ellenbw

Three of us (including theatre major college son) are headed to NYC at end of March for 4 nights. DS and I would go to the theatre twice a day (and have!), DH, not so much. Looking for suggestions, we love everything, plays and musicals.

DS wants to see off off Broadway, which I have no idea about. We have seen Les Mis, Phantom, multiple times. DH and I just saw Book of Mormon in San Francisco, so that is out. I saw All the Way in Ashland & don't think DS will love it.

Thinking about Kinky Boots, Waiting for Godot and Caberet which will be in previews. What else? We have 3 nights for theatre. Will these shows be at the TKTS booth? We are thinking of booking 1 show at full price and taking our chances the other 2 nights with TKTS booth.

Also, where can I see a complete listing of all performances during our stay? I am not sure I am looking at everything available.

Any other NYC suggestions? I have only been there twice. We have booked a Greenwich Village food tour and I want to see Central Park and the 9/11 memorial and a museum, not sure which one, we've been to the Metropolitan Museum.

nytraveler

If you want to see who is offering discounts go to broadwaybox.com - and then you can get discount tickets in advance without wasting time standing on line. I have not heard that Kinky Boots is discounting and you should get tickets ASAP and be prepared to pay.

Playbill and broadwaybox will have almost everything - but might not have off off B;way. Also check out time Out NY online to see if anything else turns up.

LizQ

Friends of our went to "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" and said that they laughed so hard they cried. Check this one out.

IMDonehere

We like the The Classical Stage Company. Their presentations are consistently good and interesting and often get brand name stars at what I guess are bargain prices. Just check to see what is on when you are in town.

http://www.classicstage.org/

The Nuyorican Cafe has interesting poets.

http://www.nuyorican.org/

I am not a fan of Broadway musicals and there is a whole world of other theater here that visitors rarely see.
Here is a site for a complete listing of the theater, so as your trip approaches, you can check what might be of interest.

http://www.timeout.com/newyork

Additionally, if you come from a smaller town you might not have the same selection of foreign and indy films. These can be more eye opening that Off or Off-off Broadway.

Same with music, readings by authors and art.

Along the same lines, NY is filled with varied and wonderful ethnic restaurants that you might want to try as well.

Enjoy the city.

doug_stallings

The 9/11 museum will not be open at the end of March, so I'd save that for another trip.

TKTS has an app so you can see what's available on a day to day basis. It's a good resource if you want to see something but don't care what. But if you just want discount tickets, sign up for Playbill.com and get the same discounts but for advance purchase.

Look at Bridges of Madison County, which has good discounts now for March.

NeoPatrick

Doug, I agree with your advice, except it should be noted that Playbill.com advance discounts, like BroadwayBox.com, Theatremania.com, and others are RARELY a full 50% off like most of the TKTS prices. They tend to average more around 30%, and sometimes 40%, but I can't even think of the last time playbill.com had a full 50% discount on much of anything on Broadway. In addition, more and more theatres are limiting which seats they will sell with those discount codes, but often at TKTS you can even get what would be premier seating or certainly better seats that were not available in advance using a discount code.

Add in the fact that if you're doing them in advance, that booking fees may average up to $15 a ticket in total, and by the time you're done, TKTS starts seeming like a better and better deal. Personally I used to avoid TKTS and always opt for the advance purchase with discount codes, but lately I've found the greater savings at TKTS quite worthwhile. Although again you can't "guarantee" seeing a particular show.

HowardR

Patrick, in general, you are right about discounts. However, in recent experiences viewing the discounts at TKTS, I've found that many of them are in the 25-40% discount area, unlike the good old days when just about all the tickets were half price. Still, it's probably still the best bargain.
You are certainly right about the handling charges when ordering tickets on line or on the phone. We just got discount tickets for Act One coming soon at Lincoln Center, and the service charge was $9.50 a ticket. (And to think that I used to complain about $7-7.50 charge!)

ellenbw

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. Kinky Boots is sold out for our stay. Will they have same day tickets available at the box office? I don't want to see it so badly that I will pay for tickets from a reseller.
Also thinking about Pippin now but it sounds vaguely Cirque de Soleil which we are a little burnt out on.
Still considering Waiting for Godot. I've only read it which was like watching paint dry, but I'm sure it comes to life under the masterful hands of these two actors.

We are thinking of indulging DS' off Broadway request with the new Steven Soderburgh play at the Public Theatre "the Library" but it will just be opening at that week so no reviews ..or Red Velvet at St Anne's,

Of Mice and Men is also a possibility. Any Fodorite feedback on that one?
Thanks for the feedback on the 9/11 memorial being closed in late March. I would have just assumed it was open.

starrs

One option for Kinky Boots is to check for single seats. There may only be 1 or 2 available for your dates, but the person(s) who really want to see it could go - just not sit together. It's a small theater and you could meet up and chat during intermission. Anyway, worth it to check to see if single seats are available. That was the case for the dates I was in NYC.

ellenbw

Thanks, yes, we do not need to sit together. I did find 2 seats and was tempted to get them - although they were in the last row of the orchestra - and then take my chances on getting another while we are there. Then I looked at another site this morning and found some tickets... I don't get it unless I was looking at a ticket sellers site last night and didn't realize it, since the ticket prices appeared to be the same.

NeoPatrick

Of Mice and Men has not even started previews yet so you won't get any comments about the production, but it is an excellent "classic" play.

The fact that the current production of Pippin is done as if performed by a circus troupe really has nothing to do with resembling a Cirque de Soleil production.

Waiting for Godot really is like watching paint dry, but in the hands of these two, you've never seen paint dry so gloriously and rich in color.

The Library and Red Velvet are good choices for off Broadway (although Red Velvetis a bit of a trek to Brooklyn).

Starrs has a great point about single seats. I've gotten great ones recently for sold out shows, and it amazes me why people feel they have to sit next to each other for a show they can't talk through.

NeoPatrick

The only site you should be looking at for Kinky Boots is Telecharge.

IMDonehere

Waiting for Godot really is like watching paint dry, but in the hands of these two, you've never seen paint dry so gloriously and rich in color.
___________
Godot is a masterpiece of modern theater filled with wit,intellect, of course, irony, and enough freedom for inventive actors to make the roles and play fascinating. If you are literalist or someone who needs for others to amuse to you, then it may be considered dull, but those who wish to embrace the absurd, not be totally led to a conclusion and willing to see a far different perspective than the simplistic virtues of a Broadway book, then it can extremely interesting and transcend the need for known actors.

doug_stallings

Just to be clear, the 9/11 MEMORIAL is open and has been open. The MUSEUM will not be open until later this year, perhaps as early as Memorial Day.

NeoPatrick

IMDonehere, thanks for saying exactly what I said, but so much better.

IMDonehere

I wonder if Of Mice and Men would first be written and produced today as it might be considered not politically correct. I think it's intelligence and need for virtuosity by the cast keep it alive. Should be interesting especially because Chris O'Dowd is known for his comic roles.
____________________

Of my favorite ironies of Godot is that is its American premiere was at the Coconut Grove Theater in Florida and Bert Lahr played Estragon who turned the shoe scene into comic genius.

vincenzo32951

Here's another resource that we've used when looking for last-minute, hard-to-get tix for Broadway: entertainment-link.com.

They have tix at competitive prices for most Broadway shows, including Kinky Boots. The catch is that they charge a $39 subscription fee that's good for six months, but it really amounts to a service charge if you're not going to buy any more tix for six months. But the charge is one-time (within 6 months), not per ticket, so if you're buying 3 or 4 tix, it's not so bad. Plus, if you're buying tix to more than one show during a stay in NYC, you only pay the fee one time.

As I said, we've used it whenever we spend some time in NYC and want to see a few shows that are popular. They won't match the discounts you can get at TKTS, so that's still the preferred way to buy when "I'll see anything last minute."

NeoPatrick

vincenzo, maybe I don't understand that site you mentioned. And maybe it is a way to get seats for totally sold out shows where no tickets are available from the box office. But I look at shows that have general availability and see that the prices on entertainment-link are on average about 35 to 50 percent above the listed box office prices. For just one example I look at row X orchestra for Cinderella next week that is listed as $220 each, and that same row is still available direct from the show's site at $127 each. People pay for the right to buy regular tickets at above market price?

As you mentioned, you use it for tickets for "last minute, hard-to-get" tickets, and perhaps that makes sense, but if they sell tickets that are easily available at such huge markups, I can't imagine hard-to-get tickets being sold for anywhere near face value! And when I look at Kinky Boots for two weeks from now, I see their ticket prices "average" around $500 each, going up to around $1200 each!

HowardR

I. too, want to add my plaudits to IMDonehere for his comments about Waiting for Godot. We saw the last revival starring Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin and John Goodman.....and "brilliant" is the best word to describe the experience.

IMDonehere

Thank you.