Fall is a wonderful time to plan a “theater” visit to New York to catch the latest on and off Broadway productions. Coupled with dinner stops at some of New York’s finest restaurants, you’ll be set for a delightful extended weekend in the Big Apple. Here are some of our picks:
Combination Number One:
The Show: The Drowsy Chaperone: Winner of five Drama Critics’ Awards from its successful run in Los Angeles, this “Musical Within a Comedy” is now in the process of taking New York City by storm. The Drowsy Chaperone is the ultimate in entertainment, originality and Tony Award-Winning Talent. It was also the winner of two 2006 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score!
The Dinner: One if By Land, Two if By Sea, 17 Barrow Street, is located in the heart of the West Village, with dinner seatings starting at 5:30pm. That will give you plenty of time to make an 8 o’clock curtain. Executive Chef Gary Volkov offers a delicious menu, and several ways to enjoy it, including: A Prix Fixe Menu that includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert, all for only $69.
A Tasting Menu, priced at $95. Entrées include Rack of Berkshire Pork, Roasted Monkfish, Spice-Marinated Maine Lobster, Guinea Ham and Foie Gras en Papillote, as well as delicious beef and vegetarian selections.
Combination Number Two:
The Show: A Chorus Line: If you missed this Broadway sensation the first time around, now is your chance to experience the longest-running American musical in theater history. With nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it’s our pick for favorite resurrection.
The Dinner: Morrell Wine Bar & Café, One Rockefeller Plaza, is a wine-lover’s paradise. Discover an expansive (2,000 bottle) wine collection. Sample from over 150 different by-the-glass selections, and, if you’re game (and have your Platinum card in tow), you can sip a few glasses of Opus One - a bargain at only $75 a glass. Entrées include a nice selection of beef, seafood, lamb, duck and pasta – all selected and prepared specifically to complement your wine selection.
Combination Number Three:
The Show: Wicked: Winner of three 2004 Tony Awards (including Best Costume Design and Best Scenic Design), Wicked offers a new, and musical, twist on the famous tale of the Wizard of Oz. In this pre-Dorothy telling, two young girls form an unlikely friendship and grow-up to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
The Dinner: Monster Sushi, 22 W. 46th Street. The “Monster” in this case means giant, enormous, and huge. Nothing to be afraid of here except your waistline. Great sushi served fresh, presented exquisitely, and in large portions. Be sure to try their “Monster” Roll (which also comes in a “Baby” Monster size for the faint-of-heart).
Combination Number Four:
The Show: Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theater.
The London sensation is the first collaboration of Disney, producer of the acclaimed The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Tarzan®, and Cameron Mackintosh, legendary producer of the record-breaking The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Les Miserables. Baby boomers will find it to be a “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” trip down memory lane.
The Dinner: Il Buco, 47 Bond Street. This is a great, funky little restaurant with dinner seating from 6pm to Midnight. The menu changes nightly so guests are always in for a treat. If you love seafood, this is the place to give in to your desires. Cod Croquettes, anyone?
