New York attractions: Broadway

New York City is the theatre capital of the United States, and arguably the English-speaking world. For us, seeing Broadway shows was a priority, and we made time to see two in one day. 

Jordan and Sarah at the floral display in the lobby of My Fair Lady

Tips

Keep in mind that in general, Broadway shows are put on nightly, except Mondays. There are also matinee shows on weekends and sometimes on Wednesdays. This doesn't mean that every show plays every night (the big shows do), but that there are shows every night except Mondays.

Consider the season you're traveling: fall is a big time for new shows to open. By about Christmas time, they're on "winter break," meaning they won't open new shows for a couple months, but the December holiday season is often the busiest time of the year in terms of ticket sales. The rest of the winter can be a good time for serious plays (dramas, tragedies, nonmusicals) to flourish. Spring can see new shows preview and premiere. With the Tony awards in June, ticket sales get a big bump, and tourism drives sales through the summer slump where new shows aren't opening.

Broadway is not a single theatre nor even a single street lined with, but a collection of the top-tier theatres. They're located pretty close to one another in Midtown, but be sure to check the location of your specific theatre.

Broadway shows can run for years if they're popular (think Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and Hamilton). They typically run at the same theatre for their whole run, so some theatres become known at the home of certain shows.

While we typically think of musicals and Broadway as synonymous, there are also plenty of "straight plays"/non musicals.

Every season you're likely to find popular shows, revivals of classics (often with a new twist), and brand new shows.

Finding good shows

If you don't know what to see, here are a few ideas for finding good shows:

Know what you want to see. It's easy to fall into the fallacy of thinking that you should see what's popular--but nobody wants to sit through two hours of a show they hate. If you hate musicals, see a nonmusical play. If you prefer a show where the characters learn and grow, look for a drama. If you need a happy ending, don't see a tragedy. If a classic show is your favorite ever, check to see if this revival has changed the things you love. If you realize you're not a fan of live theatre, it's okay to skip Broadway. There is also amazing live music, opera, and other shows!

Check reviews. Google and even bloggers (gasp) can be your friend here.

Ask your friends. You probably have at least one theatre-loving friend who's heard the buzz about this year's hot shows.

Look at recent awards. Shows that have recently won a Drama Desk or Tony Award are often a good pick. 

Read synopses. If you aren't sure whether a show would be your cup of tea, do your research beforehand and read up on the content and subject of a show.

Consider whether shows are touring. If you live somewhere that you can see national tours of shows, if any of the shows you're thinking about seeing in New York are currently or about to go on a national tour, consider seeing those shows at home and saving your time in New York for more exclusive shows. Simply search for your show plus "national tour" to find out about plans and dates. 

Getting cheap or last-minute tickets

Broadway tickets can easily top $300 per seat. If you're traveling on a budget, or if you decided to wing it like we did, here are some ways to get discounted tickets as late as the day of the show.

TKTS booths are located around Midtown. They sell unsold tickets to shows that day, often at a discount. Popular shows will likely not be available here. If you just want to see any show, you want to see a long-running show, or you're looking for tickets in an off-season, this can be a good option.

TodayTix app: We didn't want to settle for whatever hadn't sold, so we bought our orchestra seat tickets for My Fair Lady for about $100 a seat here and picked them up in person before the show. We were pleased with our seats.

Ticketmaster: this is an official retailer. We also got side orchestra tickets to Wicked for about $100 a seat here. Our seats were okay.

Lotteries: many shows, prominently including Hamilton, offer daily drawings for tickets as cheap as $10. For Hamilton, you enter on their app or website. Search for the show you want to see plus lottery to see if they have one. Only rely on this option if you are on an extremely tight budget or if you can make alternate plans, as the odds are not in your favor. 

Broadwaybox.com offers discount tickets and came recommended to me.

Standby line: in slower seasons especially, the standby line can still get you into a show!

Sales: in off seasons, there are often sales (see August when tourism is beginning to decline).

We saw these shows

We loved the intimate size of the theater at the Vivian Beaumont theatre--we felt like we were right there by the thrust stage. As we perused the playbill, we discovered Henry Higgins was played by Harry Hadden-Paton, AKA Michael Charteris from seasons 1&2 of The Crown! Eliza was played by her understudy, Shereen Ahmed (who, a week later, was cast as Eliza in the national tour). Mrs. Higgins was played by Rosemary Harris, 2019 Lifetime Achievement Tony winner (and mother of Jennifer Ehle, Elizabeth Bennet from the BBC Pride & Prejudice).

Sarah & Jordan at My Fair Lady

The show was absolutely wonderful! Although it had been years (decades?) since we'd seen the 1964 movie, we really loved it. The choreography, the sets, the full orchestra and especially the actors' talent were just breathtaking. The chemistry between the actors and the humor from the secondary characters (especially Col. Pickering and Mrs. Pearce) were delightful. The staging and the ending gave us much to discuss and tease out for weeks afterward.

We also got to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theater. The performances were excellent and the parts were very challenging. The show was great, but we had pretty much fallen in love with My Fair Lady, and it remained our favorite.

The stage at Wicked