Picking the right Broadway show... And Yankees game.

One of my best friends I%26#39;ve made in traveling is coming to visit me next month. This will be his first visit to NYC, or overseas at all (he%26#39;s from Budapest)! I%26#39;ve been putting together everything to make sure he has a great time, but I%26#39;m a little stumped on one thing. No, wait. Make that two (edits topic).

In the category of %26#39;classic NYC things to do%26#39; a Broadway show is obviously on the agenda. Although he%26#39;s at least as gay as me, neither of us are serious musical theater afficianados, and would prefer a good laugh to... well, to anything involving Andrew Lloyd Weber.

So we%26#39;re looking at Avenue Q as the favorite, with Wicked, South Pacific, and 9to5 all as backups.

Okay, so picking the show isn%26#39;t stumping me. What%26#39;s stumping me is... HOW SHOULD I GET TICKETS? Are any of these all-but-guaranteed to be for sale at TKTS? Or should I cough up the dough now to secure a spot? My theater friends are of no help, since they always get discounted/free tickets through whatever strange cabal it is they%26#39;re members of.

The same question goes for seeing a Yankees game. I%26#39;ve heard lots of stories about the ticket brokers having to eat a loss and sell for less than face... but I was kind of leaning towards the cheapie bleachers seats anyways. Anyone have experience with buying those ahead of time, and have any recommendations? Also, should I opt for an evening game or a weekend/day game? Advice from folks who have gone to Yankees games for occasions other than winning a ticket in the office raffle would be much appreciated :-)

Picking the right Broadway show... And Yankees game.

I think 9to5 and Avenue Q are your best bets at TKTS. Dave, are you aware you can see what they sold at the booth last week, here:

www.tdf.org/TDF_SupportPage.aspx?id=68%26do=v

I have seen all the shows you mention, with the exception of Wicked (which is NEVER discounted so I imagine you will remove that from your list). I enjoyed 9to5 much more than I expected to; it is a lot of fun. Great cast, lots of laughs.

Avenue Q is great and probably a good pick as I know you like irrevent humor.

Picking the right Broadway show... And Yankees game.

And the general consensus is still that the South Street Seaport booth is less of a wait than Times Square, right? How early should I get there?

check tickets discounts in travelzoo http://shows.travelzoo.com/new-york-shows/

My wife and I went to the TKTS booth at the South Street Seaport and got tickets to Fuerza Bruta. There seemed to be a good selection of shows on sale. Here is the information for this TKTS booth:

At the corner of Front and John Streets, near the rear of the Resnick/ Prudential Building at 199 Water Street.

Hours:

Monday - Saturday: 11am - 6pm

Sunday: 11am - 4pm

J,M,Z,2,3,4,5 to Fulton Street A,C to Broadway-Nassau.

You could get Yankee tickets on line at Stub Hub.

BTW, if you haven%26#39;t seen Avenue Q - you%26#39;re in for a treat.

broadwaybox.com

lets you buy discounted tickets to many shows in advance either by phone, online or you can print out the offer and bring it to the box office. It avoids TKTS booth lines and uncertainty. ALL the shows you listed are generally available that way or at TKTS except Wicked is NEVER discounted.

If neither of you are into musicals, what about a play/non-musical or something a bit more kitsch like Naked Boys Singing? It%26#39;s usually for bachelorette parties but you might enjoy it. ;) Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury is great fun.

Dave, I can%26#39;t help you with the show as I%26#39;m still dying to see South Pacific, Ave Q and 9 to 5.......I don%26#39;t get to visit as often as I%26#39;d like!

I can tell you that I%26#39;ve used stubhub.com twice for Yanks tix and had no problem with them. Prompt service and we never paid more than $60 per ticket (that being the second to last game at the old stadium).

Have fun planning and let us know which show you choose!

nycdave

For advance purchase of discounted tix look at broadwaybox.com and playbill.com. At Playbill you have to be a ';member,'; but its free to join. Avenue Q and 9-5 are both 50% through July. South Pacific was not on right now, but was at 25% off a couple weeks ago.

For Yankees tix, check out the Yankees web site. They have some discounts that anyone can take advantage of for day of game sales, for weekday games, with student ID, Military, seniors, families and just any body:

鈥lb.com/nyy/ticketing/specials.jsp

Any idea how far in advance bleacher seats go up though? Stubhub has %26#39;em already for way out in the season, but it seems like the (cheaper) yankees site only puts them up closer to game day...

Re: Avenue Q: Just checking that your friend will understand American pop culture references and jokes. There%26#39;s references to things like 1980s TV shows, Sesame Street (of course), liberal arts colleges, and lots of slang.

I love the show, but I understand that there are a few ';humor barriers'; that are lost on international visitors.

thanks for the heads up, qb!

Also... night game or weekend(day) game?

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