Ideas/Shows must sees-June 12-16
 

My family-me, husband, 2 sons ages 20 & 18-will be in NYC from June 12-16. Want to see Jimmy Fallon, Wicked, American Idiot and the Statue of Liberty. Will be staying in the Marriot Marquis in Times Square. Could use some other ideas for sight seeing and still thinking of another show: Rock of Ages. Looking at purchasing tickets for broadway shows on Ticketzoom.com as of right now. Is this the best sight for that? I know we can chance it and buy tickets right outside our hotel but the first two I mentioned are must sees for us. Boys love sports (basketball favorite) but not sure about taking in a Yankee game. Would love ideas on eating and some decent shopping for me as well as anything else that is a must do. Thanks!

American Idiot was on sale at the TKTS booth last week, but just once. I asked someone about it and they said it was highly unusual.
Wicked won't be discounted anywhere. Buy tix ASAP on ticketmaster.com or you'll have to get them from a broker.
I recommend Million Dollar Quartet.
Check Broadway Box for discounts on many shows.
Check www.playbill.com for a full list of shows and links to tix for each of them.

Check nycgo.com for special events and things to do while you're in town. There are all kinds of unexpected things going on that might interest you. There is a NYC pass that might be useful.

We recently had out of town guests and did some of the "tourist" things. Their favorites were the double decker bus, staten island ferry, circle line at night, top of the rock and shopping at macys. My niece loved rock of ages.

Go to a baseball game if the mets and/or Yankees are in town. The new stadiums are great. The only question is if you want to spend a whole day or night at a game. It's a six hour odyssey. Both are also a lot more expensive than you think.

Have you looked into getting tix to Fallon yet? I don't think it's a last minute option.

Whatever you decide, have fun!!

Does anyone think that two boys 20 and 18, might not like Wicked?

The boys should check out the basketball games at the "Cage" in the village on West 4th.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_4th_Street_Courts

A Circle line cruise might be fun, there's also free Kayaking in the summer.

What's your price range for eating?

Soho, Madison Ave starting in the 50s and of course 5th Ave are prime shopping areas.

accomplicenewyork.com is a fun way to see an area of the city. Foodsofnyc.com or noshwalks.com are a way to taste and tour. menupages.com is a good place to do some dining research. Your hotel is in the west 40's but I'd urge you to use evening meals (if you're not going to the theater or some other event) to explore other neighborhoods. The west 40's are mostly for tourists and theaters. What about a comedy or improv club one night or live music? Cafewha.com might be fun or one of the Comedy Clubs like National Comedy Theater.

What kind of shopping do you want? (ie dept. stores, designer boutiques, discount etc.)?

The boys would also like Paragon, a terrific independent sporting goods store that.

A few great places to take the boys to eat is Grey's Papaya where they can hot dogs galore. There is one right by "The Cage."

Lombardi's, Tontonno's for pizza. Those are full pies. Artichoke on 14th Street for slices, there are always lines because the owner is an idiot.

Cones on Bleecker Street and the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Also eat at Big Wong's, cheap but very good. And take home something with the bag's name on it.

A few good cheap burger places-Black Iron in the East Village, very good onion rings, during the week Corner Bistro (it is a zoo on the weekends.)

Get broadway show tickets now - either from the official online seller ONLY if they are not discounted (like Wicked) or via a discount code at broadwaybox.com if they are discounted.

For SoL you must have tickets in advance and you may be too late for June since they are very limited. If you're too late get ferry tickets anyway, get a close look at the SoL and then take the ferry to the Ellis Island Immigration Museums which is brilliant. Be sure to get there early for the ferry - the Park service recos 45 minutes to allow for the security line (airline type - no large packages or gabs allowed).

If you want to see a Yankee game, and they're in town, again get tickets now. the closer you get the worse tickets are available (either great seats at a huge price or poor seats - third tier - at also not great prices).

Also do at lest one boat trip - even if only the Staten Island Ferry - but you might all enjoy a ride in the Beast. Also don;t miss the Met - which has something for everyone. Check out the website - most people are fascinated by the Temple of Dendur, the Egyptian section, some the Costume Institute or Arms & Armor - never mind tradition art museum stuff.

"...never mind tradition art museum stuff." Are you kidding? The Met's art collection is hardly chopped liver! I agree that the Temple of Dendur and the Egyptian section are certainly worth seeing...but so is, for example, its magnificent Impressionist collection and so many other art collections. And, somehow, I don't think that most sons age 18 and 20 would put the Costume Institute on their A list!

well, Howard, please note the recommendation was for the Arms and Armoor exhibit -- which does enthrall many younger guys. I don't think it was for Pricess Di party dresses or anything like that.

And I'm not sure why the question about them liking Wicked. One young very straight young man of 20 I know is not a theatre buff at all, but has seen Wicked three times and thinks it's the greatest thing he's ever seen.

Patrick, read it again. The posting gave equal billing to the Costume Institute and the Arms and Armor. I agree with your comment about the latter. It's the former that I question.

Hub and I absolutely loved Ellis Island. The idea of children being sent to this country by themselves was incredible. The entire experience engendered long conversations about what we would take if we were moving forever. We started to add to a country where we couldn't understand the language-but we've done that already going to Italy! LOL.

Chinatown, Little Italy and the area around Wall Street are interesting.

Ooops. I thought it said "costume institute OF arms and armour". Never mind.

The reason why I raised the question was that The NY Times had an article regarding how many shows captivate twelve and thirteen year old girls and Wicked was prominently named.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/th....html?emc=eta1

The Yanks are in town and if your sons care anything about baseball history and excellence, you should consider trying to go to a game. Be sure to take a small valise full of currency to pay for whatever you need.

Your better bet is to go on Saturday (12th) or Sunday because the pathetic Astros will be in town and some ticketholders may be happy to ditch their ducats on ebay. On the Tuesday you're there, the Phillies will be in for a "rematch" of the 2009 World Series and you won't be able to get tickets as easily. Plus you'll also have to deal with Philadelphians who crawled out of their mire and drove to the Bronx and are more than willing to pay more than you for a ticket if scalping is necessary.

I had the same thought as did Aduchamp re "Wicked." For boys of the age of the OP's kids (based in large part on the preferences of a slightly older boy), I'd recommend "In The Heights." Also think about "Jersey Boys" or "Hair." The aforementioned boy wanted to walk out of "Wicked" at intermission.

Howard -

I wan;t dissing the art - I'm at the museum at least twice a month. Just pointing out some of the many other things it has besides "traditional" art - and my least favorite (the ancient middle eastern pots).