[Hans]

OMG

I'm so excited!

A friend of mine, who works at a travel agency got offered very cheap tickets for NY between now and March, and we're planning on going for almost a week in the end of January!

I need tips here. Where can we stay for cheap? How can I get tickets for Broadway shows and find musical related stores? What should we see besides theatre? Who wants meet me there and where? I really had no idea I'd be able to meet MDNers in real life!

Oh, I REALLY hope this will happen!

[High-baritonne]

Please take me with you! God, I miss New York! You have to catch that store between Lion King and Little Mermaid, it has a lot of Musical CD's and sheet music, as well as souvenirs.

[Astonishingg]

Cheap, or VERY cheap? If you're looking for the latter, there are countless hostels and youth hostels all around the city. I probably won't be much help as far as hotels go, though - any of the ones I know of around midtown are probably far from cheap. My advice would be to look for hotels in the UWS or downtown on the west side... much better rates than you'll get in midtown.

During weekdays, go up to the box offices before the show and try to rush them - check out playbill.com for more specific information on rushes for each show. Otherwise, I'd suggest broadwaybox.com. If the show isn't selling crazy well, print out the broadwaybox.com coupon and bring it to the box office personally at any point at the beginning of your trip to save yourself all the extra charges.

Some fun places to stop would be any of the Broadway New York stores, Colony, and the Drama Book Shop. There are five BNY stores - Broadway New York, New York Photo (not so theatre-y), and Broadway Baby (geared more towards kids) are all right beneath the Marriot Marquis - on Broadway, go to 45th. Theatre Circle is on 44th, just east of 8th Ave, and then One Shubert Alley is in Shubert Alley (it's a small alley that runs parallel to 7th/8th aves between 44th and 45th street). Colony Music (best place ever for vocal scores/selections/any music) is on Broadway at... 49th? If not 49th, then 50th. It's fun to browse around. And then the Drama Book Shop is on 40th, between 8th and 7th - though it's a little bit hard to find if you're not looking too closely. That's another fun place to stroll through, they have sooo many plays.

Oh, and while not super theatrical, Triton Gallery is worth mentioning - I'm not positive where it is. I checked the website, which says 44th and 9th, but I'm pretty sure they moved their location, and I feel like that's the old one - anyways, if it's still there, then it's in a big office/retail building, and up some floors. It is ridiculous going through there - they have posters from pretty much every Broadway musical evarrr, and they don't jack up the prices much either. So yeah, check it out.

Any more questions/specifics, feel free to ask

[Brother Marvin Hinten, S.]

Three words:

AVOID. HOTEL. CARTER.

Trust me on this. The price will be tempting, but avoid it at all costs.

[idTAPthat89]

I'm taking my first trip to NYC soon too! And I live in NY state..imagine that. I'll be there December 12th and I'm seeing Mary Poppins

[Jekkienumber24601]

[Jekkienumber24601]

[Yakko]

ME WANNA GO NYC!

[Jekkienumber24601]

MDN NY TRIP next year....who's in?

[idTAPthat89]

[Quique]

That's awesome! You're one of the few I'd love to meet. I won't be anywhere near NYC in January though. =(

[Hans]

I'll land there the 26th of J.!

What shall I do? I'll be staying in a hotel in the middle of Mahattan!

Recommend me stores to buy sheet music, cast recording, posters from musicals, playbills, soundtracks etc!

[Quique]

I'd love to kidnap Dvarg and force him into a performance of Phantom.

[Hans]

Haha, I have actually seen POTO. In London.

[BwayJuvinile]

[Quique]

Is Colony Records still there?

It was a cast album Disneyland last time I was in there (loooong time ago--2000).

[Jman383]

Oh, Colony is still there. But it's very overpriced IMO. I mean, it gets the job done, and has SO much, but still. If you're looking for sheet music, I'd just use amazon. But they DO have nice Bway collectables, so you mine as well take a look. I BELIEVE it's on 49th and Bway, but it could be between 50th and 49th or 49th and 48th, I forget.

[shakalakababy]

colony had stuff I couldn't even find on amazon though. But I suppose it is a bit overpriced...

By some miracle I may be going to New York again this summer, though probably not till juneish. Either way as long as I get to see ALNM i'm good

[jackrussell]

Colony is quite probably my favourite shop in the world - I can live with the prices because they have such a wide range, and I'm guessing rents in that location must be pretty high, so I feel I should encourage them to keep going by buying something whenever I visit NY; also it serves as a souvenir of the trip.

[Hans]

So, then, what shall I wear?

What is the weather like in NY?

Are everybody dressing painfully fashionable 25/7?

Packing drives me NUTS!

[What you own]

Oh Dvarg if I was old enough I would so want to come and see you!! Espically since it will be regents week and I might be in the city arould that time. Now in bryant park they have free ice skating, which can be alot of fun. And I mean really when are you going to find something free in the city?

Of course where you go all depends on how touristy you want to be... There is aplace on 51st and broadway, Called Ellens stardust diner. Which is this diner that serves really good food and all the waiters and waitresses sing Broadway showtunes! Another good place is Bubba Gump, which is all themed to the movie Forest Gump. But, both of these places are very touristy. If thats not what your going for then stay away!

Pretty much all of Times Sqaure is a tourist trap...

Now I don't know alot about Norway or there history, So you could very easily not be impressed by this, if you have things that are like 400 years old..But The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are fun, its over 100 years old, and has some great histroy. (Also some people may say the statue belongs to New Jersey..Don't believe them!!) The Tenement museam on the Lower East Side seems pretty cool. But becuase I have never gotten the chance to go there I can't say for my self.

THINGS NOT TO DO IN THE CITY!!

People will try to scam you.Be very careful with your money. If it sounds to good to be true, its a scam. If people tell you to play card games, and other games of chance where it requires you to bet your money, DO NOT DO IT! People will charge you 3 bucks instead of 1.50.

If you want to save money try not to take cabs. Walking and the subway are your best bets. Driving is the worst way to get arould the city.

There is a street called Houston street. Its pronuced HOUSE-ton.

Ahhhh the vendors of NYC, Selling there multicolored scarfs, and bags and other stuff... They are knockoffs, just to let you know. If you like knockoffs then its prefect! And you can get some really good knockoffs. Good thing about vendors is bargining. Something you can't do in normal stores. Also if Knockoffs are what you crave then go to Chinatown! Land of the knockoffs!

The city is home to a varity of wildlife, Animals that make there home in the city include, but are not limited to Rats, Cockroaches, and Pigeons.

WHEATHER!!

Right now its been pretty chilly. Its no longer snowing, which is good, but its usally arould somewhere in the 20's.

STYLE
Well the fashion all depends on where you go.... If you go to the business section expect to see a bunch of people in suits, If you go down town.. Your going to get an intresting varity of style. Alot of vintage. But I wouldn't worry about it to much.

I if I could I would spend all day telling you about stuff in the city, but alas my home work is calling... Now alot of what you do all depends on what kind of stuff you want to see... Some good websites are

http://www.notfortourists.com/Features.aspx?ID=235&city=NY

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/

http://abandonedny.com/categories.html

http://gonyc.about.com/od/bestofnewyorkcity/tp/topattractions.htm

I'll try to give you more information on tickets when my Homeworks is out of the way.

[Brother Marvin Hinten, S.]

Repeating in case my advice was lost...

Avoid. Hotel. Carter. At all costs.

[sylvesterm11]

[Hans]

[Pounce]

How about seeing the David Letterman show?

You have to request tickets and I guess they use a lottery? But it is free.

http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/tickets/

[musialman]

so jelous. My family is from the city but we only get there once a year now. If you get down to the village, there are some great cheap resturants and Washington Square is really cool.

[SomeoneLikeYou]

[sylvesterm11]

[neen]

[Hans]

Well, Morten and I went to New York, then.

IT WAS SENSATIONAL.


Educated as I am, I have had a lot of prejudice regarding this very strange town. In a way the image of The Big Apple sums up the image of the modern world. In another way New York is so very, very far away from Norway - in every imaginable regard.

First we went through the Netherlands (is there really anybody who recognise any difference between the Netherlands and Holland, by the way? Nerds.). It was body scanning, and everything that is fun. Not.

The actual flight from Europe to America was a hoot, though. Although I failed, and chose to watch This Is It on the aeroplane video thing. Was really That That? I’ve never been an MJ fan (sorry Mia Julie), and even less now.

Then we landed.

HAH.

It was the most hostile reception ever. OF COURSE I wouldn’t have admitted it if I were a terrorist.

By a lucky chance, Morten proves to be an autist, and therefore can guide us (him and me) through the maze that is the (straight) line from the airport to Broadway to our hotel. WHICH PROVES TO BE COLLEST HOLTEL EVER!

If you ever go to NY, stay at the ACE Hotel! Ninth Street, or something (I’m making the addresses up, because I never remember addresses). The personnel is dressed really relaxed and cool, and the rooms are very nice. I think ours was called BUNK FUNK, or something suggestive along those tacky lines. Me likey.

So. We found our remarkable hotel, and went down Broadway, to even out the time difference by staying up until the local time which would correspond with Norwegian time. We also had to eat. These factors lead us to something called Stage [hmmhmumblemmmh], which is a place to eat alongside Broadway. It features posters of Broadway shows, which immediately won my uncritical trust.

There was BATB, ALNM, Tarzan, WSS et al. And a menu that includes three layers’ sandwiches inspired by Broadway legends. INCLUDING MY HERO STEPHEN SONDHEIM!

The Stephen Sondheim-Sandwich is TOO LARGE. And it comes with a SMALL CUCUMBER. What is THAT supposed to symbolise?

We went home, doggy bags full of Stephen Sondheim sandwich. It had been a glorious meeting with New York.

Our second day in NY was characterised by tension. The tension was mine, fearing I would not get to see a Broadway show. But I did my best to not show my inner turmoil.

I don’t know if I was convincing.

Anyway, we bought some tickets for a guided tour. It was very scary paying for those tickets. Not onlu was the ticker seller an Afro-American. He was also not Norwegian. Can one trust those?

We were naïve, and did.

Turned out that was a double-edged sword.

We enjoyed a series of awful guides. Our first bus guide had an unhealthy hung up on Macy’s, the World’s Largest and Most Boring Shopping Mall (except Gulskogen Senteret in Drammen).

After an hour or so of Macy’s-facts on lower Manhattan, Morten and I searched out jollier places, like Ground Zero. Which is the opposite of a hoot. One would at least expect to observe a few corpse legs sticking out of a ruin heap. But no. Boring.

Our next stop was Battery Park. Whicjh I know like my own pocket after having listened to the song in Kristina Från Duvemåla, the musical! Or so I thought.

Battery Park is a pathetic little patch of land with a pathetic little fortress.

Battery Park also has a very strict security check.

But anyway, at last we could SEE IT! The LARGE SYMBOL which IS New York and USA: Miss Liberty. She’s green. And her island features the most awful fast food restaurant I’ve experienced. And a stone from Norwegians who have provided the metal she’s constructed of. Cool.

Then we went to that island where the immigrants were accepted or rejected. The tension was still sharp as a knife. Would I ever get to attend an actual Broadway show?

By ferry we again reached the boring port of Battery Park. WOULD I EVER GET TO ATTEND AN ACTUAL BROADWAY SHOW?

After a while trying to find the next stop for the guide bus, we at last reached the place where my discount booth for tickets for A BROADWAY SHOW turned up.

Let me recount the background story.

Angela Lansbury is perhaps (or most certainly) known for her role as the sleuth Jessica Fletcher ( HAS THERE BEEN A MURDER?), which I assume is a rather aunty role. She has nevertheless been piled down for years of Tony awards, and now she’s starring as Mme Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, the Sondheim musical based on the Ingmar Bergman movie Sommarnattens Leende. And that cool voice of hers! I was under the impression everybody in the world was aware of this historical fact. So I also assumed, thinking that people are as cultivated and tasteful as I am.

Guess not: TURNS OUT THERE ARE LOTS OF TICKETS FOR A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. Catherine Z-J also has a role in this Trevor Nunn-directed production (he first gained fame by directing Les Misérables).

I bought two tickets, of course.

The rest of the day is in a haze. I WAS GOING TO SEE ANGELA LANSBURY.

WE were.

When we finally reached the theatre, it was a mixed feeling, I must admit.

The actual show is an undoubted masterpiece. The direction is less so.

It was nevertheless SENSATIONAL.

Angela does things with Mme Armfeldt that you don’t expect from Mme Armfeldt, but that you realise you want from LANSBURY’s Armfeldt.

CZ-J has a – what’s the word? – husky (?) voice that makes her a worthy Desirée. The Anne is too hysterical, the Charlotte is too sad, the Henrik is too depressed, the men are too boring.

But there’s LANSBURY.

Morten also almost understood some of the texts.

And then we went home to enjoy more bunk funk at Ace Hotel.

“Bunk Funk” is here used as a comical metaphor. As a metaphor for “sleep”.

The next day was almost as tensious. Would I ever get the chance to attend my SECOND Broadway show? Only time would tell.

As we are Norvegians, we are used to low temperature. Or so we thought. Of course hwat this meant in reality is that since we are Nowegians, we believe we are acclimated to low temperature where ever we are. Turns out low temperature in NY is colder than low temperature most places elsewhere.

That’s embarrassing.

It was really cold, and as Norwegians, it is impossible to admit it.

At any ratem though, I think we were doing something this day to. Oh, yes, it was the second day of our guided bus tour.

The guide was – if possible – worse than yesterday’s Macy’s-fixed guide. It was also snowing, so whatever this guide tried to show us was all lost in the slush. We passed by Yoko Ono’s apartment at some time, though. I sent a text message to Hallvard if I should make a prank call on her door and run away, but he was too indifferent to answer. I know he hates Yoko, though.

After a while in this uneventful bus, Morten and I decided to get lost in Central Park, though. And so we did.

[Quique]

You saw a Broadway show. WITH Lansbury. Hooray!

I feel for you. I've learned, after taking a 2 hour bus tour of downtown Chicago, that unless you're absolutely fascinated by architecture, traffic, and double decker buses, DON'T bother. It's a waste of time and money and the most boring two hours that you could've spent doing cool things like exploring Central Park or catching a last minute matinee on Broadway.

New York City is a wonderfully trashy place, isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I visited--the trash heaps, dilapidated buildings, and odors added a nice jolt of reality, to say the least.

But then there's Broadway and suddenly nothing else matters.

[ActingDude17]

Angela Lansbury was in your very first Broadway show?! I'd say you came off very well!