabic vocabulary.  It's both exhilarating and exhausting to keep a verbal slingshot at the ready!)

Anyhow, it was a memorable evening full of love, music and family.  

As the lights dimmed, we were glad that this really wasn't a show that had just ended.  In fact, the curtains were just lifting for this young couple's life together.

A slip of white making a quiet exit

They have their exits and their entrances  

                                                                 -- continued from "As You Like It"

Do you have any favorite wedding party memories?

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I will try to make my way around everyone's blogs again.  Sorry, I barely had a moment to check the web during my trip to NYC.  I didn't take any pictures of myself either so I am waiting for someone to send me a good outfit post from their camera!