Great info. all around! Coming to the city from Boston to see The Graduate, any pre-show buzz? How should you dress for the play?Need ideas for dinner BEFORE the play, nothing fancy but decent food. Also, staying at the Sheraton Manhattan, any opinions? Looking for a drool-worthy dinner in Little Italy. Very picky because we are used to the North End in Boston. I need more than red sauce! Ideas for a bar/dance club for the 35 and up crowd? Not interested in the young/hip/trendy places. First time visitor and want to make the most of it. Thanks in advance!

Sherry, your north end is nice, but lets keep things rational, please. I believe NYC can handle your italian food needs. But maybe I just missed the announcement about Boston as a food mecca.

The pre-opening comments The Graduate are mixed. (Didn't you read any reviews of the play? I believe it opened in Boston before coming to NY!)
As for pre-theater dining, how about a price range and type (other than "nothing fancy but decent food")?
How much do you want to spend for dinner in Little Italy? (There are some excellent Italian restaurants in other areas as well!)

The Graduate is coming to NY. It hasn't arrived as yet. Previews begin Friday, March 15.

I should have been more specific. First, I find Italian cuisine to be very subjective. In the suburbs, Italian could be considered any pasta with red sauce. North End Italian is Veal Valdestana, Chicken Bracciolitini and more. I am looking for more than lasgana and ravioli! Not a Boston/New York comparison on who has better food! I would prefer dinners for the weekend to be in the $20-$25 per entree range also. Not interested in Thai, Indian or French in the theater district. About The Graduate, yes, it did just finish in Boston to mixed reviews with a total sell out on the the run. Many consider Boston the place for fine tuning a show.I also know that shows that do well in Boston don't always do well in NYC. I don't want to compare cities! That's not my intent. I'm just looking for a bit of advice.

Two ideas - NYC Zagats, for food type and price range and location - and research this site - because there have been countless conversations about NYC restaurants. Then ask your questions. You are really going to lose out on the Fodors database if you fail to research. Give it a try and see what I mean.

Just back from 5 days in NYC and loved it. (not my first time there). Since not many have responded to your specific questions, let my give it a shot, as best I can. I stayed at the New York Hilton and passed the Sheraton every day. Only about a block from the Hilton. The Sheraton seems very nice, I would certainly look into staying there myself. It can't be beat for convenience and safety. As previously noted, The Graduate is not yet opened so I can't advise as to how good it is. But if you have time, certainly go to the half-priced ticket booth in Times Square (TKTS). At most a ten minute stroll from the Sheraton. I saw 5 shows in 5 days and three of those I got at TKTS. Already had tickets to The Producers in advance (the whole purpose of the trip) and also saw, Cabaret, with Molly Ringwold, who knew the girl could sing so well, The Allergist's wife, with Valerie Harper and Michelle Lee, very good, 42nd Street, good old toe tapping fun, and The Full Monty, absolutely wonderful. The Full Monty is not on the TKTS board, but I went to the box office the day of the show and was able to buy an excellent seat, though full price, it was definitely worth it. Also tried to see Mamma Mia. Tickets were available at the box office, but partial view only. Still, they wanted $100 for partial view. (New Yorker's whats up with that!! I'm willing to pay full price, but at least I should be able to see the stage) As for dress for the theater, it ranges from blue jeans to formal wear. If a matinee, much more toward the casual. I think as long as you are clean, most anything is o.k., so it's up to you as to what kind of night you want to make it. Fun, funky, frivolous or formal. Can't speak to the issue of Italian restaurants, but for a country boy from Alabama, you can't beat those pizza by the slice shops which seem to be everywhere. Good and cheap. We ain't got nuttin lak dat der roun hearin. Have fun.

Little Italy isn't necessarily the best for italian food. Some great palces in the village are Babbo (high end), Lupa and Po. These are hard to get into during prime times (7-9ish) but the food is great. For a real tuscan experience, try i Coppy on E. 9th st between 1st & 2nd av. For outstanding pizza (coming from a person who grew up with homemade pizza, and all other italian food), John's pizzeria (village and midtown locations).

There's any excellent Italian restaurant less than 2 blocks from your hotel--Remi on 53rd Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues.

You might consider I Trulli on E. 27th Street. Go to this site:
http://www.chowhound.com/main.html - a message board dealing with restaurants.
Type in the names of the restaurants mentioned in other posts in the "Search" box to read comments on the restaurants.
There are 17 messages, for example, that mention I Trulli

Thank you all for replying. I went to the Zagat site and got some ideas, cross referenced in chowhound, and I'm all set with dining for the weekend. We decided on JW's Steakhouse and Babbo's. However, I am still looking for a decent bar/dance club for the age 35 and up crowd. It doesn't matter where in NYC it is, I just don't want the young/trendy/hip-hop crowd. Any suggestions?

Sorry, I don't know of any 35+ dance clubs. For a bar, you're better off avoiding Chelsea unless you are a 35+ gay man, or the far East Village/Alphabet city. I would suggest you look for wine bars if you really want to avoid a scene. That said, the Bryant Park Hotel has a charming bar in its basement, no dancing, but a very calm atmosphere. The crowd is, however, mostly under 35, but I don't think it would be hostile to anyone older. Try www.newyork.citysearch.com to look for nightspots. Have a great time at Babbo--I've been wanting to go forever and I never get aroung to making the reservation. i'm sure you know, but make sure you get a reservation. Places like that almost never have space to squeeze someone in at the last minute.

I saw the Graduate in London. The only thing that bothers me about the NY opening is that the commercial says that it was a "smash hit" in London when the truth was that this was the show for which we could get tickets because it was not a hit there. I guess in advertising you can say anything. Had a pretty good time though.