Greetings. I'm planning a trip in June with my best friend ( a Parisian now living in San Fran) and her two wonderful daughters ( mostly SF grown) ages 10 and 12. We will visit friends in DC and then take the train to NY, so we are a bit flexible with dates.
Q? #1: It is better to plan for Thursday 6/15- Sun./mon ( my guess) or Sunday- Wed., in terms of hotel rates and shows.
I'm looking for inexpensive mid-town lodging, as we won't be there much and prefer to spend on fun.
Q? #2: How easy are the Tkts. booths if we are flexible with shows, and How does this Broadway Lottery for tickets actually work, worth a try?
Thanks in advance. Just found this site and am loving it.

Most shows are dark on Monday. Usually on saturday and Sunday there are 2 shows a matinee and an evening performance. You can check for weekend hotel rates on expedia or hotel.com, etc. Daily broadway tickets go on sale at the times square ticket booth see web for more info:
http://www.tdf.org/tkts/

If you go to Broadwaybox.com you can get discount tickets in advance - and avoid spending vacation time standing on line waiting for tickets. (But naturally not for new, big hits - whcih you won;t get discounts for anyway. They do sell off extra house seats in the am of the day - but there are always way more people than seats - and you're unlikely to get 4 together.)

Also - you'll get better availability for tickets not on Sat and Sun - or Fri night - and Monday is dark.

For hotels - I would start looking ASAP. Try Priceline for two rooms - if you don;t mind sharing a bed since you may get only one. Or you might try affinia.com, all suites, to see what they have available. Just be aware that prices are even higher than last year - you say only inexpensive and I'm not sure what you mean. For really budget you could try the applecore hotels - but they're quite basic.

There are only a couple (really, really limited) shows on Mondays and most Sunday shows are early so the idea of Sunday to Wednesday really limits you.

Like nytravler, I'd look for discount tickets in advance rather than spending time in the TKTS line. For the most part the shows that will be available at TKTS will also be available discounted in advance.

Actually (and surprisingly), there are several shows that play on Sunday evening, as well as a matinee that day. Also, there are several shows that perform on Monday nights.

Not to hijack the thread, I will also be in NY in June - any reviews on "Festen" (sp?) w/Ali McGraw I think ?

Here's the review of Festen from the NYTimes two days ago. Hmmm. I always hate it when the comparison is made to a previous production. Reading between the lines of the review, I'm still very glad I have tickets to see it.

Incidentally this is one of those very few shows that plays on Monday nights.
I'm having a hard time filling my remaining Monday with anything.

http://tinyurl.com/kbk72

Neopolitan, I hate to pile on but don't forget most museums are also closed on Mondays.

For budget suite lodging for your group, look into Radio City Apartments and the Murray Hill East suites, which used to be one-bedroom apartments and have full kitchens.

GoTravel, you are so right. Sometimes I get so engrossed in theatre I forget there are actually other things to do in NYC! LOL But that is another reason for the first option of days in the city.

MOMA is open on Mondays. (It's closed Tuesdays.)
Festen got fair writeups, with the critics saying that it was not nearly as effective as the London production.
Since this is Ali McGraw's stage debut, great things were not expected of her!

1. Business hotels often have better rates on weekends. If you were prepared to stay downtown in the financial district, a weekend would be better. For midtown hotels, it probably doesn't matter too much.

If you all want to stay in 1 room, I agree a suite would be best. In addition to the 2 mentioned, the Salisbury is another good budget option to try with very large suites. Prices for it are often better on quikbook.com than on the hotel's own website nycsalisbury.com

If you're flexible, find a hotel you like and check different options for days of the week. I think Radio city apts. is booked up most weekends now.

2. If all of you want to see the same shows and sit together, your chances become limited at TKTS. I'd try to buy in advance using discount codes. Or do that with at least 1 show. Here's a page with links on various ways to get discounts including broadwaybox.
http://home.nyc.rr.com/frugaltheatergoe/

Thx - we're only there Wed-Sat so I can avoid the whole wondering what is opened or closed. I'll think I'll take a chance on the show though.

If you don't get the discounted tickets before you get here, DON'T go to the TKTS booth in Times Square, you will be waiting in line for hours.

There is a SECOND booth in the Wall St. area at the South St. Seaport, at the back of the Prudential Building, (corner of Water and Fulton St.). The line there is never long and the booth opens at 10am. After that you can walk up Water St to Chinatown for lunch and shopping and then up to Little Italy for pasteries.

Have a great time while you are here.