okwdvc

Trying to plan a short weekend in NY for my daughter's 16th B'day. She is a huge fan of Broadway. We have been to NYC many times and we aren't interested in any of the other sites on this trip.

Our flight into Newark would land at 5:30PM on a Friday. We would like to catch an evening show.

On Saturday, we would like to do a matinee and another evening performance.

On Sunday, we would have an 8pm departure so we could catch a matinee.

The only must see play for her is Mamma Mia. She is open to anything else we can pick up last minute ticket to .

Is this doable? It would be a weekend in June.

Thanks!

tomfuller

I would skip at least 1 play and ride the Circle Line or the Staten Island Ferry.
Doable-yes Enjoyable for a 16 year old-probably not.

amyb

I think you could do it, although making the Friday night show might be tight if your flight is the least bit delayed. I've seen 3 in a weekend and it wasn't terrible. If your daughter truly loves Broadway, it should be enjoyable, I'd think. No reason not to try this if you've been before and seen what you want to see. Good luck!

okwdvc

Yeah, I am worried about the Friday night show. By the time we land, grab a cab and get into the city, it might be tight. Maybe we will just stick with the two on Saturday and one on Sunday.

This is definitely something she wants to do. We always see one show when we are in town and she wants to see more. Unfortunately, my son would rather have a root canal so we have to compromise. Since it will just be the two of us, she would be beyond thrilled to see three or four shows and skip the other stuff. We have done the tours and a ton of the touristy things already.

NeoPatrick

I'm trying to figure out why a 16 year girl who LOVES Broadway would rather sit on a boat circling the island instead of being in a theatre doing what she apparently loves the most.

Yes, absolutely doable, although the point about Friday night is a good one. Nothing worse than missing a show because of a late flight or transportation issues. But if you do arrive and can get to TKTS by say 7:30 PM, then it would be doable and fun to take your chances with something at TKTS and if it doesn't work, you aren't out anything. Are you staying near there?

Hey, I've been known to do as many as 5 shows in two days -- in London, when they sometimes on Friday have 2 or 2:30 matinees, others at 5 or 5:30 and then a third show at 8 or 8:30. Then I see two more on Saturday. People who don't LOVE theatre like I do will never understand but that's what floats my boat.

abram

We've done lots of NYC theater weekends where we see four plays--but we don't arrive at 5:30 PM.

I agree with Neopatrick's suggestion to go to TKTS Friday evening if you get there in time. There will be no line at that hour, so as long as you can be flexible about what show you see, it could work.

sandi

I'd skip Friday evening. Besides a possible flight delay, and even though EWR is relatively close to the City, it's usually the busiest day of the week for traffic thru the Lincoln Tunnel.

NeoPatrick

I would honestly think twice about a cab to the city at that time. I agree with sandi. A friend of mine was recently driving into the city from NJ. As I got on a bus at JFK I called and he said he was just approaching the Lincoln Tunnel. An hour later when I got to Grand Central I called him again and he was still in line for the tunnel. It took him over an hour to get through the tunnel alone on Friday night (yes he has EZ pass), and then another half hour to get to our hotel on 44th near 6th.
I'm not that familiar with the other transport, but I suspect a taxi at that hour on Friday really might be the slowest option of all.

okwdvc

NeoPatrick, I think that is a great idea to check out TKTS on Friday night. If we make it in time, great. If not, no biggie.

I don't have a hotel booked yet. I do want something nearby. I would prefer walking distance to the theater. I am just starting to look into hotels now.

My daughter has a summer job lined up (YES!!!) and won't get off on Fridays until 1pm. We have about a 40 minute drive to the airport so we are stuck with the 5:30 arrival time.

I think it will be a blast and she will be beyond thrilled!

HappyTrvlr

Also, consider taking taking thhe train from EWR to PennStation. Easy and avoids the traffic at rush hour.

SueNYC

For grins, I'd invest in 4 TDF vouchers and maybe see something interesting off off Broadway as well.

http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=102&%20do=v

okwdvc

Correction: I have no idea why I posted Newark originally. I meant that we would fly into LGA. I couldn't figure out why a few of you were mentioning EWR until I reread what I posted.

starrs

Yes, you can do it and hope you're able to make it work!
Enjoy

What a GREAT way to celebrate a 16th birthday!

SueNYC

You might also see what you can get with High 5.

http://www.highfivetix.org/Aspx/AboutHigh5/Default.aspx

nytraveler

Agree that a Friday night show would be very risky. Flights at that time tend to come in late and Friday afternoon traffic would be an issue. You can rush to your hotel and drop off bags - and might get to a show - but would have no time to eat - and might not make the show.

I would settle for 3 shows and go no to Broadwaybox.com to see what advance discount tickets you can get. That way you can relax on Friday, have a nice dinner and do Top of the Rock - or something similarly new yorky.

nytraveler

Sorry - you CAN see 4 shows - but you would have to arrive earlier in the afternoon.

NeoPatrick

I hate to discourage any effort to get teens into the theatre, but be aware that High 5 is essentially last row balcony or last row orchestra or against the wall seating.

okwvdc, too funny about saying Newark when you meant Laguardia. I've done that sort of thing too. But if your plane is on time, you really shouldn't have much problem getting to the theatre district by 7:30. Have fun.