NYC Trip Report (sort of)
 

We, (me, husband, our 3 teen/tween sons, and 30 something stepson), just got back from a 3-day trip to NYC. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. I know that many hate Times Square, but we love it. The Marriott was almost full, so we did not score Times Square view rooms this time. But the rooms are clean, fairly large and quiet. The beds and other furnishings are comfortable. The location is great. It took them until 8:00PM to get one of the rooms ready, but they gave us $100 credit to compensate.

Some highlights of the trip:

Metropolitan Museum of Art – this was my first visit. We spent about a half a day there, mostly in the Egyptian section. Almost ran through some of the other galleries. I could have spent a week there. I absolutely loved it. My 12 year old kids even enjoyed it. My only complaint is they keep it so warm. If you are going, wear a light shirt under your jacket.

Ruth’s Chris steakhouse – Yes, I know it’s a chain. We had a great meal there. The food and service were perfect. The atmosphere was pretty good. The tables were a little crowded. But we were in a corner at a large round table, so we were comfortable.

Memphis – All of us from my 12 year old kids to my husband, (who was 13 when Elvis hit the scene), really enjoyed the play.

Top of the Rock – We had fun at Rockefeller Center, and the trip to the top was great. It was pretty windy and cold, but the glass enclosure kept us comfortable while still letting us get a great view of the city and beyond. It was not crowded at all when we were there.

Some “lowlights” of the trip:

Hair – Most of us mostly hhhhhaaaaaaatttteeeddd it. For myself, I loved most of the music. There were a few funny moments. But the disjointed story and absolutely unappealing characters left me waiting for it to be over. If I had it to do over again, I would not have taken my kids. It was not the nude scene. That was nuthin’. Berger’s antics at the beginning of the play really made them uncomfortable.

NBC studios tour – I thought that this was not worth the $106 that it cost.

Thank you to all who answered my questions. Thanks for the T-shirt suggestions. We never had the time to go shopping but I found some good choices on Yellow Rat Bastard and Brooklyn Industries’ websites.

Sounds like a great trip. I also loved Memphis. There's a thread running called Broadway Banter. You might like to just drop in there and leave a brief review of both shows to help other families. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the report. We're headed there in a few weeks with 2 teenage girls (13 & 16). Any recommendations and/or additional things your kids enjoyed?

Many people agre that the NBC tour is no worth it - it just doesn;t show very much.

As for Hair - it's very much a "counterculture" show - from a time when sex, drugs and rock and roll were joined by a rallying cry to stop the war and change the country. We loved it - but we are from that time, knew a lot of people like that - and for us it was nostalgia for a more innocent time. (Yes - more innocent - with no 13 year old girls sexting naked pictures of themselves to the whole world and many kids spending their time trying to better the world - not just raise random hell.)

But - I can understand some people not relating to it. It's better to get as much info as possible about shows - esp if taking kids who may be naive.

SiteC_er - My kids also liked the American Museum of Natural History, BB King's Blues Club, walking around Times Square, Gray's Papaya, eating off the food carts on the street, In the Heights, the little museum near the WTC site.

nytraveler - I am also from that time. I didn't have my kids until I was in my 40's. I was 14 the first time Hair played on Broadway. I wore out a copy of the original cast recording. I knew people like Berger too. I didn't like them then either. We were only more innocent of the consequences of some of our actions. As I remember it, the sex, drugs and rock n roll were mostly just fun. The war protests were self preservation. The war was scary and the goals were not clear. And we didn't have the technology that is available to kids now. If we had, I think there would have be 13 year olds texting then too. I certainly remember the youthful optimism that all problems could be solved and the world could be a better place, but I also remember plenty of random hell raising. There is the semi annual sexting scandal at my kids' middle school. But I know dozens of hardworking kids who regularly participate in fundraisers, etc to help homeless people, hungry people, families of soldiers deployed to the Iraq and Afganistan, and so on. But enough of my ranting.

As I sat there contemplating all the other things I could have done with the evening and the $700 I spent on the tickets, I considered that long after my children had forgotton most of the details of the trip, they would remember the hairy guy giving the girl in the front row a "carwash".

Sounds like a terrific trip! You did a lot in three days. FWIW, I saw the original Hair way back when - have no desire to do so again - maybe because I no longer have waist length hair and bell bottoms!

$700 for tickets??? Yikes. For future info. many shows are available on discount in advance on the left column of broadwaybox.com

I guess it depends on how you felt at the time. I was waving signs at demonstrations, picketing supermarkets in support of farm workers, very active politically and visiting friends in jail (on bogus charges) - so my sympathy was - and is - all with those kids.

But, then, my politics weren't a thing of the moment - my family has always been - and I still am - about as left as you can get.

I agree with you about Hair -- and I was in college in the mid 60's. I was "with" the true hippies of the 60's -- I was not with these characters much of the time. I've seen other revivals that are like a "love ode" to the peaceful love children called the Hippies. But this production seemed hell bent to make the characters despicable, unattractive, and sometimes just plain hateful. I didn't get that. And I agree about the opening antics of Berger. When the cast strips nude it is almost inspirational -- peaceful and beautiful. But his standing over a woman and making her look up at his genitals is NOT what the hippie generation was about, or not what Hair was about in any case. Instead he should have been wandering the audience handing out flowers and kissing people on the forehead -- not seeing how disgusting and offensive he could be.

Thanks, NeoPatrick. I thought I was the only person who didn't like that play. Despicable is the word I was looking for.

I didn't enjoy it either. I wasn't offended by anything and remembered the 60s but it was my least favorite show I saw on my last trip. I fought drifting off to sleep during a Sunday matinee.