I met THE Glenda Jackson. 'Nuf said.

If I can growl like Glenda Jackson when I’m 83, I’ll die happy.

I got to meet her after the Broadway performance of “King Lear” I attended at the Cort Theatre tonight, in which she played a glowering, stewing, simmering Lear whose descent into madness is captivating.

I was sitting in the front row of the balcony (I bought a ticket this morning after learning that "King Lear" was closing early; the last show is the matinee tomorrow), and her growls were reverberating through the rafters like she was right next to me. There’s a reason the woman is a living legend (and yes, I did tell her I admired her formidable growling abilities. She was understandably delighted.)

I also casually made eye contact with her several times during her monologues, which were delivered with fire and fury to the heavens (a.k.a. the balcony, where I conveniently happened to be sitting).

I also got to meet Ruth Wilson, who is my all-time favorite actress to play Jane Eyre (2006 TV mini-series; highly, highly recommend). Surprisingly, she was the only one of the actresses who played Lear’s three daughters to come to the stage door. I wished her luck at the Tonys tomorrow – she’s up for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Cordelia.

The final actress I got to chat briefly with was Jayne Houdyshell, who was a moving Gloucester, particularly when she's stumbling around blind in the second act. Like Lear, the traditionally male role was played by a woman. I love alt-gender cast takes on Shakespeare.

Another difference between stage doors on Broadway compared to London's West End: Not only am I not waiting in some dingy alley behind the theater (a surprising number of stage doors are at the front on Broadway), all the actors and actresses I’ve encountered so far have furnished their own Sharpies. I had to buy a set in London after actors kept accidentally taking them to sign for others and forgetting to give them back. No issue here – I haven’t had to whip mine out once.

One other interesting note about this production of Lear is that the Duke of Cornwall is played by Russell Harvard, an actor who is deaf. He signs his lines and an additional speaking role, “Aide to Cornwall,” played by Michael Arden, was added to the cast.

OK, back to chronological order.

I started my day with a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, which is closing next week until October for a $450 million renovation.

I was already planning to go this weekend, and then I learned that I get in free with my New York Times badge (bonus!). Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” was the standout, but the museum also said some great pieces by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Jasper Johns, and one of my favorites, Meret Oppenheim’s “Furry Teacup.”

My biggest surprise was that Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” was much, much smaller than I anticipated. I always pictured that one as a huge canvas!

The trick with the MoMA is to start on the top floors, where all the most famous work is, and work your way down to the contemporary section and design galleries. Those are more crowded because a lot of people start on the second floor and go up, petering out before reaching the real goods. Not to say those sections weren’t cool, but it’s “Starry Night” above them, you know?

The museum's design gallery reminds me of the new design lab at Newfields. The MoMA’s has been in existence much longer, obviously, and they had a fascinating wall where you could see the types of objects that have been displayed in it during each decade. What qualified as cutting-edge design in the ‘30s and ‘50s is very different from today.

There’s also a lovely sculpture garden on the first floor, as well as a glass viewing area facing the street on each level that looks out over the city.

After visiting the MoMA, I strolled around the 45-55 Street area, checking out some Broadway marquees and other landmarks. Some of the highlights: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at the Ed Sullivan Theater, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, the “Kiss Me, Kate” theater (currently starring Kelli O’Hara and Corbin Bleu), Feinstein’s 54 Below (!), the FOX News studio, and several Halal Guys spottings (I guess I was just too low down on the grid before --- they’re concentrated around the MoMA!).

Speaking of the grid, I also got this neat magnet from the MoMA. I have a giant poster of the London Tube map in my Indy apartment (I’m a sucker for map décor, considering I spend so much time reading them when I’m traveling).

I’m excited to see who comes out on top at the Tony Awards tomorrow night at Radio City Music Hall. I stopped in at the box office today during my walk to the MoMA because I was curious about how much a single ticket to tomorrow’s ceremony might cost (they’re publicly available if you have the cash). A single seat in the third row of the balcony came in at $500. That’s like seeing just over a dozen Broadway shows!

Other notes: I’m hoping to get the chance to attend “Much Ado About Nothing” in Central Park before it closes June 23. It’s the first of two free Shakespeare in the Park productions in NYC this summer, but you have to win tickets via a daily lottery.

On Monday night, I’m heading to the Met Opera House to see a ballet performance of Jane Eyre starring Misty Copeland. And Tuesday night is the Museum Mile Festival, during which many of the city’s museums offer free admission for the evening. My current target is the Guggenheim, unless there’s a crazy-long line.