I'm going to New York for the first time

[aagaard99]

Posted: 6/10/12 at 1:55pm

Hallo.

First I will apologize for my English. I don't speak or write it very well. (I'm from Denmark)

I'm going to New York for the first between 25th and 29th of June and hope you can guide me a little.

- I'm going to see Evita, JCS and POTO. Can you recommend another great musical with a great score?

- Where in NY can I buy the cheapest tickets for Broadway theatres?

- Are there any theatre restaurants, shops or other theatrical experiences I can't miss?

Best regards from Morten Aagaard, DK

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 6/10/12 at 2:00pm

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.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 6/10/12 at 2:04pm

Hi Morten! If you enjoy tap-dancing, Newsies or Anything Goes would both be great choices for the additional musical, and the scores are both great. Once has a great book/story and is very enjoyable, and Porgy and Bess is also great. Ghost has a familiar story (if you are familiar with the musical), and it is well-executed with nice special effects and great singing.

The TKTS booth at 47th and Broadway sells discounted tickets for the same day of the performance, but if you want to book in advance since you are traveling a long way, you could check theatermania.com or broadwaybox.com for discounted tickets in advance.

There are lots of theatre shops in and around times square where you can find scores, librettos, instrumental tracks for auditions, etc. Colony is one of the bigger ones (on 7th ave, west side, around 48th st i think). Ellen's diner has singing waitstaff who sing lots of broadway showtunes - it is on 51st st and broadway (next to the Winter Garden Theatre where Mamma Mia is playing).

Enjoy your trip!

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 6/11/12 at 1:51am

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

[aagaard99]

Posted: 6/16/12 at 1:44pm

Thank you very much for your answers :)
I still haven't decided which show to see. I will decide when I'm there.

- I know there is a theatre shop outside Majestic Theatre (Theatre Circle). Are there other theatre shops that I should visit? (If, please tell me where I find them :) )

- Are there any places in NY, like Covent Garden in London, where I can hear classical music live for free?

[Marianne2]

Posted: 6/16/12 at 2:08pm

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

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 6/16/12 at 2:42pm

Across from the Majestic is a restaurant called Robert Emmet's, it's pretty good and relatively calm (for the area it's in).

I also second Anything Goes. You can check BroadwayBox.com for discounts, too.

Enjoy your trip!

[Outoftowner2]

Posted: 6/16/12 at 7:28pm

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

[Xman8]

Posted: 6/16/12 at 9:01pm

First thing congratulations on deciding to visit New York it's such a great city. Being from Miami I can't tell you how much of a joy it is every time I visit New York. As far as musicals go I'd go to Newsies, Anything Goes, had you bought in advance I would have recommended Book of Mormon.

Theatre shops as everyone said you should go to Colony and Theatre Circle and Broadway NY located in the corner of 45th street and 7th avenue. If you want to take a look at some cool posters and playbills Triton Gallery 630 W 9th Avenue ( It's in a building called Film Center go inside sign in, take the elevators to the 8th floor and it's located right in front of you.)

For food you can go to Junior's ( you have to try their cheesecake) or Joe Allen's ( their walls are adorned with posters of famous flops) Ellen's Stardust Diner if you want singing waitresses or Sardi's if you want to see the caricatures of Broadway Actors adorning the walls.

Theatrical Experiences? Well the Theatre in itself is an experience so you've got that covered already.

I hope this helps have fun and tell us how it went.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/16/12 at 9:11pm

My suggestions are Porgy and Bess or RENT.

[SisterLionWickedQ]

Posted: 6/17/12 at 11:43am

The TKTS booth, as mentioned earlier, can get you some cheap tickets. I would recomend PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, WICKED, or ANYHTING GOES. Those are my favorites.

[NotAnotherSN]

Posted: 6/17/12 at 4:51pm

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.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 6/17/12 at 5:12pm

I would also recommend you see 'Sleep No More'. It's so unique and as mentioned above, it's basically wordless.

Do NOT go to Juniors or Ellen's Stardust. They have so-so service, so-so food and are quite expensive for diner food. I would instead recommend 5 Napkin Burger, or Island Shake and Burger. The food, service and pricing are much better.

Enjoy!

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 6/18/12 at 10:46am

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

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/18/12 at 1:28pm

You are going to see three GREAT shows! I just got saw them on my trip last week. Quality musicals, all of them. You won't be disapoointed.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT and PORGY AND BESS are 2 other wonderful shows I'd recommend.

Have lunch at Sardi's, dinner at Angus McGindoe's and be sure to check out the Theatre Hall Of Fame in The Gershwin Theatre (where WICKED plays.)

Updated On: 6/19/12 at 01:28 PM

[aagaard99]

Posted: 6/19/12 at 12:49pm

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

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 6/19/12 at 1:22pm

Rockefeller Center has a better view of Central park so I would go to that during the day and the Empire State Building at night.

[aagaard99]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 1:17pm

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 :)

[Huss417]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 1:36pm

CDs are the same anywhere in the world and will play with no issues.Dvds are region coded so those might not work for you.

[aagaard99]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 8:19am

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

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 8:29am

aagaard99 - Sounds like you had quite a trip, glad you enjoyed it for the most part (sorry about the airport delay). Ellen's Stardust is a lot of fun and these young people are quite talented. You hope they get a break and land on Broadway some day. Glad that you want to return and when you do I am sure this board will assist you again with recommendations /suggestions if you want.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 9:09am

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!

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

[SomeoneInThisDress]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 9:35am

If Seaports TKTS opens at 11, why do most people wait in lines in midtown?

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 10:07am

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.

[artscallion]

Posted: 7/1/12 at 10:49am

I agree that most tourists don't know about it. I'm sure it also has to do with people not wanting to make the trek there if they don't have other things to do in that area. Tourists and people just in the city for the day often don't even venture out of the Times Square area. They see it as, sure they have to wait in longer lines, but at least they're spending the time people watching among all the flashy lights rather than on a hot, smelly, crowded subway who's routes they don't understand.