That time I met Gypsy!

Saturday night, I was at 54 Below in the city, celebrating my good friend's birthday by seeing Laura Osnes share her "voice of an angel" (that's a quote from Husband. Yes, he actually said that. No, I'm not sure what's wrong with him) with us. If you're not familiar with 54 Below, it's a space in New York City decorated in warm, golden tones and lighting where a lot of Broadway talent comes to play. The distance from the front of the stage to the booths against the back wall is approximately 20 feet. It's intimate and cozy and wonderful.

While seated at our table, ordering our moonshine cider drinks (delicious) and dessert (pumpkin marscapone cheesecake... also delicious), a small group was being directed to their seats in one of the booths behind us. And that's when I saw her. But, because I'm half-blind and refuse to wear glasses (and was quite a few drinks into the night already), I wasn't confident that it was who I thought it was. After bringing my friend's attention to it (who are both also big Gilmore girls fans), we decided we were somewhere between 95%-98% certain... seated behind us was Gypsy (Rose Abdoo)!

Before Laura took the stage, we discussed a strategy so I could determine if it really was her. My friend, Lauren, smartly advised me not to ask her until the end in the event that it WASN'T Rose... so I wouldn't have to spend the entire show embarrassed that I had just asked a total stranger if she used to play the snarky mechanic to a fictional town.

Laura Osnes walked onstage and was, as always, pure perfection. Her voice is... okay, Husband might be right... the voice of an angel. She is also warm and witty and self-deprecating. And her dress... I would sell my Lorelai on the black market for that dress. If you would like to read more about Laura's performance by someone who is a Broadway/New York theater expert, I highly recommend you check out the birthday girl's blog Shubert Alley Cat. And after you finish reading her post about our night, proceed to read the rest of her blog. Because it's good. And because Broadway.

I was getting nervous that Rose/Random Woman would leave before I got the chance to approach her. My friends were talking to me about how I wanted to handle it... and that's apparently when my 6th drink of the night kicked in. I took my buzz by the horns (uh, what?) and breezed up to her and just asked "I'm sorry to bother you, but by any chance are you Rose Abdoo!"

And I'm proud to tell you, I'm not (entirely) crazy! It WAS Rose Abdoo and she was quite possibly the nicest woman I've ever met (so unlike Gypsy). She was so sweet! She invited me to sit with them... she was there with her sister and her niece, celebrating her niece's Sweet 16. She graciously introduced us to everyone, talked to my friend about how she, her niece and Rose were all Saggitariuses (Saggitarii?). We talked about Bunheads and how we were so bummed when it wasn't renewed. She talked about how she was hoping to catch Sutton Foster at 54 Below that night. She talked about how Amy Sherman-Palladino stress crochets and she'd be onset just furiously crotecting afghans. I told her about how I met Jared Padalecki on a plane to Rome once and she gushed about how sweet he is. She was so genuine and warm and seemed so happy to be speaking to us. Toward the tail end of our conversation (as the gentleman she was with came back and clearly wanted the seat I was now occupying back), she said to me "Well, we HAVE to take a photo because I live in California so it's unlikely we'll see each other again!"

So this happened:

Aren't we adorable?!

I never would've noticed her walk in if I hadn't been sitting in that particular seat and hadn't just flicked my eyes up from the drink menu at exactly the right moment. This is when I believe The Gods of Fate want me to collect 'em all... like Pokemon! I WILL meet all of the cast from Gilmore girls. And who knows? If this luck continues, maybe I'll be able to actually meet Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel and Amy Sherman-Palladino this summer!

Now I'm regretting not thinking to ask her about the heating fan in my Yaris. ;)

#roseabdoo #broadway #shubertalleycat #gypsy