Auto Advice & Tips
Auto Products
Auto Buyer's Guides
Car Care & Maintenance
Car of the Year Awards
Earth Aware Awards
Insurance & Accidents
Legends & Leaders
New Car Reviews
News & Views
Planet Driven
Road Humor
Road Trips
Safety & Security
Teens & Tots
Used Car Buying
Vehicle Model Guides
Vehicle Safety Ratings
What Women Want

When I lived in New York, a subway token distant from any theater, I actually saw more shows in London. It was after I moved to Vermont that I craved the broken-hearted lights of Broadway and trekked my way south for periodic indulgences.

Now that I live in New Mexico I make intermittent pilgrimages to Manhattan for a Broadway fix. The timing is determined by a critical-mass build-up of frequent flyer miles or the requirement of my presence in NYC for other reasons, such as the auto show.

Last summer the itch was emerging into consciousness. The Tony awards, the raging success of "The Producers." And thus I was prompted to begin planning for a New York theater trip. One must get some tent pegs down early enough to keep the whole shebang from flapping in the wind. Here's my way.

Decide on a time.

"Autumn in New York" began to play in my head. That was distant enough (from July) to assure a better chance at some of the tougher tickets. And also a distant calendar looks wonderfully open. Busy the first week and second week in October so how about the third?

Decide on the shows.

I decide on all musicals this time. They need a big stage.
I go on the Internet to www.applause-tickets.com, a ticket procuring company that had worked flawlessly for me previously. (A few years before they had come up with an Easter Sunday seat to "The Lion King" when that show was SRO for months ahead.)

Other similar services can also be found online (see below)
Applause-tickets web site carries information on all the shows, on- and off-Broadway. (Also concerts and other entertainments for Las Vegas, Toronto and London as well as New York.) All the salient information is immediately clear, including prices. The prices listed include the company's charges ($5.00 plus 35% of the ticket price) so any sticker shock is immediate and doesn't lurk farther down the line.

Yes, there are cheaper ways of getting Broadway tickets - go to New York and stand in line in Times Square for great same-day savings. Or go through the box office (plan far ahead) by mail or phone and deal with each show independently. Find the way that suits you. My way is to opt for convenience, certainty and a quick wrap up of a week's worth of nightly theater in a few minutes. I acknowledge that this costs money. For me with a low tolerance for annoyances, the price is right.

You can do your ticket selection through an exchange of e-mails or fax if you prefer. I like direct and immediate results so I use the 800 number I found on the Applause-ticket web site (800-451-9930). Personal interaction works best for stuff such as "How about moving X to Tuesday and Y to Friday and going for Z on Thursday?"

Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane star in "The Producers" on Broadway.

First thing, pin down the toughest ticket. Clearly that was "The Producers." That slotted, the others fell into place. Most houses are dark on Monday so I asked what shows were playing that day and made my choice. No matinees this trip - I did two-a-days last time which proved to be too much of a good thing.

My lineup looked like this, Monday through Friday: "Rent", "42nd Street", "The Music Man", "The Full Monty", "The Producers." Later after friends in California recommended a show they had seen there on its way to Broadway I added "Contact" on Saturday night. That addition involved another call to Applause-tickets as well as to the airline to switch my air departure to Sunday morning.

Thanks to the seating charts on the Applause-ticket.com site I could see exactly where the available ones were. I was pleased with the selections. Except for "The Producers" each one was within five rows of front and none too far off-center. For "The Producers" the best seat available was in the mezzanine, which was fine. I had the answer for that. (See "Cues" below.)

Decide on your transportation:

I had enough miles stored up for free travel on several airlines. If you are paying for your ticket make reservations far ahead and on the Internet to get the best price possible. Be aware that you give up flexibility with low fares. Changes cost dearly. I had enough Delta miles for a first class ticket (special trips need to be special all the way) into Newark. Nail down the flight schedule and arrange to have the tickets sent to you. That I did.

Decide on accommodations:

Some of the ticket procurers offer hotel-theater combo deals. Check those out. They might serve your needs if you want just one or two shows.

My choice of where to stay would be driven by location and price. Actually, location is a price consideration, too, because transportation costs can mount up quickly in Manhattan. The bus and subway are $1.50 a go. Taxis are costly unless you have companions with whom you can split the fare, yet they might be necessary because after-theater subways are not particularly welcoming to the lone traveler.

Bathroom in a Hudson Hotel room.

So for me, no-brainer, the hotel would be in midtown (a.k.a. theater-district) and I could rely on shank's mare for transport.

From the start I had the Hudson Hotel on 58th street in mind. I checked some other less stylish "bargains" (on the Internet) and found one that I could tolerate but it was booked even months ahead…some group thing.

So the Hudson it was (click for related review).

Now the tent is secure. The trip has form and I add some details. I arrange a business lunch and a social lunch. I decided to "do" the Museum of Modern Art my first day in town (and lucked into a wonderful Giacometti show.) The Metropolitan Museum would be another day. Taking the Circle Line Tour, a boat cruise completely around the island of Manhattan would be another day.

That mix of firm and vague planning allows time for serendipitous strolling, shopping and sitting with a chai grande in hand and digging being in New York where I had lived in a century quickly fading in the mist.

That was to be my week that was.

My trip plans were locked in by early August. Then came the appalling events of September 11. Not going was never a consideration. Indeed, the trip took on a more ringing purpose - "Lafayette, er - Guilianni we are here!"

Some five weeks after the attack I found midtown Manhattan to be alive, active, well-peopled. The differences were in small clues: flag designs in every shop window and street kiosk. I bought a flag scarf, then another. I bought "official" t-shirts with NYPD and FDNY on them. Posters of the twin towers were featured. At the Museum of Modern Art I did buy a bound collection of NY scenes, one of which was of the towers.

Sometimes I would stand looking south. It is hard to locate an absence. I would see others searching the horizon now and then. Sometimes people would be talking about where they were, what they saw, how they heard. And who they knew who was involved. But in midtown it was all at least once removed.

I did not go to Ground Zero. I did not want to make that scene to be just another piece of theater on my Broadway trip. I chose to separate them. I did not go below 41st street and the southernmost theater on my schedule.

As it happened on the around-the-island Circle Line Cruise I glimpsed through the buildings the leaning lacy façade of the fallen towers familiar from television. The smoke was rising still. Though others may feel the need to go to the site, that fleeting live image suffices for me.

My theater adventure was excellent. I walked everywhere. The weather was perfect. New York is New York. Go see a show.