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My daughter is going to be spending a week in NYC this month.
She wants to watch as many Broadway musicals as she can possibly fit in.
Any advice on how to do this without sacrificing her college fund in its entirety?
Also, any other NYC must-see and survival tips would be appreciated.
I'd definitely @FrozNlite; this, I'll ask a few nyer's I know for ya as well, but they probably aren't up yet lmao
My dad always used stubhub.com for on and off broadway shows. some survival tips....hm...1. well if you're going to go with the traffic of people PLZ dont out of the blue just stop to zone out at something. that absolutely irritates us. just move towards wat u want to see out of the way of the foot traffic. 2. also dont be afraid to ask for directions since it can be easy to get lost. the food cart ppl are the best to ask. 3. but its also ok to get lost in the quieter streets, thats how i was able to find an old school comic shop near union square. 4. take a day or a million to explore chinatown. its flippin awesome. key places are nom wah tea parlor (get the scallion pancakes, veggies, and the egg roll!!!!!!!!) and taipan bakery (cheap as hell desserts. 1 buck ea. get the egg custards. be wary of the textures since most of the desserts are mushy. and the locals will push u around and take ur spot on line. perfect time to turn into a nyer and dont take their shyt). sadly the oldskool arcade in chinatown was closed last year cuz tht would have been a perfect place for her to go. 5. go to the bronx zoo!!! its worth it!!!! go on wednesday so you can pay wat you want and see all there is :D. 6. go to the museums in manhattan but dont u dare pay full price. maybe its the cheap ass me but i dont pay full price. i give a dollar and just go in. sure i dont see the "special" shows...isnt tht y i have youtube lol.
thats all i can think of atm but ill edit the post wen i think of some more :D
Sorry if I'm too late in posting this for your daughter, we finally just got internet hooked up here!
Broadway tickets: TKTS. There's a booth in Times Square labeled TKTS (the famous bleachers under the ball drop are its roof), where, if you wait on line early enough the day of a show, you can get 30-50+% off tickets to major shows (not recent Tony Award-winners like Kinky Boots, mind you, but good shows). The cheapest way to get tickets though is to go 30-60 minutes before the show itself and ask at the box office for any final rush tickets. I have a good friend who was here in January and managed to see something like 5 shows in 3-4 days, including major hits like Book of Mormon, all for something like $50 average per show (with, you know, $120-160 being the average).
Major sights to see are really a lot of the basics:
- Central Park
- Statue of Liberty
- World Trade Center Memorial
- Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange
- Empire State Building
- Grand Central/Chrysler Building
- Rockefeller Center
- Times Square
- Columbus Circle
- Metropolitan Museum of Art and other museums
Survival Tips in addition to the good ones listed above:
- It's easier to do anything with a smartphone, especially not be lost. If she has one, get the HopStop app - it has an offline subway map you can zoom in on while underground
- Don't go out at night without a group of people. I mean you could go out by yourself, but it's just always safer, even if it's a major area like Times Square.
Otherwise I don't know...basic street smarts? A lot of people think the city is scary and huge and terrifying but honestly if you're just visiting there's not as much you need to know without the obvious don't do stupid things. But I'm sure that won't be an issue and she'll have a fabulous time! And if you need to connect with anyone in the area, I can help whenever needed.
Thank you, @KhainiWest, @meowmixx, and @FrozNlite, for the tips and advice.
She managed to watch ten shows in 6 days. TKTS proved quite useful, but they don't have tickets to everything - even a long-running show like The Lion King. She was not brave enough to wait for final rush tickets, though - the risk of ending up with nothing to watch for a given time slot was unacceptable. So, some were full price...
Her reactions, in case anyone cares:
The excellent (these are shows she's still squealing and fangirling - she is 17, after all - over):
Wicked. This has been her favorite for years (she's watched the whole thing, with the original cast, on the net somewhere), and it did not disappoint. Even though the cast has changed, and the delivery of almost every line is different, the new people are great and the production and everything are great. The only thing that bothered her is that Glinda's voice is kind of weak (most apparent when she's singing a duet) and she seems to have some trouble with the highest notes. Mind you, my daughter is an operatic soprano in training, so just because it bothers her doesn't mean a normal person would notice anything amiss. She did say Glinda's acting and interpretation of the role were great, though, and easily made up for her slight vocal weaknesses. Daughter also went on the "Behind the Emerald Curtain" tour, which was very interesting even if one isn't a huge Wicked fan, because most of what they talk about is what goes into making a Broadway show in general.
Matilda. She hadn't seen this one before, and fell in love with it. She loved it so much she went again the next day, giving up a chance to see something new. It's an incredible show, everything done well and everyone so talented, both children and adults. Daughter was especially impressed with Bertie Carvel, the guy playing Miss Trunchbull, the horrible school principal. She says he's absolutely fabulous (yes, she used English). He's been with this musical from its very beginning and will be doing his last show on September 1st, so hurry hurry hurry if you haven't watched it before.
The good (couldn't really get a "review" from her, she just said they were good):
1. Cinderella. Quite magical.
2. Annie.
3. Newsies.
4. Book of Mormon. She was bothered by the "explicit language" - namely every other word being f'uck/ing. But other than that it was fun.
5. Chicago.
The disappointments:
1. The Phantom of the Opera. She says it was miscast. The female lead had an irritating voice, while the "peach diva" had a soothing one. And the Phantom sounded like he was 17. He sang well, but just doesn't have the deep impressive voice the role calls for.
2. The Lion King. Maybe she had the wrong expectations. She expected to see some wild "animal" acrobatics/dancing, but it seems the elaborate costumes and headgear really limit what the performers can do.
Other than Broadway and shopping for Broadway merchandise (she got many CDs and music sheets, but also some T's and toys), she didn't have time for much. Spent one morning at the American Museum of Natural History and was disappointed in both the displays (why is it so poorly lit?) and the "special attractions". Still feels like she had a great trip. Your suggestions for "must-sees" will have to wait for the next one :f2:
Your daughter's love for broadway is quite admirable and adorable. :> Makes me want to go see a broadway musical someday myself when I'm able to; in fact, it's making me recall my childhood where I used to take jazz for a while.
I love the Matilda movie, I had no idea there was a broadway musical of that! I've also been meaning to look at Wicked for a while, my girlfriend loves it.
Glad she had a great time!