Theater

How to get Great Seats:

People keep asking how I manage to get tickets to so many great plays. The answer is that for Broadway plays I usually buy them the day they go on sale or as soon as I remember.

Buying theater tickets on spec before the reviews is almost as tricky as picking stocks. But if you wait until the play opens to rave reviews, you won't be able to get good seats. So the trick is to figure out in advance what's likely to be good, and buy the tickets the first day they go on sale. I order them by phone and insist on knowing the exact seat location before actually buying the tickets.

How do you figure out what's likely to be good? Here's how:

	Read page two of the New York Times Arts and Leisure section. The column "On Stage and Off" tells you way in advance what's coming.
	Read the Theater section on Sundays. Often there are articles about coming productions.
	A good rule of thumb is that if a play was a hit in London, it's got a very high probability of being worthwhile.

For Off-Broadway I usually wait for the reviews, and then order tickets if it seems like a great show.

If you don't want to do all this research, another way for you to get good tickets is simply to bookmark this page and check frequently what I'm buying tickets for (below)

My Picks for Great Plays:

Here are some plays for which I would get tickets, (as soon as they become available). Don't look for advice on musicals, I mostly can't stand them.

Long Days Journey Into Night, Fifth of July

Subscribe to the Signature Theater; they're playing a whole season of Lanford Wilson's plays.


Great Theater:

		Aida Panned by the critics; it's a huge success,. and rightly so. It's Verdi reinvented as a rock opera. I don't like musicals and I loved it!

		Cabaret One of the great revivals. The musical version of Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories. The story of my hometown in the early 30's: A wild end-of-the-world party, with the ominous overtones of darkness descending.

		Lost Highway Riveting story of Hank William's life, with great songs. A great evening – you can't do better!

		Mama Mia The songs of Abba made into a musical. Beate grew up with them; I was skeptical. It's very cute; I ended up loving it!

		Metamorphoses Ovid's Tales performed in a large pool of water. Hard to explain; it's fabulous. Don't sit in the first row – they give you large towels for good reasons

		The one and only !! Great, even if you don't like musicals!!

Great Theater:

Other Theater: