If you’ve read my books, you’ve probably noticed that there’s at least one reference to Sex and the City in most of them. It’s not a “thing” I do or even a conscious decision. I think it’s because the majority of my heroines have been single New Yorkers. Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha are iconic single New Yorkers who experienced quite the dating life. They also exchanged some of the wittiest banter on television, in my opinion.

When my friend, Lily, asked if I wanted to see The Seagull at The Paris Theater with a couple of her friends, I initially said yes because I was impressed with the cast, including Annette Benning, Elizabeth Moss, Brian Dennehy, and Michael Zegen (from my favorite show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime). Then she reminded me that, in one episode of SATC, Carrie went to The Paris Theater and mused that “the most amazing thing about living in a city like New York is that any night of the week you can go to Paris.” After living in Manhattan for more than fifteen years, I’ve made it to many of the venues frequented in the show, by not The Paris Theater. I was in!

So, this past weekend, four of us (Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda—kidding!) met for a quick dinner at the food court in the Plaza Hotel, followed by a trip to the Eloise store, before heading over to the theater for the movie. We sat in the first row of the balcony. It would have been very romantic if we were on a date, but we weren’t so…we just enjoyed our popcorn (or I enjoyed mine, since I was the only one incapable of sitting through a movie sans popcorn despite having just eaten a delicious gluten-free lobster roll and a bag of chips.)

About the movie: It was very well acted, very humorous at times, but not at all uplifting, which is fine. The books I write need happily-ever-afters, but not necessarily the films I watch. I especially enjoyed that one of the main characters was a novelist. Here is a snippet from his monologue about the “curse” of being a novelist:

Day and night I am held in the grip of one besetting thought, to write, write, write! Hardly have I finished one book than something urges me to write another, and then a third, and then a fourth–I write ceaselessly. I am, as it were, on a treadmill. I hurry forever from one story to another, and can’t help myself.

Boy, could I relate!

About the theater: In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen quite a few movies in big multiplex theaters where the seats recline, but I’ll take the glamorous, old-school, single-screen theater of The Paris Theater any day of the week. And the cool spiral staircase that led from the lobby to the balcony was pretty cool too! Although I didn’t really feel like I was in Paris, I felt a special fondness for New York City, Sex and the City, and my own fabulous girlfriends.

I wish I’d had the forethought to take more pictures. But if you’re a New Yorker or just visiting and want to channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw, or simply escape the masses of the AMCs and Loews of the island, definitely check out The Plaza Theater!