bkcangel

I'm meeting my 22 year old daughter for a Mother/Daughter weekend in New York next weekend Feb. 13-16. I'm coming from southern CA and she's coming from Rhode Island. I haven't been to NYC in 35 years and I have a couple of questions. I truly appreciate any suggestions.

I want to get Broadway tickets for Feb. 14 in the evening for possibly Hairspray or Boy from Oz. My friend tells me we will be able to go to the box office an hour and a half before the show and buy reasonably price tickets for really good seats. To me this sounds too good to be true.Should I take a chance? Any suggestions other than paying ridiculous prices from a broker?

We'll be staying on 44th St. between 5th and Madison. I believe this is the mid Eastside. Do you have restaurant recommendations? Will we need reservations? There are so many restaurants that I am totally confused. What about nightclubs--something fun for a 22 year old and her mother that can hopefully keep awake!

Want to do some shopping on Canal St and get to Central Park and get to a Museum (the Met?)THANK YOU!

embily123

In terms of theater... if you want to get 1/2 priced tickets go to the TKTS booth at 47th and Broadway; it's right in the middle of Times square and there is a huge red and white sign and lines of people around it, it's pretty hard to miss. Shows will post their extra tickets there, and they are sold 1/2 price. You will need to be a little flexable with the show you want to see, I'd say take a look on their web site tdf.org and click on the TKTS link on the left side menu bar to take a look at what has been on the boards in the past week, and then make a list of your top 3. The seats are any left over, so they range from great to not so great. A general Broadway rule of thumb, the theaters are normally not big enough for there to be bad seats, so take anything, the closer to the center the better. Since there are only 2 of you, you shouldn't have a problem. The hours are:

Weekdays and Saturday 3-8
Wednesday and Staruday for the matinees 10-2
Sunday 11-3 for matinees and 3-closing for evening shows

Be warned, tickets go fast and the line can get long. Get there earlier than the box opens if you want to assure getting the show you want. If you're willing to take anything you can get there a bit later.

REMEMBER THEY ONLY TAKE CASH!!

And just on a side note, don't bother with Boy from Oz, the show is horrible however great an actor Jackman is.

For food... take a look at menupages.com they have reviews, full menus, and you can click on an area on a map to see a list of places near by. In terms of reservations, call up and ask. I'd say most of the time you certainly don't need them more than an hour in advance unless you are going to a hot spot at a hot time (near the theaters at a pre-show time, anywhere else at 8). If you're willing to wait a few minutes at the door for a seat you shouldn't have a problem, and if they say the wait is too long, the place next door is probably really good too

banoonoonoos

Remember, it's the weekend of Valentines Day so I think things will be harder rather than flexible. That weekend planning is I think better or at least a back up. Your hotel can help you plan things too if you wait until the last minute as they have some PULL. That way you are not out in the cold. Also there are many day spas A Day Of Beauty for mother daughter is great fun. And a brunch somewhere or afternoon tea at the Plaza or some grand hotel other than the one you are staying at. AND there are loads of off-off BDWY shows in case you miss out completely. There are listings of all the show on the web for NYC. You could see several instead of just one big one. Don't forget Lincoln Center,MOMA ,IMAX,MADAM TUSSAUDS, stay flexable. BTW one of my favorite places is BARRYMORE's. Nothing fancy, just a reasonable place that you can eat and catch the crews as we finish work on the boards.

BudgetQueen

Any tickets sold at the box office are full price, unless a promotion going on and you have printed out the information. Playbill offers this. BUT you are never going to find any bargains with Hairspray on a weekend. I would purchase any available tickets now. Boys from Oz has been at the TKTS but no guarantees. You weekend will have theaters in short supply. If you are more open something will be available. You can also show up at the TKTS booths around 7:30pm and sometimes get great house seats they release. I most always go this route as I am elsewhere mid day when the lines open. Christmas week got mid Mez center seats at both Taboo and Wonderful Life. A very very busy short supply week.

HowardR

YOu'll find some shows available at TKTS, but don't get your hopes up too high for a big choice on a Saturday night.
You will NOT get any discounts at the box office, unless you have a printout of a special offer (check www.playbill.com and join its club) or a discount coupon for some shows that are in New York.

nytraveler

Agree that is a very busy weekend for theater and restaurants - many have sepcials on Saturday night with fixed menus etc and reservations necessary - will need them for almost anywhere except a neighborhhod place. Box offices don't discount tickets unless they are close to ending the run of the show - which is not the case with the ones you want. I think your friend is talking about unused house seats (kept back for celebrity or friend of the cast requests) that are releasd at the last moment. These may or may not be available - you never know - and will be full price at the box office but 1/2 price at TKTS if they get that far. If you really want a specific show try to get tickets now - perhaps ebay will have something.

Central Park depends on the weather. Its warm now - in the 40s - but could turn cold again - 20s - and be quite unpleasant. If you only do 1 museum it should absolutely be the Met. If the weather s bad and you decide to do more indoor things I would consider adding the Museu of Natural History, the Frick, the Guggenheim etc depending on your interest.

As for shopping on Canal Street - it depends on what you're interested in. For me, this is overrated unless you're looking for linens or leather goods.

mclaurie

Just "happened" on your post by accident. As others have said, this weekend will be very busy because of Pres. weekend/Valentine's Day combo.`Sat Feb 14 will be a zoo-for theater tickets but especially for restaurants. I actually think the theater is a better idea. If you haven't done anything about tickets yet, have a look at some of the websites that have discount codes (you have to register for free to enter)-playbill.com, theatermania.com, hitshowclub.com
But often, these codes are not good for a Sat night. My suggestion is either pick something else to see, try for a Sun matinee or be flexible & go to the TKTS booth.

YES you need rest. reservations-especially for Sat nite. Your hotel is in a business area & many of the restaurants will be expensive and/or touristy. There are a number of rest. inside Grand Central Station including the famous Oyster bar (go for lunch maybe). The further east you go (3rd ave, 2 ave) the more neighborhood places you'll find. Ferrara, famous for Italian desserts has a loaction in the Roosevelt hotel on Madison bet 45-46. One of the best restos in the 40's is L'Impero (Italian, relatively new & expensive but they have a prix fixe $49 dinner) but VERY hard to get reservations. I did notice in the Zagat guide that the rest. Vuli in the Radisson Lexington Hotel (48th & Lex) gets good reviews & not outrageously expensive.

For entertainment, how about a comedy club?

The Met museum is open late on Fri & Sat nite. If you don't get theater tickets for Sat nite you could go to the museum (do shopping during the day ) & have dinner uptown.

cailin

there's another TKTS booth at South Street Seaport with all the same shows on sale as the one at Times Square - but there are no queues. MUCH better option!!

michelleNYC

I'm sorry that this is off-topic (and maybe I'm just a little cranky today) but it certainly would be nice if the OPs would return to their message and acknowledge the responses with a simple "thank you". It bugs me when people take the time to respond with helpful suggestions and are never thanked in return. Maybe I should have saved this for a "Friday Rant".

bkcangel

Thank You soooooo much everyone for the very thought-filled and insightful comments and suggestions. Your time and efforts are truly appreciated. You have given many great ideas that I plan put to good use They sure will make our trip memorable!

Regarding michelleNYC's comment: I'm pretty much of a novice on these message boards.I wasn't really sure of how to respond to an individual's comments...so I guess I'll just put it in as another comment. I have no idea what OPs are. I found it to be quite interesting that you hadn't even offered any advice, yet offered your criticism.

I've learned so much from reading the Fodorite's message boards. You guys are great!THANK YOU

kiki

Hi BKC,

There is a special promotion being run by the NYC tourism people. It is called Paint the Town red and the promo code is NYCPT. They seem to have good discounts on hotels, restaurants, and discounts to museums. It is at www.nycvisit.com.

There is also a 2nd TKTS booth near the south street seaport and you can buy tickets for shows the day before there at the discounted price, but I think it is only M-F. There is a TKTS website, if you want to search for it on google, or just ask at the TKTS office on Broadway and 46th St for specifics.

If you have a chance to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there are some great exhibits there ( I think that Paint the Town red has a discount for it). The Met also has a wonderful cafeteria for lunch that is quite reasonable. Also, a bunch of the museums are free on Friday nites from 5- 8pm (like the MET, and they sometimes have music too). The basement of the MET has a great costume exhibit, if you and your daughter are into clothes.

You can check out the exhibits on www.nymag.com or nytimes.com. You may want to pick up a copy of the NY Times on Friday b/c it has the weekend section in it and describes what is going on for the weekend. Same with New York Magazine and Time Out. These places list the best places for brunch, lunch, etc. by location.

The most hip locations right now in NYC are the lower east side, and the chelsea/meat packing district. The only problem is that it is not that convenient for a 3 day trip to NYC, so I would say if you can get over to Chelsea in the afternoon and check out all the cool art galleries and then walk over to the meatpacking district which is just a few blocks away, then do that. It is really cutting edge, and you can grab a bite to eat at Pastis, still a trendy staple in NYC. The shopping is really cool in the meatpacking district, and the winter clothes should all be on sale by now. The meatpacking area is West 14th St, between 10th and Washington st, and a few blocks south of 14th St.

Your daughter will also love going downtown to Soho and just walking around (between houston and spring and broome streets, all of which run east/west). In fact, if you go down to the wall street area in the morning, then you can make your way up to Soho for the afternoon, for shopping and dining.

one of my favorite little italian restaurants is per bacco - it is so authentic and very reasonable, alot of younger people, but the food was phenomenal - it is 212-253-2038 and located in the east village - a fun, edgy location at 234 east 4th st.

If you like deli food, then you need to go to carnagie deli on 7th avenue @ 56th St - it is the best, and I mean it. I was in town working, and the guys I was with ordered in almost everyday from there. It is really a ny experience, and a good lunch spot.

Chinatown is also just fun to walk around in and it is next to Little Italy. P.S. Ferraro's has the best cannoli's that are dark chocolate covered; they have mini-ones if you don't want to go nuts on them.

I can go on and on about my favorite spots in NYC since I am here, but I am sure you will discover your own gems

Have a lovely time, and remember to dress warmly and bring a hat and scarf since you are from Southern CA!

Kiki

Marilyn

OP = Original Poster -- that's you!

Punkyl44

Hi! Everyone's post are great. I would offer one more suggestion for theatre tickets: www.broadwaybox.com offers ticket discount codes for selected show. You use the code to buy the tickets on the internet (usually telecharge) or at the boxoffice. You may have less luck with the popular shows, but if you're flexible you may be able to get a discount on something a few days ahead of time.

Have fun!