Carousel and Candyland

We thought we'd go to the carousel at Bryant Park and then enjoy a leisurely lunch on the grass before seeing a show. Unfortunately, the lawn was closed. Fortunately, the carousel was open. The first time, I rode with them (on a rabbit). Lee took the cat and Clara took a horse:

The next time, Lee snagged the frog, which is pretty cool as well:

I don't remember ever noticing the butterflies before:

We had some extra time, so we stopped in to look at Toys R Us, which featured a strong candy theme with Willy Wonka:

and an M&M car on the ferris wheel:

Then we got free samples at the Hershey's store, and bought two small pick-it-yourself bags of M&Ms at (where else) the M&M store, and enjoyed them across from Rockefeller Center:

The girls liked the show; Ruth did a great job of preparing them for the experience in advance by getting a copy of the Broadway cast recording album and printing out a plot synopsis. Once again, I found the Lion King really magical - for reasons old and new. I love the puppetry. I love that there are dancers playing all the vegetation. The song "They Live In You" still thrills me with its bittersweet beauty and truth.

In fact, the music of the Lion King was basically the soundtrack to our weekend. As we played the album at home, Lee was studying the song titles and really pinning down what was happening when. The girls typically sang along, of course, and if we were in a place where we couldn't actually play the recording, they certainly didn't mind singing a cappella. (And neither did we!)

On repeated hearing, I found that I loved the album more and more. Scar gets a lot of very "showbiz" tunes, most likely to help take the edge off his villainy (he is a pretty bad guy, after all). For the first time, I noticed the operatic qualities of "Stampede" -- in fact, it reminded me of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" overture. Amazing. Even some of the songs I'd found less enjoyable initially - or even somewhat annoying - were richer, deeper, and funnier than I'd originally thought.