For accomodations try Travelocity or Expedia. Both allow you to be very specific about your requirements and let you see what you are getting before commiting to book. We've had wonderful experiences booking NYC hotels through both.

If you want to stay in the thick of things on Times Square, I'd recommend Doubletree Guest Suites. I was able to get a room at $220/night through their website but then I found out about quikbook.com on this site and tried them and got a rate of $180/nt so canceled my previous reservation. It was surprisingly quiet, given that you're right on Broadway. Very convenient for teens to come and go from the room. We stayed on the upper west side last year and loved it, but once you're back at the hotel, you're there for the night.

Playbill.com will give you discount codes for Chicago. Hairspray is fabulous but get your tickets ASAP thru Ticketmaster. You won't find any at the TKTS booth. We ordered them ahead of time through TM and only had right mezzanine seats left but they were great seats. Actually, I don't think there are many bad seats in that theater and you will all love the play - I'm sure your daughters will! If ticketmaster doesn't have any for your dates, try eBay. I had a few extra tickets to sell and tried to sell them on eBay but had no offers except the few people who wanted them for half-price. We waited and sold them when we got to NYC for face value. eBay had alot of tickets/dates available - give it a try.

You can get a Jr. Suite in that budget easy at The Gorham. Its a great hotel! We recently stayed there. So many great things about it -location, amenities, staff, and most of all - the room! Comfortable QUEEN sized beds, refrig, microwave, marble bathroom. www.gorhamhotel.com

hmmm. I just noticed this was posted early July. Perhaps the trip is already been taken?