NYC in March
 

Hello and Happy New Year! My husband and I will be in the big apple at the end of March and want to be prepared. We have only experienced New York at Christmas and Thanksgiving so we have never experienced the city as it unthaws from winter and prepares for spring. I have several questions. Any and all info would be appreciated. <BR> <BR>1. What kind of weather can we expect? <BR>2. We have never stayed at the Radisson Eastside before and I'm very interested in any feedback. I think it was previously the Hotel Lexington. <BR>3. We plan on buying tickets very soon for two different shows. Suggestions? We are considering Kiss Me Kate, The Full Monty, Contact, Dirty Blonde and The Dinner Party. <BR> <BR>Thanks to all who respond!

Prepare yourself for cold and windy weather in March. There could even be some snow. <BR>As for your show list, Contact is the best, however, only if you like dancing. Otherwise, you may not enjoy it. Both Kiss Me Kate and The Big Monty are both very entertaining shows. The Dinner Party is middle-level Neil Simon. Dirty Blonde is very entertaining.

If it matters to you, Claudia Shear, who wrote and starred in Dirty Blonde, has just left the show. I don't know who is replacing her.

We saw "Kiss Me Kate," and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Didn't want it to end. It would be helpful, but not necessary, to be familiar with it a bit first--also to be familiar, basically, with Shakespeare and "Taming of the Shrew." <BR> <BR>We'd been told, by the way, that half-price tickets for the show often show up at the booth in Times Square. That was true one night we were there, though we chose to see Gore Vidal's "Best Man" instead. On the second night, "Kiss Me Kate" wasn't available. We went to the box office and got returns--6th row orchestra. I guess my point is that you needn't buy your tickets ahead of time. <BR> <BR>We were in NY in September, which appears to be a peak time for traveling there. Perhaps others can corroborate that or not. <BR>

Responding/elaborating on a couple of previous postings: <BR>1. Kathy Najimy (of "Sister Act" and "Veronica's Closet" fame) is now the lead in "Dirty Blonde." <BR>2. Penny is right about checking on half-price tickets at the TKTS booth. In March, you should have a fairly good choice midweek at the booth, not so much on weekends. However, you will NOT find "Contact" up there. Also, check out the Playbill website (www.playbill.com), join its club (it's free and is not a gimmick) and then you can get tickets in advance for some shows at discount prices without waiting in line. You can order by phone or bring a copy of the offer to the box office. <BR>

Thanks so much for the feedback! I haven't heard from anyone regarding the Radisson. Anyone?

I have lived in NYC area all my life and am sorry to say that the weather varies in March. Some years temps are into the 60 degree range but I can recall 10+ inches of snow on St Patty's day.

For the sake of accuracy, I'll amend my above comments as follows: Contact is occasionally available at TKTS during the week, but you have to be very lucky to the get the tickets.