I am going to New York for the first time in May and understand that there are some amazing theatre venues. I must admit I am as interested in the buildings as the acutal shows.

Can anyone recommend the best theatre venue they have been to in New York for atmosphere & experience...
( Also any great shows coming up during that time worth a note ??? )
thanks,

The Gershwin, currently hosting Wicked, has the Theatre Hall of Fame (which I think you can only see if you go to a performance).

In Greenwich Village is The Cherry Lane Theatre which has a long history stretching back to the 1920's.

Attend a service at Times Square Church (237 West 51st) which used to be The Mark Hellinger Theater. I believe it has the most beautiful interior. A huge crown hangs over the proscenium flanked by two angels.

For me, big is not usually better, but it's hard to top Radio City Music Hall for sheer drama of architecture.

I always loved all the busts in the niches inside the Virginia Theatre. I still thought it was funny when they fastened blindfolds over their eyes for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

You might want to take a walking or other tour of the theatre district, although I can't say for sure that the tours would include gong inside any theatre (other than the Gray Line tour mentioned below):

1. New York Walks has a Broadway Excursion tour, a Mid-town Architectural Walking tour. You can also set up a private tour for $40 an hour; you might contact them to see if they can design a tour for you which would include more theatres and/or access to the interiors. Take a look at http://www.nycwalk.com

2. Big Onion Waking Tours has a walking tour of Times Square which includes at least the exterior of the Palace Theatre and other theatre-related sites. Take a look at http://www.bigonion.com. They might also do a custom private tour for you.

3. Gray Line Tours has a "Showbiz Insider" tour which includes a backstage visit to the New Amsterdam Theatre (home of the Lion King) theatre and Radio City Music Hall. May be a bit canned ("get to meet a live actor") but would get you inside at least 2 venerable theatres, which have been lovingly restored and maintained. Take a look at http://www.graylinenewyork.com

There are many other walking tour operators in New York. Run a search; I am sure you could custom-design one.

As for which show(s) to see, the sky is pretty much the limit. You would need to determine if you want to see musicals, drama, off-Broadway, experimental, etc. Two useful sights for seeing what is on offers (including reviews) are playbill.com and http://www.nytheatre.com. NYtheatre also has descriptions of various theatres.

You should definitely take the walking tour of the theaters that Cicerone mentions. It's definitely the best way to see the best theater designs on Broadway.

The New Amsterdam theater that houses the Lion King is absolutely gorgeous. They have tours during the week at around noonish I believe. They last about an hour.

Along with Patrick's excellent suggestion of Radio City, I would say Carnegie Hall is a must.

Ah yes, Carnegie Hall. Still gives me a sort of chill when I walk into that incredible space. They incidentally do a very nice tour and it has a fascinating little museum at the end.
Lincoln Center also does tours. The Metropolitan Backstage Tour wasn't available last time we were there, but did a general tour of the center which was very nice. It was just this guide and the two of us!! Next time, we're looking forward to the backstage Met tour.

www.walkinbroadway.com

Basically it's a headset you can rent for the north and south ends of the theater district where theater greats tell stories of what happened at each of the theaters

There are also broadway open house tours which is what I think you're talking about.

http://www.livebroadway.com/openhouse.html

As for shows, I #1 on your list (assuming you're over the age of 22) should be Avenue Q.

Thanjs so much for the many suggestions. What a great array of info I probably would never have found on my own. Will look up some of the websites and investigate further.