Recently I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in New York, and this gave me the opportunity to take in a couple of shows on Broadway for the first time. Having seen top flight shows in London’s West End and at regional theatres in Birmingham, Coventry and Stratford-upon-Avon, I wondered if the Americans had anything to offer that I hadn’t experienced already.

The first thing I noticed, even before leaving the UK, was just how many productions there are currently showing. With so many theatres located in such a concentrated area, Broadway is true ‘Theatreland’, with no shortage of things to see, from cutting edge drama, comedies, and musical theatre. Many of the shows are old favourites, as familiar to UK audiences as they are to our Atlantic cousins, such as Phantom of the Opera and Chicago. Yet there are some big shows that are yet to hit our shores, including two musicals that I am sure will be heading over the pond soon, Disney’s Frozen – The Musical and Anastasia. Alas, while online show shopping, I discovered that New York shows do not come cheap! Do not be conned by the “from” before the advertised price (I am assuming you do not want to sit at the back of the gods with a restricted view). For good orchestra seats for a big show you can expect to pay at least £125-175 for a ticket, and even more for the very best seats.

The first thing I realised, once in New York, is that I could have got the tickets cheaper. Right at the heart of Times Square is “TKTS”, a ticket agency selling at quite heavily discounted prices to all the big shows. However, if you know which show you want to see, you can get even better deals (some less than half-price) by going direct to the theatre box office on the day you want to go. The risk, of course, is that there won’t be any seats available because you have left it until the last minute, and the shows do sell out. Hence, why I didn’t get to see Anastasia.

The two theatres I went to, St James on West 44^th Street and Ambassador Theatre on West 49^th Street were great venues. Although not new, they were in excellent condition with good comfortable seating. I saw some seating arrangements for theatre-goers with mobility issues. It wasn’t perfectly clear how someone with such challenges might get to their seats or use the restrooms, but there were plenty of staff who were all very friendly and helpful, so I am sure they would facilitate access as required. I guess that the historical design of the buildings predated our current social awareness of access issues, with steps up into the Alexander Theatre and the restrooms being down a steep flight of narrow stairs at St James.

New York audiences are different too. They like to Facebook selfies right until the very start of the production, then clap and cheer in expectation as soon as the lights dim. Or maybe it was relief that there was going to be a show – both started well after the advertised time ten and five minutes respectively for Frozen and Chicago. That there would be a standing-ovations was never in doubt, regardless of the quality of the shows.

However, those ovations and the cost of the tickets were most definitely deserved. The cast members for each show were terrific. The musicians were first class. No expense was spared in the lighting, the sets, the props, the costumes or the special effects. The direction, acting and singing were equal to the very best I have seen anywhere. Simply put, there were no weaknesses in either production or performance at all. Both shows, Frozen and Chicago, were spell-binding triumphs with wow-factor.

So, based on two shows and two theatres, my New York Broadway experience can be summed up as expensive, but worth every dime. Indeed, it has caused me to redefine what a five-star experience really is.      Robert Gainer 2018