Curtain calls: Shakespeare in the Park.
In New York, all the world's a stage, writes Mark Juddery.
While millions of New York visitors enjoy Broadway shows, theatre in the Big Apple goes far beyond that. Dozens of "Off-Broadway" venues (technically, theatres with fewer than 500 seats) make the city a haven for theatre-lovers.
YORK THEATRE
A performance of The Recommendation at The Flea Theatre.
619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street
Located downstairs in St Peter's Church building, York Theatre specialises in musicals: world premieres of new works and revivals of obscure gems. Like many Off-Broadway venues, some of its plays and actors have gone on to Broadway or international fame.
The Orpheum, home of Stomp.
Where to stay: Lovers of smaller, more intimate musical theatre - which, for obvious reasons, the York does very well - might enjoy the super-smooth and playful Night Hotel Times Square (132 West 45th Street). See nighthoteltimessquare.com.
Where to eat: Ellen's Stardust Diner (1650 Broadway at 51st Street) is staffed by aspiring Broadway stars, singing show tunes and pop classics in between serving you - and yes, they can sing! So far this year, 12 waiters and waitresses have already "graduated" to Broadway shows.
PERSIAN SQUARE SIGNATURE THEATRE
480 West 42nd Street
A few blocks from the Broadway glitz, a smaller theatre block houses several Off-Broadway stages. Signature Theatre, designed by Frank Gehry, is the most conspicuous - a brightly coloured, spacious building.
The Signature Theatre Company focuses on American dramatists and each year's program showcases a particular playwright.
Where to stay: Since you are celebrating great American writers, why not stay at The Algonquin Hotel (59 West 44th Street), the historic meeting point of Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and the other literary giants of the Algonquin Round Table? See algonquinhotel.com.
Where to eat: Walk to the other theatre district. The Edison Cafe (228 West 47th Street), a classic New York deli, is the inspiration behind Neil Simon's 2001 Broadway play 45 Seconds from Broadway. It's a great place to spot New York's theatre elite.
THE FLEA
41 White Street
Too small even for Off-Broadway status, the Flea is technically an "Off-Off-Broadway" playhouse, with only 114 seats, hidden in an old factory building on an obscure lower Manhattan street. Construction recently began on a larger, more permanent home in nearby Thomas Street, but, in the meantime, the intimacy is part of the attraction.
"We like the interaction between cast and audience," explains producing director Carol Ostrow. Over the past 17 years, it has won a reputation as New York's must-see venue for avant-garde, experimental and satirical theatre - though Ostrow prefers to say "adventurous".
Many top Broadway and Hollywood actors have appeared here (including Sigourney Weaver, Tim Robbins and Bebe Neuwirth), but most of the troupe is young and still unknown, picked from the thousands who audition each year.
Where to stay: Tribeca has dozens of hotels. One of the best is the Tribeca Grand (2 Avenue of the Americas), two blocks from the Flea, a landmark of this affluent district. See tribecagrand.com.
Where to eat: According to Flea staff, the already strong sense of community in the cosy neighbourhood was enhanced by 9/11. At every opportunity (even on stage), they will promote certain local restaurants. Across the road, Petrarca is one of Tribeca's classic Italian eateries, with a back wall covered in bottles of wine.
In the next block, discreetly hidden (like The Flea itself), is Macao, described in the Michelin Guide as "one of those opium-den-like joints".
The food's good too, and, like any good opium den (or so I've read), it stays open until just before sunrise.
DELACORTE THEATRE
Central Park West
(on 80th Street)
Unlike many New York sites, Central Park is not just great because the locals say so. It really is worth visiting, for any number of reasons.
A summer highlight (between June and August) is the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park, held at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air venue on the west side of the park with generous stadium seating and free (corporate-sponsored) renditions of the Bard and other major playwrights.
The 2013 season, for example, offered a traditional rendition of The Comedy of Errors and a new musical version of Love's Labour's Lost. It is worth arriving early; the Delacorte's productions attract major stars (the calibre of Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Al Pacino and Anne Hathaway), and, consequently, large audiences.
It's not the only city to offer Shakespeare in the Park, but this is one of the most prestigious.
Where to stay: It's a quick B-train ride from the Delacorte to The Chatwal (130 West 44th Street), a mecca for the 1920s theatre crowd (the Barrymores, W.C. Fields et al) and the kind of elegant place where Gatsby might have stayed. See thechatwalny.com.
Where to eat: Tavern on the Green (Central Park West between 66th and 67th Street, not far from the Delacorte), established in the 1930s, is the park's most famous restaurant. It's currently closed for renovations but will reopen well before the next Shakespeare season.
ORPHEUM THEATRE
126 2nd Avenue, on St Marks Place
This 299-seat venue, located in the bustling East Village, has only one show, but that's enough reason to visit. Stomp was ubiquitous in the 1990s - touring the world, spun-off into television specials, and imitated (embarrassingly) by almost everyone. Though it originated in England (where it still appears on the West End), its Off-Broadway show has become a New York institution. The finely honed mix of percussion, dance and slapstick humour still attracts full houses after 19 years, longer than any Broadway show apart from Phantom of the Opera. The Orpheum's smaller space is better suited to the intimate and acoustic show than any Broadway stage.
The East Village also fits the industrial look of the show far more than the glamour of 42nd Street.
Where to stay: The GEM Hotel (135 E Houston Street) is an affordable boutique hotel, just south of the East Village (and minutes away from Stomp), perfectly located for the East Village's hipster scene. See thegemhotel.com/soho.
Where to eat: Second Avenue has a United Nations of restaurants that (like Stomp itself) are pleasing without being ritzy. We crossed the road to the Atlas Cafe (73 2nd Avenue), a tiny and affordable eatery whose walls are mostly covered in an exhaustive blackboard menu. This place somehow has room in its kitchen to make everything.
The writer flew to New York with the assistance of United Airlines.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
United Airlines offers low-season return flights from Sydney and Melbourne for $1500-1700 including taxes.
See unitedairlines.com.au for up-to-date fares.
SEE + DO
For theatre buffs, consider a visit to the Theatre Museum; 40 Worth Street Suite 824 New York, NY. Entry is by donation. See theatremuseum.org.
Also head for the Theater Collection at the Museum of the City of New York. It's recognised as one of the world's pre-eminent performing arts collections. Open seven days, adults $US10 ($11) entry. Located on 1220 Fifth Avenue, New York. See eoneill.com.mcny/collection.
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