Back to Broadway, finally! What should I see? — Page 3

pacificnorthwest said: "I agree. Superb theater town, and I've taken some -- but not nearly enough -- advantage of it. It's oddly easier for me to see shows in NYC, as most of the time I'm there strictly for leisure and entertainment. In Washington, curtain is two to three hours after work, and my exhaustion sets in quickly. And like most people here who live outside the city and commute to the city every weekday, going back on the weekends is often the last thing I want to do. But you are entirely correct about the quantity and quality of theater here. I'll try to do better. :)"

Sorry to interject myself, but are you in NOVA or MD? I’m in Springfield, VA but my office is downtown. I’ve been trying to see more shows in the area- last two were Mean Girls and In the Heights, but there’s definitely something special (and expensive!) about seeing a show on Broadway.

I would love to stay in other neighborhoods more -- if I could magically transport myself in minutes to the theater district. Because my trips involve shows pretty much every night, as well as weekend matinees, I choose to stay close. I often leave my hotel no more than 10 minutes to curtain (I'm a fast walker). I stayed once, via Priceline I think, at the Doubletree. It could hardly be in a more chaotic spot. That's why I really like the Hilton Times Square (which I also discovered using Priceline). It's on 42nd Street, but the lobby is on the 21st floor and all rooms are above that, up to the 42nd floor. Or is it 44? Anyway, you get the picture. For NYC, it's very quiet, sitting above much of the 25-screen AMC theater on 42nd. You enter the building through a quiet, marble-floored lobby staffed by bellmen. It's especially a great location for walking up from Penn Station at 8th & 33rd, as the ground-floor lobby spans the block between 41st and 42nd. So I can enter (and leave, depending on where I'm going) at 41st and avoid all the slow-walking tourists and chaos of 42nd. If it's too expensive there, I look for one of the nearby Garden Inns or other Hilton properties. But I often get a decent rate, and once I lock something in, I check back daily to see if the rate's gone down. If so, I rebook. So you might want to check it out one of your trips. It's a much quieter Times Square property than you'd expect.