Taking Four Young Women to Broadway

Posted by Bruce Miller

The theatre gods (and The League of American Theaters and Pro-ducers) smiled on my daughter Hannah and me in mid-October. For a couple months, Hannah and her friends had been planning a theatre weekend in New York. (Hannah and her friends are in the foreground of the photo shown above, standing with four of the stars of A Chorus Line: Heather Parcells, Katherine Tokarz, Deidre Goodwin and Will Taylor.)

When their high school drama teacher was unable to accompany them on their dream tour of Broadway, they recruited me and another dad, Tony Oates, to serve as drowsy chaperones. Tony is a former Theatre IV Board member and the father of the young Tony Oates who was in our production of The Wizard of Oz last spring.

My daughter and her pals (Lizzie Holland, Rebekah Hupp and Nathalie Oates) are all very responsible young women—juniors at Trinity Episcopal High School. I was looking forward to spending time with them and getting to know my daughter’s friends.

The airfares were paid, the hotel rooms were booked, and the tickets were secured (at a discount via Broadway Box). Then on the Tuesday before our departure, labor negotiations broke down between the stagehands and the producers. For a few days it looked like the producers would call for a lockout, causing most Broadway theatres to shut down just about the time we were scheduled to be taxiing to the gate at JFK.

But fate was on our side. The labor dispute was put on hold, and everything went according to Hoyle.

Upcoming holiday travelers may not be as fortunate. On Oct 21, one week after our return to Richmond, the stagehand members of Local One voted unanimously to empower their leadership to call a strike during the month of December, when Broadway ticket sales are at their peak. Local One has never staged a strike before, and they have promised to give advance notice if they decide to call for one now. In the interim, negotiations are continuing between the stagehands and the producers. Hopefully everything will be resolved.

The last strike to close down Broadway lasted four days in 2003, and was called by the musicians union. Should a strike occur this December, the producers have promised full refunds and/or exchanges for all ticket holders.

Anyway, back to our October theatre weekend. We flew JetBlue, leaving Richmond at 6 a.m. Saturday morning and pulling our chairs up to the table for blueberry pancakes at the Evergreen on 47th Street by 9 a.m. For more info on how to get from JFK into Manhattan, click the label at the foot of this post that says “NYC on a Budget,” then scroll down through this post and you’ll come to “A Broadway Weekend – Part II: NYC on a Budget” (March 29, 2007).

We flew home on Sunday night at around 10 p.m. It was a whirlwind weekend, but we were able to see three shows in two days, spending only one night away from home.

I learned two new things this trip that were not included in my March 29 blog post.

Number One – There is now a $25 MetroCard that gives you twelve rides on the AirTrain (normally $5 each) instead of five. You buy the new $25 card at the appropriate machines just before you exit the AirTrain terminal on your way into Manhattan. Using this card, each of our AirTrain rides cost $2.17 instead of $5, saving the six of us $35 on the arriving and departing AirTrain trips. This $25 MetroCard doesn’t work on the subways, only on the AirTrain. You can still buy the $20 MetroCard for the subways, which actually gives you twelve subway rides instead of ten.

Number Two – When traveling with parties larger than four, and using either of the above mentioned MetroCards for the AirTrain or the subway, you can let four people through the turnstile on one card, but then you have to wait 18 minutes before using the card at this same stop for persons number five and six or more. It’s a crazy rule, because if you go to the clerk to explain the problem, they immediately issue you a new MetroCard that allows the remaining people to go through. Clearly they don’t mind you using one card for groups larger than four, but the turnstile computer won’t let you until you trade your MetroCard in with the clerk.

We arrived at the Millennium Broadway Hotel at around 10 a.m. The Millennium can be accessed from both 45th Street and 44th Street, and is located mid-block between Broadway (7th) and Avenue of the Americas (6th). They let us check our bags and suggested that we return at noon for an early check-in. The regular check-in time is 4 p.m., but we were able to check-in to three of our four rooms by 12:15.

The Millennium is a terrific bargain right now. It is a relatively new and very comfortable hotel (downright Ritzy by my standards), and currently offers some great deals that you can discover at http://www.millenniumhotels.com/millenniumnewyork/index.html. I recommend it highly.

In future posts, I’ll talk about the shows we saw, the street festival we visited, and some of the Barksdale/Theatre IV alum who are now starring on the Great White Way.

And if and when I hear any news about the possible strike, I’ll be sure to pass it along via this blog.

--Bruce Miller

(Added Sat. 11/10 - The Stagehand's union went on strike today, shutting down over 2 dozen Broadway productions. See this MSNBC article for details.)

They Say the Neon Lights are Bright ...

Feel the need for a New York theatre weekend this fall?

The JetBlue Fall Fare Sale started today, and you can book round trip flights between Richmond and New York JFK for $49 one way, exclusive of taxes and fees. You can fly up on a Thursday morning and fly back on a Monday morning, and the total round trip airfare, including all taxes and fees, is $118.80. Or, you can fly up on a Friday morning and fly back on Sunday evening, and the total round trip fare, including all taxes and fees, is $178.80.

Either way, it’s a great deal.

The sale is valid for travel between September 5 and November 14, with a few exceptions. Mid-week fares are the cheapest; Friday and Sunday fares are the most expensive. To take advantage of the sale price, you must book by August 8.
Go to JetBlue to make your reservations on line. For detailed information about the best way to travel between JFK Airport and midtown Manhattan, click on “NYC on a Budget” in the labels listed at the bottom of this post, then scroll down to my March blog post about economy tips for NYC theatre trips.

Shows run on and Off Broadway on Thursday nights, Friday nights, Saturday matinees, Saturday nights, Sunday matinees and Sunday nights. Check schedules to see which shows run in which slots.

Phil and Donna Whiteway and their two teenage sons recently stayed at the Howard Johnson Penn Station (AKA Regency Inn and Suites) on 34th Street between 7th and 8th. It is an economy hotel - nothing fancy at all, but it's an easy and safe walk from the theatre district. It's in a safe neighborhood, has clean rooms, and is usually available. Best of all, they booked on SideStep.com and paid only $190 per night, a great rate for NYC.

Several Broadway shows now offer a limited number of "day of show" rush tickets at really good prices, usually $25 or less. Sometimes the rush tickets are limited to students with IDs (or a student and "companion" - in my case "parent"), but often they're not. Also, when shows are selling out, you can frequently get standing room tickets (SR or SRO) for similar prices. I stood in London for Guys and Dolls just a few months ago, and my 56-year old body had no problem with it. There's usually a place to lean.

You can get lots more info on all aspects of what's up on Broadway at http://www.talkinbroadway.com/ . On the home page of this great site, click On the Boards / Rush and SRO, for a PARTIAL list of what's playing. You'll find most of the hit titles. At the end of each listing, they'll tell you what your options are for rush and/or standing room tickets.

Finally, if you are going up with kids, I've saved a link to an article by Liz Pulliam Weston. It's probably 6 months old, but it includes more budget tips for families. Visit it here.

I hope some or all of this helps.

And if you make it to Broadway, remember that the late great Martha Newell asked all her Richmond theatre friends to shout out her name each time we make it up to the Great White Way.

--Bruce Miller

Mr. Tuggle Goes to NYC

It is not often that you are able to say you don’t mind having dirt kicked on you, but when it’s being kicked by Kevin Spacey and Eve Best, it’s a little different. Let it never be said that you can’t find a good discount in New York, as this weekend I went to see Talk Radio and A Moon for the Misbegotten both as part of the theatres’ student rush ticket programs. For “Moon” we ended up in row AA, the row that was added on IN FRONT of the front row, specifically for student rush tickets. To give you an idea of how close we were, the stage was sitting over my legs like a desk. It was quiet an experience.

We saw Talk Radio on Friday night, and it lived up to all of its hype. I am very skeptical about “movie stars” moving onto the Broadway stage, and this was no exception, in spite the fact that Liev Schreiber (The Manchurian Candidate, The Omen) had some notable stage credentials. He of course got entrance applause when he entered onstage for the first time, which always irks me. I would prefer not to applaud an actor on his previous accomplishments and disrupt his current labors, but give them a hearty ovation once I have seen the work.

The play is about a talk radio host, and is virtually a one man show, with other actors stepping in momentarily for brief witty retorts, or to give information about their relationship with the central character, for really no other reason that to build the dynamic protagonist. All of these things lead to the fact that the “hero”, or “anti-hero” in this case, must be a very strong performer. I would not rank it amongst the best productions I have ever seen, but it was well worth the time and meager price.


A Moon for the Misbegotten on the other hand trumps virtually ever other play I have seen, in the realm of artistic merit. Taking on a Eugene O’Neill opus is a hearty task, but through their intensive energy, and conscious effort to not make it melancholy to the point of gloom, the cast and director developed a fantastic product.

The play was staged by the Old Vic Theatre, based in London, and then transported to Broadway after a great run in its home theatre. Kevin Spacey is not only one of the stars of the play, but also the Artistic Director of the theatre. He put on a fantastic performance, as would be expected, but was outshined remarkably by the shows heroin Eve Best.

Looking through Eve Best’s credits in the playbill looks more like a theatre history reading list, than a career. She has played some of the toughest roles for a modern actor, and this experience was evident in performance. Her ability to take the tough bull like qualities of Josie, which are apparent in the script, and intertwine them with humor and light heartedness is what made her such a lovable character capable of so much pathos. She moved the audience with her, from giddy child-like love, to the deep anguishes of a wasted life, without a single misstep.

Both shows, and the trip as a whole were fantastic. A Moon for the Misbegotten only has an eight-week run, so if you are in New York soon and have a chance to see it, do not pass it up at any cost. It will give you a love for O’Neill you never thought possible.

Brad Tuggle
Assistant to the Managing Director
Barksdale Theatre / Theatre IV


**Here is a great interview with Kevin Spacey about A Moon for the Misbegotten. In the interview he also talks about what an amazing experience live theatre is-not only for the actor but for the audience as well.

Kevin Spacey Interview

Special Hotel Rates in NYC

I received a lot of response regarding cheap hotels in NYC. Thanks.

One anonymous respondent passed on this offer, which I know nothing about but I’m happy to relay. If you’re interested, the offer apparently can be accessed through Hotels.com.

The centrally-located Radisson Lexington in midtown Manhattan (near Rockefeller Center) is offering rooms at $135 to $179 per night, which is a great deal for NYC in the Spring. Travel is valid on select dates through July. Some sample travel dates and rates are:

Rooms at $135 per night – May 13, 28; June 17; July 2 – 4
Rooms at $143 per night – April 8
Rooms at $152 per night – June 24, July 5
Rooms at $161 per night – April 29
Rooms at $169 per night – June 10, July 1 and 6
Rooms at $179 per night – April 9, 15; May 6

Like I said, I know nothing about this, but you can check it out for yourself at Hotels.com. Good luck!

A Broadway Weekend - Part II: NYC on a Budget

As I stated in Part I of this blog entry, my daughter and I had the chance to share a NYC theatre weekend a few days ago. We flew from Richmond to NYC, spent two nights at the Milford Plaza, saw four Broadway musicals (see our “reviews” in Part I, found below), and did it all for less than $705 each, which I think is a pretty good deal.

I’ll be frank—money is tight in the Miller family. I know, blowing $1,410 for a New York theatre weekend is extravagant by the standards of most of the world. But theatre is one of my passions; bonding with each of my kids is another. So, for me, it was money well spent.

And it was money carefully spent. It would be easy to say goodbye to over $2 to $3 K during a New York weekend, but we worked hard to control expenses while still having a terrific time. If you care about saving money too, here are a few budget strategies that we employed and that you may find useful.

Transportation - $195.60 for the two of us

I was sitting at my computer in January when Jet Blue sent out an email alerting me to a 3-day fare sale. The headline trumpeted “NYC for $49.” Now, of course, when Jet Blue talks about a $49 fare, they’re talking one way, before taxes and other airport fees. Nonetheless, this sounded cheap to me, and so I went to their website and began exploring exact fares for specific dates. I soon realized that flying up on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and returning Monday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. offered the cheapest flights. I then explored various weekends before finding the weekend of March 24. For whatever reason, if we flew up on March 24 and flew back on March 26, fares were only $29 each way. So I booked our flights. Our total airfare bill on Jet Blue, Richmond to JFK New York, came to $157.60 for two roundtrip tickets including all taxes and fees. What a deal!

The cheapest, quickest, and by my mind most relaxing way to travel from JFK into Manhattan is by AirTrain and subway. The shuttle vans are way too time consuming, claustrophobic and expensive. And who can afford a cab? The AirTrain / subway combo costs $5.60, if you do it right, and the trip takes about 50 minutes (30 minutes less than waiting for and taking the shuttle).

When you disembark from your plane, follow the signs for Ground Transportation. You’ll soon see signs for the AirTrain—follow them. Once you get to the AirTrain, take the train to Jamaica Center. It’s all very clearly marked and easy to do. You don’t pay for the AirTrain until the end of your AirTrain experience. After getting off the AirTrain, follow the signs to the NYC Subway, and just before going through the exit turnstile, purchase your MetroCard at the automatic machines that are just to your right. You can use your credit or debit card to purchase a MetroCard worth $24 for only $20 (saving 20%). $14 of that $24 will be spent paying for the two AirTrain rides you just completed ($5 each full fare, $4 each after saving the 20%) and the two subway trips you’re just about to take ($2 each full fare, $1.60 each after saving the 20%).

Once you have your MetroCard, swipe it to exit through the turnstiles, and then follow signs to the E train. Again, it’s clearly marked and easy to do. When you enter the subway station, you’ll swipe your MetroCard again, and then follow signs to the E train heading into Manhattan. Board the E train and you’ll have a comfortable and safe 30 to 45 minute ride into the city, depending on time of day. On Saturday mornings the ride is very quick.

I get off the subway at 7th and 53rd, because I like to walk a little before arriving at my hotel. But, depending on where you’re staying, you can get off earlier (Lexington and 53rd, 5th Ave and 53rd) or later (8th Ave and 50th, 8th Ave and 42nd). Wherever you get off, it should be a short walk to your hotel.

All told, our transportation expenses amounted to $195.60—$157.60 for airfare, $30 for MetroCards (you’ll see where the extra $10 comes in in a couple paragraphs), and $18 for parking in Economy Lot C at the Richmond Airport.

Hotel - $482.45 for the two of us

There are two hotels I use the most in NYC, because they are cheap (relative to other NYC hotels), clean and centrally located. They are the Edison on 47th Street between Broadway and 8th Ave, and the Milford Plaza on 8th Ave between 45th and 44th. If you know of other alternatives in or near the theatre district, please let me know. I’ve had hit-or-miss experiences in NYC using PriceLine, so I never use that service when going up with my family.

Again, a budget strategy is to book early. The later you wait, the more expensive the hotel rates will be. Also, the economy hotels in particular tend to fill up early.

If you book the Edison early enough, you can get a mini-suite (one queen bed and one sofa bed—plenty of room for my economy-minded family of four) for $225 before taxes and fees (high seasons may be more). You can get a room with one double or two twin beds at the Edison for $185. Rates at the Milford are more variable, and often slightly higher. We paid $239 for two twin beds on Saturday night, and $169 for the same room on Sunday night--go figure. The Edison is the hotel I go to first, but it usually books up before the Milford. One note about the Edison, on Friday and Saturday nights, the street noise coming from the late-night clubs on 47th Street can be really loud and last till 4 a.m. If you’re there on a Friday or Saturday, ask for a room that does NOT have windows on 47th Street.

All told, our hotel bill at the Milford Plaza amounted to $482.45 for a Saturday and Sunday night stay, two twin beds in a nonsmoking room on the 23rd floor, including the extensive taxes and fees added to every hotel bill in NYC.

Theatre Tickets - $520 for the two of us

Because we were arriving on a Saturday morning, we purchased our Saturday matinee tickets for Curtains in advance using BroadwayBox.com. If you’re not familiar with this web site, you should be. It’s your best opportunity to purchase discounted tickets in advance. Our Curtains tickets were perfect seats, 9th row center orchestra. We bought them on BroadwayBox.com for $81.50, which included a $3 per ticket service charge for ordering on line and a $1.50 per ticket theatre restoration charge. Regular price tickets are $114.50 if you order them on line or over the phone. So we saved 29% ($66 for the two of us) by using BroadwayBox.com.

But we elected to save more than 29% on our other tickets by purchasing them on the half-price TKTS line. When we arrived on Saturday morning, we checked into the Milford at 10 a.m.—yes, they had a room ready, which surprised the heck out of me. We then immediately got on the subway just outside the Milford’s door (8th Ave and 44th) and took the A train downtown to the second TKTS outlet at South Street Seaport (the C train would have worked just as well—just remember to follow the signs to Downtown). We got off the train at the Broadway Nassau stop and exited onto Fulton Street. Taking a right on Fulton, we walked a few short blocks to South Street Seaport, passing a Duane Reade pharmacy on the way. The closest ATM machine to the South Street Seaport TKTS booth is just inside the door of Duane Reade. Remember, the TKTS booths in NYC take cash only—no credit or debit cards, no personal checks.

The TKTS booth at South Street Seaport opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. On Saturday mornings, the Times Square TKTS booth sells only Saturday matinee tickets. However, on Saturday mornings the South Street Seaport TKTS booth sells only Saturday evening and Sunday matinee tickets. We already had our Saturday matinee tickets, so that’s why we headed to South Street Seaport.

To reach the ticket booth, walk down Fulton and cross Water Street. One block after Water Street, turn right onto Front Street and walk one block. The TKTS booth is on the corner of Front Street and John Street—just look for the line. But remember, the line at South Street is much shorter than the line at Times Square. We waited in line approximately 15 minutes and then purchased half price tickets for Grey Gardens on Saturday night and Spring Awakening on Sunday afternoon. Our Grey Gardens seats were great (rear orchestra, two seats off a center aisle), and our Spring Awakening seats were front row orchestra. That’s right, several times I’ve purchased front row seats at the South Street TKTS booth, because most ticket buyers don’t like to sit in the front row.

The best part of this particular TKTS booth experience was meeting the woman standing in front of us in line. She turned out to be a Williamsburg resident, and a subscriber to Theatre IV’s children’s theatre programs in Newport News. It was great to meet someone who not only knew and respected our work here in Virginia, but who was also a savvy NYC theatre lover. As fate would have it, we sat in the row just behind her and her husband that evening at Grey Gardens.

More and more Broadway shows now have Sunday evening as well as Sunday matinee performances, which I think is wonderful. To buy our half price Color Purple tickets, we left the Spring Awakening matinee at approximately 4, walked to the TKTS booth which is temporarily on 46th Street, stood in line for about 15 minutes, and then purchased our first choice of shows.

Each of our half price tickets was $56.50 (full price is $113) plus a $3 TKTS booth charge. All told, we spent $520 for the two of us to see four Broadway shows, including all service charges etc. If we had paid full price for the exact same tickets, and purchased them via the internet or telephone, we would have paid $925. In other words, by using the various discount opportunities, we saved $405 (44%). And we had great seats for each show, and saw exactly the shows we wanted to see. This is not always the case. This time, we lucked out.

Food – Approximately $210 for six meals for the two of us

You can go to NYC and eat great for a lot of money. Or you can make up your mind to eat modestly for a little money. Because we don’t have money, we usually choose Option B. Saturday lunch, we ate at the food court on the third floor of the South Street Seaport. My daughter the vegetarian and I shared a make-your-own salad and Broccoli and Chicken over fried rice. The meal was healthy and delicious and came to $13 with no tip. Saturday evening between shows, we ate at Food Emporium on 49th and 8th. The food here is also delicious and the selection is amazing. Our total dinner came in at under $20. You get the picture. Other cheap eateries that earn our support are the great little café off the lobby of the Edison Hotel on 47th, the Evergreen (especially for breakfast) on 47th just east of Broadway, and Smiths, located just across 8th Ave from the Milford. Our one splurge was ordering from the vegetable, cheese and seafood anti-pasta bar at Bond 45 on 45th Street, just east of Broadway. We had a delicious Sunday evening dinner for around $50, including tip. And, as a former waiter, I’m a good tipper.

When you add it all together, I think we did well on keeping costs low.

Grand Total - $1,408.05 for the two of us; $704.03 each!