New York weekend in October
 

Check out Broadway Box and Playbill

What AJPeabody wrote. And, not as conveniently located (or as crowded) as the place in Times Square: https://www.nytix.com/tkts/tkts-south-street-seaport

For your hotel, it would be nice to stay in Manhattan but I will tell you what a friend told me while I was planning my visit last fall. You can stay in Manhattan but to get a nice view you will have to pay a fortune. Most hotel rooms overlook the building next door. Or you can stay in Queens and get a nice view for much less money. I picked Long Island City. The window overlooked the backyard gardens of the adjacent buildings. Higher floors would have the NY skyline as the view. I was a 5 minute walk to the subway.

Staying within the city but outside of Manhattan (eg in Long Island City, Queens), is ok. Staying outside of the city (which includes Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, & Staten Island) is not.

Please google: hotels near Museum of Natural History and/or Columbus Circle. The second is a very convenient area for the subway.

The Hotel Elysee is a very nice centrally located NYC hotel.
https://www.elyseehotel.com/en/

I have stayed here several times and it is a lovely hotel with great history of some famous writers and actors who lived here at different times. Breakfast comes with the room. (It is bagels and fruit and yogurt, etcc) and also wine happy hour with some light snacks are also included nightly.
Across the street is Bills Tavern which has a great lunch. On the same block is an Italian restaurant which was very delicious. You can walk up to Fifth Ave shopping and St. Patricks Cathedral. The Monkey Bar restaurant and bar is next door. The bar is lively and fun at pre dinner time.

My mom and I are from the NY/NJ area. We go back up to NY every couple of years and have stayed in different hotels. The last three times have been at the Elysee. It is a nice small hotel, but not too small. Having breakfast and wine included was a great perk.
I would not stay outside the city. I would not stay in Times Sq area. This is your 40th wedding anniversary. With only a few nights in NY, enjoy them, be in the action. There are many hotels which to choose from.

The Beacon and The Lucerne are both good hotels on the upper West Side near the Museum of Natural History and Central Park. There are good subway connections to Times Square. Someone recently recommended the Hotel Belleclaire in the same area but we've never stayed there.
I like staying in Manhattan but it is more expensive.

To Kill a Mockingbird is selling out. So, there's little or no chance for discount tickets. I'd get them NOW at the regular show website.

And try to do it before the Tony Awards on June 9th--the play isn't nominated, but I think several of the actors, etc. are and if it wins any, that will increase interest in it even more.

Yay!

Last November we stayed at The Belvedere thanks to a recommendation here on Fodor's. It's near Times Square/theater district, but on a quiet (for New York) side street. www.belvederehotelnyc.com

Well, the advantage of Manhattan to me is this: It's fun to be able to walk outside your door to a bagel shop, a local coffee place, eat and then be right there in the city to start your day. Think about the alternative: a commute into the city, and then another bus, train or walk to where you actually want to go. If you go to New York often, this might be a good way to save.

We stayed in Murrayhill area. Our hotel is now condos, so I can't recommend it in particular. I loved the neighborhood. It was friendly and not stressful like Times Square.

That may have been me. I love it. It really is my favorite in NYC for location for shows but not in the craziness of Times Square.

October is a busy month and rates can be high. If they are too high, consider doing bids on Hotwire for Midtown West. Let me know and I'll give you more details on that. My first stay at the Belvedere was on a Hotwire bid and I think it was in October 2016.

If you stay at a hotel south of but near Grand Central (the Shelburne, the Tuscany, or the Kitano, the Iberostar 70 Park, or the William), you'll be within easy striking distance of everything but out of Times Square itself and can even walk to the theater if you want to. I also really like Murray Hill, and there are still a lot of hotels there, but I think it's more convenient to stay a bit closer to 42nd. You can also stay at either the Westin or Grand Hyatt, but they are bigger and more impersonal.

My next favorite area is on or near Park Avenue, which is not quite Murray Hill. The Giraffe, the Mondrian, the Royalton Park Avenue, and the Redbury (which is further south) are all well-located.

But I don't know your price range. Do know that hotels prices start getting really expensive after Labor Day (much more than they are right now). I would never do a blind bid, however, as I'd want to know the actual hotel I was staying at.

Yes, it probably was you! We got a great deal there for our stay, but so far prices for the same week this year are much higher.

The Afina Shelbourne in Murray Hill on Lexington has a nice variety of room types from studios to one bedrooms with kitchenettes. The rooms facing back toward 3rd are very quiet at night which I really appreciate as I'm a light sleeper..

We stayed at the Westin on 42nd on the top floor and you could hear traffic, horns blaring and sirens all day and well into the night. The Grand Hyatt had very thin walls, we could hear our neighbors on both sides carry on a normal conversation.

Since this is your 40th anniversary, and your theater tickets are basically bought and paid for, I would urge you to stay in Manhattan. We travel on a budget, but always stay in Manhattan. It takes a more work to find the right room at the right price, but for your anniversary I think it will be worth it.

<What I want is to be able to walk from wherever I am staying to a small cafe, restaurant, bar etc. >

Then stay in Manhattan. That will also save an hour (or more) per day commuting to and from Manhattan. And good luck finding "a small cafe" European style in most of NYC.