I'm going to New York for the first time

You should try to see ONCE. For the cheapest tickets, check Playbill.com for discounts ahead of time and TKTS once you're in the city.

As far as restaurants, you might want to get Junior's if you want something close to the theatre. There's also countless great restaurants along 9th Avenue, just two avenues away from the Theater District.

As for experiences you shouldn't miss, try and snag a ticket to SLEEP NO MORE. There really is nothing else like it in New York and it's wordless, so you won't have trouble following it.

Hey Morton, I just took my very 1st trip to the city a month ago. I also had a thread with the same questions. I got a lot of helpful responses. I am posting the link, and hopefully some of the many useful suggestions would be of interest to you.
You can also PM me if you want.
Adam

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1041841#4281444

Updated On: 6/11/12 at 01:51 AM

^ Timeout NY magazine has lots of things like that listed. Here is their website: http://www.timeout.com/newyork

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Porgy and Bess with this cast is a must-see if you can. Enjoy New York!

My suggestions are Porgy and Bess or RENT.

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I have to disagree with Xman8, stay away from Junior's unless you're only going for dessert. The food is overpriced and not very good (several of my friends have gotten sick from it) and the restaurant itself is almost ALWAYS swamped.

Colony Records is a must go to place. It's fantastic there and a theater fan's dream. As for other experiences, look up some tours. The NBC studio tour is fantastic if you're into TV and it's not too expensive.

A tip for TKTS: Don't do what many visitors do and line up in the early afternoon waiting for the windows to open at 3 pm. Either go down to the South Street Seaport location, which opens at 11, or go about 7:30pm when the lines are almost gone. Especially if you're looking for a single ticket, and you're open-minded about what to see, you don't need to wait hours and hours in the hot sun. BTW, I also highly recommend ANYTHING GOES.

Avoid most of the restaurants in Times Square. Joe Allen is great, as is 5 Napkin Burger (went there Friday night, love the ahi tuna burger). There are lots of great places to eat on Ninth Ave, just walk around and check the menus.

Drinking is expensive in NY but most bars have happy hour until 8 or 9 pm with reduced prices, or 2 for 1. You didn't say whether you're gay or not, but there are many gay bars nearby that don't charge a cover (Therapy and Industry on 52nd between 8th and 9th are two).

As far as free classical concerts, there are free concerts Thursday night at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.
http://atrium.lincolncenter.org/index.php/atrium-performances-calendar

You can check out the River to River festival, which has many events, all free. Keep in mind that 'free' in New York generally means 'crowded'. http://rivertorivernyc.com/

Lastly, since you'll probably be up early due to jet lag, try an early morning walk on the High Line. It opens at 7 and, at that hour, it won't be crowded. http://www.thehighline.org/

have fun,
Paul

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Thankyou very much for all your great answers.
It's difficult for me to decide which show I will see. For me the score is the most important for the musical and I like the Lloyd Webber music style.

I have another question I hope you will answer for me. I've bought tickets to Rockefeller Center AND to Empire State Building (both for the view). One of them I will visit in day time and the other one after dark. Which one do you think I should visit in daytime and which one after dark?

Best Regards Morten Aagaard

Another question:

If I buy a CD in NY, will it be in a format that I can hear in Europe?
And the same with DVDs. Can I see American DVDs on my european player?

Best regards :)

MY TRIP TO NEW YORK:

My first impression of USA wasn’t the best. After we get out of the flight we needed to line up in two hours for getting through the ESTA control in the airport. I don’t understand why it can’t be done in a quicker way… Well, after that a cab brought us to the Edison Hotel beside Times Square. What a great way to see New York for the first time. The view of the city before the tunnel to Manhattan was beautiful.

After a short rest at the hotel we went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner. What an amazing place. It’s ugly inside, but the mood was fantastic. All other restaurants seem sad beside this one. Great performances by all the waiters. The food was all right and the desserts delicious. We visited this restaurant three or four times again during the holiday.

In the next days we went to Central Park, Wall Street, 9/11 Memorial, a trip with the Staten Island Ferry, Soho, Washington Square park, Madison Square Garden, 5th avenue, Macy’s, St. Patrick’s, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Top of the Rock in the Rockefeller Center and the top of Empire State Building after dark.

EVITA:
Tuesday evening (26th of June) I went to see Evita. What a fantastic show. I love the stage decoration which seems like the one from London in 2006. Elena Roger was amazing. Many Americans don’t like her, but I thought she was wonderful in the role as Eva Peron. Great voice, great dancing and how wonderful to see all that energy from one actress through the whole show. Ricky Martin was all right, but I think he is overrated. I prefer Matt Rawle in that role. Rawle had a stronger voice. Michael Cerveris was fine in the role as Peron. Not as good as Philip Quast, but all right. Elena Roger got the biggest applause, which I think was well deserved.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR:
Wednesday matinee (27th of June) I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar. Another great show with a great cast. All the leads had great voices and a lot of energy. I enjoyed the second act more than the first one. The final number was amazing. The audience loved the show and so did I. What a shame that it have to close.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA:
Wednesday evening I went to see The Phantom of the Opera. My favorite show of all time. But what a disappointment that was! Marni Raab was on as Christine and her voice was vibrating through the whole show - so annoying. The cast seemed very tired except from Hugh Panaro who saved the show. He had the most wonderful voice. His portrait of the phantom was amazing. His energy and power saved the show and the audience loved him as much as I did. The final phrase was beautiful and he got applause already before he finished “niiiiiiiiiiiiigt”.

The chandelier in New York is so slow to fall down. What happened to that? I remember it to be quicker in London (and Copenhagen), but do I remember wrong?

After seeing Phantom I was thinking that it couldn’t be right that Hugh Panaro was the only one to lift up this show. Therefore I went to see it again the next evening. And I’m so glad that I did! On Thursday evening all the cast had a lot of power. Trista was on as Christine and I loved her. Again Hugh Panaro was wonderful as the phantom and he got the applause he deserved.

After seeing The Phantom of the Opera Thursday evening I must say that it was the highlight of my holiday in New York. Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar were both great musicals, but The Phantom of the Opera will always be my favorite musical, and Hugh Panaro is one of the best phantoms I’ve ever seen.

I haven’t visited New York for the last time. I can’t wait to return to this wonderful city.

Updated On: 7/1/12 at 08:19 AM

I'm glad you had a good time, but I'm especially glad you had such a good time at Ellen's Stardust. I haven't been there in years because I thought it was just a tourist trap. But obviously those waiters and waitresses made you happy enough that you went back.

I hope someone who knows one of them will read aagaard99's post and tell the waitstaff that they're doing their job really well and it was appreciated this much by this poster visiting from another country.

Ellen's should use this as their advertising slogan:

"All other restaurants seem sad beside Ellen's!"

Come back again, aagaard!

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Updated On: 7/1/12 at 09:09 AM

someoneinthisdress - While people on this board may know about Seaport TKTS, not sure it is that well known to general public/tourists. I also think you can buy tickets for the next day and not just the current day performances, somebody will have to verify if I am correct.