AndrewAndrew (And Andrew?) – Encountering the NYC Icons

I mingled as I should at the Lambs Club, meeting potential travel writing advocates at a private party in the back of the room, enjoying the playlist of AndrewAndrew, wondering if there was such a word as “Tripleganger.”

 
6sqft’s Andrew Cotto — an author of two novels and a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Men’s Journal, and Salon.com — will be sharing his experiences as he makes his way around New York City. Here, he describes his chance encounters with NYC icons AndrewAndrew.

Image via Grand Life Hotels

I don’t get to the theater often, but a friend whose amazing rock band never caught (enough) traction turned her songbook into a musical produced by the Manhattan Theater Company in the Fall of 2012. At one of the first showings of Murder Ballad, I found myself sitting a few seats away from two very interesting gentlemen: impeccably and identically dressed in playful, semi-formal attire with matching spectacles and slicked side parts. They resembled young Truman Capotes out on the town. I immediately wanted a gin martini (and I don’t even drink gin).

Throughout the show, I found myself watching the two compelling men down the aisle nearly as much as I watched the stage. It was clear they were taking notes and taking in the nuances of the performance, so I wasn’t surprised to learn later that the objects of my curiosity were independent theater critics known as AndrewAndrew. I loved that, and I loved the two-part review they posted on their blog. Filmed on a handheld directly before and after the performance, with the marquee in the background, the two men, clearly unscripted and slightly boozy, dashed off an insightful and playful critique of the show which touched on the musical’s many highlights and a few of its flaws. Full of hyperbole and humor and a dash of snark, the critique was informed by a clear understanding of what brings people out to the theater. Bravo.

I don’t get to swank Midtown theater joints often, either. But I recently found myself walking into the Lambs Club on West 44th Street just as Candace Bergen was walking out (I’m pretty sure it’s the first time Ms. Bergen and I have ever crossed paths, though I did once see a lesser star from Murphy Brown at a Starbucks in Santa Monica.). Among the auspices of fabulous at the Lambs Club, I made my way to the second floor lounge of the Landmark building where antique cocktails are poured over hand-cut ice (yep) and, tucked between the bar and floor-to-ceiling French doors, two impeccably and identically dressed gentleman manned iPads at a portable DJ stand. My people!

Seeing AndrewAndrew again was, kind of, like seeing old friends or, at least, New York acquaintances who feel like old friends. I barged in on their DJ’ing responsibilities and informed them of our previous encounter and how much I admired what they did and requested that they consider an AndrewAndrewAndrew alliance (I made that last part up, but it would be fun — for me, at least). I mingled as I should at the Lambs Club, meeting potential travel writing advocates at a private party in the back of the room, enjoying the playlist of AndrewAndrew, wondering if there was such a word as “Tripleganger.”

And, of course, I wanted to write about them and began plotting which media outlets to pitch my fabulous story on AndrewAndrew. And, of course, as it often is with my attempts to discover anything New York, I was a little late. In fact, I’d missed the boat on AndrewAndrew by about a decade. They are a well-known “creativity team” who have already appeared in the pages of the magazines and newspapers which I intended to enlighten. So what? There’s so much of New York that I don’t know, and sometimes discovering it only for myself (and a few others) is enough.

Andrew Cotto is the author of The Domino Effect and Outerborough Blues: A Brooklyn Mystery. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Men’s Journal, Salon.com, the Good Men Project, and Teachers & Writers magazine. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Follow him on Twitter @andrewcotto