An overnight trip to see an off-off-off-off-off-off-Broadway musical

As a rule, we don’t do much traveling in the spring. Weekends in April and May are chockfull with the abundance of school and work and life that happens in this season.

But sometimes you have to make an exception.

Back in the fall, my sister Maureen reached out to tell us that her son, a junior in high school, had landed an actual role in his school musical, Groundhog Day.

“Is he Ned Ryerson?” I asked.

Every now and then you guess right, and that was my big moment.

As a couple, John and I have a handful of movies we both enjoy. Groundhog Day is one of them. And Ned Ryerson has always been a favorite.

Am I right or am I right or am I right?

Also, we love seeing our nephew perform, and you can see the days just flying by once you hit junior year. We couldn’t miss this.

Of course, because it’s spring, we had a high school jazz concert for our older son on Friday night, and my husband had a work event on Saturday morning. And Maureen’s daughter, who is at college here in Baltimore, was going to join us—and needed to be back Sunday by noon.

A 24-hour round-trip to Westchester County, New York? Count us in.

I picked up sandwiches we could eat on the way up, we loaded the car with everything we needed for a quick overnight trip, and I made sure we had Berger Cookies and Utz Crab Chips in lieu of a bouquet for our star actor.

Then we hit the road.

I would like to say we sailed up to New York, but let’s just say we made it in time to give some hugs, go out to dinner, and get to the theater in time. Given the limited time frame, I took a disproportionately high number of photos, and we made some quick but likely eternal memories. It was that kind of a trip.

And the musical? All the stars. All the thumbs up. It was phenomenal.

Just like the movie, Groundhog Day the musical was sheer delight. We laughed and laughed. We marveled at the technical support. We could not get over the strength of the singing. And our nephew—our very own Ned Ryerson—was absolutely fantastic. He played the part with insight and wit and poise.

He even had a solo, which he sang so beautifully that I cried through the whole piece. His father, who passed away almost nine years ago now, would have been so proud. He was an excellent singer himself, and he would have loved watching the show.

It was absolutely extraordinary.

After autographs and hugs and maybe a few too many photos, we went back to my sister’s house, putzed around a bit, and fell into bed or couch or whatever. A few hours later, we were up, guzzled coffee and inhaled New York bagels, and hit the road a little after 7 a.m. to get back to Baltimore by 11 a.m.

Was I exhausted? Of course. Am I still tired? You bet. Will I still be a week from now? Almost certainly. Do I have any regrets? Nope.

Because unlike in Groundhog Day, we only get one shot at this. And making memories with the people you love is always worth it.

Am I right or am I right or am I right?

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