Folks come from all over the country and the world to see theatre in NYC. I've had the privilege of seeing great plays and musicals in cities outside of NYC, but I think the number of quality shows available for entertainment in NYC is hard to match. In the last couple of years, I've enjoyed, among others, the Blue Man Group, Stomp, Avenue Q, Memphis, Wicked, Chicago, The Merchant of Venice, The Phantom of the Opera, and today I went to see The Addams Family.
I didn't go with high expectations, after all I watched the black and white television series in re-runs when I was a child and I thought it was going to be a little hokey. However, I really think Nathan Lane is riotously funny so I wanted to see what he might do in the role of Gomez Addams. He was great in the production of The Producers that I saw in LA about 6 or 7 years ago, and I loved him in the movie, The Bird Cage.
He was funny (yes, as expected) but surprisingly he also was great at carrying a tune. Unfortunately Bebe Neuwirth (who played Lilith Crane on
Cheers) who normally plays Morticia Addams was out and we had understudy, Becca Ayers, but she was great too. The main normal cast is pictured at right (an excerpt from the playbill). They had fantastic sets, great singing and dancing numbers, and an original story (not a re-hash of an old television episode) that kept moving. I especially loved the humor and levity with which the cast seemed to enjoy the production. The numerous references to other classic shows like The Honeymooners and the multi-layered story-telling made this enjoyable for young and old.
Folks generally know about same day tickets available at a discount at the tkts booth in Times Square, but I would recommend looking up discounted tickets online. Then you can plan and pick what and when you want to see a play and pick your seats from an online seating chart. I got ours on www.theatermania.com last week and got half price tickets in the 10th row orchestra section. How great is that? Enjoy!
I went to the NY Botanical Garden especially for the annual Orchid Show (March 5-April 24), which is exhibited in the beautiful Victorian-style Enid A. Haupt Conservatory (see above right). Here you show your admission ticket ($20 for adults; but currently there are $13.50 tickets available on www.goldstar.com) to gain entry to an amazing array of flowers, cacti, and plants of all types. This year, the orchids are amassed to form extravagant displays reminiscent of great Broadway theaters (see the Walter Kerr Theater-inspired proscenium arch at left) with music from various Broadway shows playing in the background. Words will not do the exhibit justice, so I have just included photos of some of the spectacular displays to hopefully inspire you to visit the gardens too.
I would also recommend taking the narrated tram tour of the gardens; you cover a lot of ground and get a great overview of the physical gardens, their future plans and their history. You can get on and off the tram at various stops, but the tour starts every 15 minutes by the reflecting pool just beyond the lines of cherry trees and the gift shop at the main entrance. The ride covers the main highlights of the gardens beyond the conservatory and points out a good sampling of the over 1 million species (see the Jade Vine from the Philippines below) at the gardens. It was great to see and hear about the 200 year old trees and original first cut forests from when the early settlers came to the New Amsterdam (now NY) area. The history of the gardens (originally conceived as a copy of London's Kew Gardens) is really interesting, and I was heartened by all of the study, preservation and research that goes on at the gardens.
