Profile for Annie_V

thoughts on DD seats 10,12,14,16

Thanks so much to everyone ?format=auto&width=600

We are actually big fans of mezzaninne - we sat first row mezzannine for both How to Succeed and Priscilla last year based on feedback from this forum that Broadway theatres were generally quite small (in a good way) and it was great advice. Especially with the younger kid I fear 'big hair' in front of him, and the front mezz was perfect. Side note though, we went and saw Les Miz in East Lansing Michigan a month or so ago and had front row mezz - but it was too far away (in a huge theatre hall). If I can't actually see their faces I can't get engaged. (Had the same experience just recently in Toronto where my mum took us all to the touring company of West Side Story - row Z so that we could get 6 together. Too far away...)

So... if given that the Newsies theatre is small... if we ended up with the furthest seat away in the mezz, would we still be able to see their faces (if that question makes sense?)

And I think I am almost convinced of doing both !

sounds like the good news is that I can't go wrong ?format=auto&width=600 thanks for the input so far...

Right now Anything Goes has discount codes through to July 1st and I am hoping to slot it into July 10th. Should I continue to play chicken with the discount codes or is there a chance that there will never be a discount, and I need to decide if I am willing to pay full price ?format=auto&width=600 ?

I now also realize that technically we could see newsies on Monday then Anything goes on Tuesday when and if it goes on discount... hmmm.... I am going to review that option vs budget!

thanks for your help...

I've got valuable insight from this forum before and hope to do so again ?format=auto&width=600

My husband and our boys (aged 14 and 11) are going to New York in July. We came last year and saw Rent (loved by me and 14yr old - enjoyed by hubby and 11yr old), How to Succeed (with Daniel Radcliffe) loved by hubby, 11yr old and me, enjoyed by 14yr old, and Priscilla (tolerated by the group of us - hubby and I liked the movie better; collectively we didn't like the 'make these existing songs fit the story' jukebox musical format, and lost interest in costume changes after a while).

This July, 14yr old and I are going to see Rent (14yr olds pick) again while hubby and 11yr old are at Potted Potter (11yr olds pick). We are going to see Once (my pick), Chicago (hubby pick). We want to add one more show...

I thought Anything Goes would be a good contrast in style to Chicago, but as of right now there aren't discounts for July (and I am not quite ready to pay full price). The other one we thought of was Newsies (which I could get discounted tickets for now in Right Orchestra M.

What is your opinion? Go for Newsies or wait for Anything Goes discounts - or consider something different?

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thank you ?format=auto&width=600

Any opinions on Left Mezzanine Row E, Seats 9-15 for Once?

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Hi there -

Looking at playbill and BroadwayBox, most of the discounts seem to apply through to the end of May or some into June.

How far ahead are July discounts likely to be announced?

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Thanks for that insight FJL2 ?format=auto&width=600 We will have to mull that one over re: fit for the younger one. Last year at Priscilla the potentially 'shocking sexual situation' aspects went over the younger ones head, and the older one we handled with a combination of 'lets use this as a teachable moment' and 'that isn't something you are old enough for me to explain to you' which he was happy to leave at that... We'll give it some thought though ?format=auto&width=600

thanks for taking the time to reply ?format=auto&width=600

Sounds like Anything Goes is a sure thing for our 'last night in the city' showstopper musical.

I personally adored the movie Once - which on one hand makes me a bit apprehensive about seeing it as I will have the movie (probably one of my favourites ever) in mind. My husband and I went and saw the Swell Season (the two leads on tour) after seeing the movie, so I am trying to gently suggest it, but I don't know as it would be a huge hit with the kids (and everyone knows I love the movie, so me lobbying it for it would be seen as biased ?format=auto&width=600

Will definitely look into Peter and the starcatcher.

Chicago - I have seen a university production, so I think I understand the 'minimalist staging' feedback - I'll talk that through with the family - in some ways maybe it would avoid direct comparisons with the movie. Though I do fear stunt casting - does anyone know about plans for casting for the summer?

We aren't a huge Disney house, but maybe I am judging Newsies as 'disney' - sounds like it was disappointing to some, but fun for others. Thanks for the feedback ?format=auto&width=600

Maybe a bit off the wall or off the beaten path, but we were also thinking of Old Jews telling jokes... My older son has been very interested in comedy lately and we got him a book of 'one liners' and have been having lots of discussions on what makes something funny. Terrible idea?

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Our family visited New York last summer for the first time - my husband and I and our 2 boys aged 10 and 13. This time last year I posted on this message board for help with choosing shows and got great feedback. We didn't act on all the advice, but took it all in and it was great. In fact it was so successful that the family has decided they want to come back again this summer...

So I am again hoping to get your help ?format=auto&width=600

Last summer, we saw How to succeed with Daniel Radcliffe and it was a huge huge hit with the whole family. We saw Rent which husband and youngest enjoyed but oldest and I loved - the two of us did the 'stage door' thing and that was also a great part of the experience. We also saw Priscilla which we collectively felt was our least favourite. We decided that what we didn't like about it was the randomness of existing songs being forced into a story, and that it was based on a movie that my husband and I both enjoyed, but we thought was better suited to the movie.

If Rent is still playing in July, oldest son and I are going to go and see it (does anyone know if it is expected to still be running?).
I would prefer not to pay too much more than $100 per ticket - psychologically if I have payed more than $500 for the families night out I will spend more time trying to assess if it was worth it ?format=auto&width=600 but open to suggestions from here of what might be 'worth it'. We like front row mezzanine - too far back for a lower price is also 'not quite worth it' for us.
I am thinking Anything Goes. My husband would like to see Chicago and/or book of mormon. Youngest wants to see Wicked but I don't think I can find tickets in our price range.

We are fine with more adult content for the kids (i.e. some people last time cautioned against Rent and even Priscilla as possibly inappropriate, but we were fine with it).

Against that backdrop... any suggestions?

thank again!
Annie

Just curious - were you able to find the stage door for RENT?

Just a curiousity question (ignorance on my part - really looking forward to visiting NYC for the first time in a week! and seeing 3 shows including Rent). Are there any differences between the shows as part of the 'previews' and after opening night? Are previews cheaper or something? Is it just a case that an audience could expect things to be not as smooth during the previews? What is the signficance of 'opening night' when the show has been running for several weeks? thanks ?format=auto&width=600

I'm glad to hear people saying that this spot was confusing and not a good ad for the show! Our family is going to New York in August and seeing 3 shows - Priscilla is one of them. Honestly, the best thing about that preview is that it has probably lowered our expectations, so we will probably end up enjoying the show even more once we actually see it! Our 10 year old thought the cupcake costume were hilariously random.

We are Broadway virgins (like?format=auto&width=600 I would imagine most of the Americas Got Talent audience would be) so only I have even heard Will Swenson, and that is only because I came on this site to get advice about shows! So my husband, my 13 year old and I just kept asking ourselves "who is that guy supposed to be?", "why isn't he singing?", "I thought this was supposed to be a musical about drag queen's, those 3 ladies singing weren`t drag queen`s, where they?". (10 year old was too busy laughing at the cupcakes to participate).

So... if we hadn`t already got tickets, I think that performance wouldn`t have compelled us to get them. But... I remain optimistic (based on what I have read here) that all it has done is lowered our expectations, which will make our experience of the real thing better!

thanks again! LFazin -when do you go and see Rent? I ended up getting the G row tickets. So now we have 2 shows booked, and two days at the end of week we are there that could still fit in another show if we decide.
I had a question about the 'stage door experience'. What exactly is it ?format=auto&width=600 I am guessing it is waiting at the stage door for the cast and getting your programme signed. Is that it? I think the kids would love to do that - when we have gone to small town high school productions they are always very excited to see the actors in the lobby after the show. Is the how to succeed mob scene an exception? Is that something we could do at Rent (plus whatever else we might end up going to)

thanks!

Thanks again for the input ?format=auto&width=600 The info about the seating really helps...

I am thinking that a 3rd 'wild card' is becoming even more likely as this whole process has drummed up lots of enthusiasm within the family! And I will definitely file away the advice re: Spider-man and Billy Elliot (as well as other feedback!) - with so many choices, the fact that there aren't yet discounted seats that I have been able to find for those specific shows has kept them off the 'go for it' list for now - but I will obsessively be watching the discount list between now and when we leave to work on fitting in a third!

thanks again...
AV

thanks again to everyone ?format=auto&width=600

I have a seat question for our Rent tickets - it is off-Broadway at the New World Stages. On the day I am looking at I can get centre orchestra tickets in row C or row G. Can anyone give an opinion into whether the C seats would be 'too close' or how 'flat' the orchestra is (trying to figure out the chance of 'tall guy with a big head' sitting in front of the kids. Any insight to this theater would be welcome ?format=auto&width=600

Thanks!

Just to close the loop on this question thought I would let anyone who might be interested what we decided on (I always like finding out what people end up doing when they have posted questions on message boards that I have answered!)

We are going to see How to Succeed and RENT.

How to Succeed based in part on the feedback that it would be family friendly, fun 'Broadway musical' style show, but also that the casting - in particular Daniel Radcliffe - would mean that it would be an experience that the kids in particular could only get this specific year and only by seeing it in New York. I ended up getting front row mezzanine (discounted) tickets so we are good to go on that!

RENT - I did listen to the comments on 'appropriateness for a 10 year old' and stepped back and thought about it, and decided that while there were possibly uncomfortable or challenging themes on sexuality, drugs and lifestyle, that there were also themes of community, self-expression and 'finding family' in sometimes unexpected shapes. I am comfortable that we can talk about some of those themes before and after seeing it as required. I was particularly interested to hear from those of you who had said this particular show had made a strong impact on you the first time you saw it and think it could be a good artistic and educational (although that is really too dry of a word for what I am trying to get across!) experience.

We will see those early in the week that we are there, and if the family wants to, have left a gap later in the week where we could look for last minute tickets for something that catches our eye - if the family loves the idea of adding another show!

So thanks to everyone for their input ?format=auto&width=600

Thanks again for everyone's input

Based in part of the feedback I got from this thread we are considering whether it would be worth going over our budget for this element of our trip plans and consider purchasing non-discounted tickets for a 'big Broadway' type musical and going to see one of Anything Goes or How to Succeed (and then one other musical).

In your opinion, which of the following would be the best to see
Anything goes

4 Tickets, Center Mezzanine Row CC

That seating specific information for certain theatres is really useful thanks!

You say you aren't sure if there were summer discounts during the busy summer months - does that mean if there are no discounts showing now for shows in August that they probably won't end up with discount codes?

And both boys have said they would also be interested in seeing Spiderman.... now I know that the previews have had terrible reviews - does anyone have an opinion (and do bad reviews mean