Radio City Music Hall, a

short walk from the bright

lights of Broadway, offers

a behind-the-scenes tour

of the Art Deco landmark

in Rockefeller Center.

20 April 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

BroADwAyMELODIES OF

Sister Act

The Lion King

Priscilla: Queen of the Desert

Spider-Man

I t may not have the magic of MaryPoppins, lavish trappings of The LionKing or notoriety of Spider-Man,

Turn Off the Dark, but a little Off-Broadway production can satisfy one’scraving for New York theater as muchas a splashy musical.

I was reminded of that recently whenmy night on the town took place in anintimate basement theater under Sofia’sRestaurant on 46th Street, just stepsfrom the bright lights of Times Squareand blockbuster shows. The quirky, two-person comedy, Miss Abigail ’s Guide toDating, Mating & Marriage, kept uschuckling throughout and included au-dience participation. The prim andproper Miss Abigail, a sought-after re-lationship expert whose advice for cou-ples harks back to the 1950s, is played byEve Plumb, who portrayed Jan Brady forfive seasons on TV’s The Brady Bunch.

Though Miss Abigail holds court inthe heart of New York’s Broadway the-ater district, it is considered Off-Broadway, a term that refers to theaterswith 100-499 seats. Not that the casualtheater-goer always knows the differ-ence, says Jody Bell of Broadway-Space.com, the group sales division ofDavenport Theatrical Enterprises, pro-ducer of Miss Abigail. Some Broadwayhits, once their numbers start to dwin-dle, move to smaller Off-Broadwaytheaters to save on production costs,she explained, pointing to Avenue Q asa current example.

Bell said Miss Abigail is popular withsenior groups, as is the hit Broadwaymusical Million Dollar Quartet, a lookback at rock ’n’ roll stars Elvis Presley,Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and CarlPerkins on the day in 1956 when theygathered in a Memphis recording studio.

For this spring, she notes a movies-turned-musicals trend, citing Sister Act,Catch Me If You Can and Priscilla: Queenof the Desert, all of which opened or

began previews in March.With a total of six new musicals,

“we’re seeing one of the busiest springsin recent memory,” said Dennis Martin,director, group sales programs, Broad-way.com/Groups. “They’re selling everysingle seat.”

As Broadway ticket sales continuestrong, each of Broadway’s 40 theatershas been occupied, Martin said. “Whenone show closes, another one moves in.”

According to The Broadway League,Broadway attendance for the 2010 cal-endar year totaled 12.11 million, an in-crease over the previous year’s 11.88million. Attendance for the 2009-2010Broadway season topped that of the 10professional New York and New Jerseysports teams combined.

Martin notes that Whoopi Goldberg(who starred in the movie Sister Act) is a producer of the Broadway version, andBette Midler is one of Priscilla’s pro-ducers. Catch Me If You Can, based onthe Tom Hanks/Leonardo DiCapriofilm about a real-life con artist, was created by the team behind Hairspray.

Wonderland, a new spin on the clas-sic story of Alice and her LookingGlass world, opens April 17. This freshtake features a modern-day womanwho goes on a life-changing adventurefar below the streets of New York City.

Spider-Man, which garnered tons ofpublicity when actors got seriously in-jured in acrobatic stunts during earlyperformances, continues to be a hotseller, Bell said, admitting that “wewere swarmed with requests” (for tick-ets) the day after the first accident. “It’slike a rollercoaster—people enjoy theadrenaline…Everyone asks me aboutit.” Music and lyrics by Bono and TheEdge of U2 enhance the story of theMarvel comic book hero, the most ex-pensive Broadway show ever produced.(Spider-Man officially is still in pre-views, but at press time the latest word

is that it will finally open June 14 fol-lowing significant revisions. The showgoes on a three-week hiatus startingApril 19.)

“The revival to see,” Martin said, isHow to Succeed in Business (Without Re-ally Trying) starring Daniel Radcliffe (ofHarry Potter fame) and five-time EmmyAward winner John Larroquette (NightCourt, The Practice). They make theirBroadway musical debuts in this 50thanniversary revival, which openedMarch 27. Another new revival: ColePorter’s Anything Goes with Joel Greyand Sutton Foster, featuring songs like“I Get a Kick out of You,” “You’re theTop,” “It’s De-Lovely” and the title tune.

A revival of Godspell is coming thisfall, and “everyone is anticipating theopening of that one,” Bell said.

Student travelers have played a majorpart in the ongoing success of MaryPoppins and The Lion King, says BryanDockett, vice president national sales,Disney Theatrical Group. “The stu-dent/youth market is the core of ourgroup business.”

He said, “The youth market hasbeen a constant for us and has stayedstrong even during the whole recession”because parents are willing to spend themoney on school trips. “They wanttheir kids to have that experience anddon’t want them to miss out on it.”

Besides seeing the show, studentgroups can take advantage of Disney-created study guides that tie in thecontent of Mary Poppins and The LionKing with geography and other class-room subjects. Also for school groups,90-minute theater workshops focus ondance, music and how the whole showcomes together.

Student and other groups that booka performance of Mary Poppins can geta tour of the New Amsterdam The-atre, another add-on offered by DisneyTheatrical. Dockett said the tour, of-

on location: northeast � randy mink

LeisureGroupTravel.com April 2011 21

Radi

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fered when the theater presented TheLion King (which moved in 2006 tothe Minskoff Theatre), was recentlyreintroduced after a hiatus. The tourexplores the history of Broadway the-ater and the Disney-City of New Yorkpartnership that in 1996 re-launchedthe New Amsterdam and played a keyrole in cleaning up 42nd Street, which,back in the early 1990s, was tawdryand “not a place to bring tourists,”Dockett said.

The Lion King, the seventh longestrunning musical in Broadway his-tory, opened in November of 1997.Still going strong, the colorful showjust enjoyed its best year in the last13, Dockett said, and Mary Poppinshad its second best box office sinceopening in November of 2006.Only Phantom of the Opera, whichopened in 1988, and Chicago (1996)have been on Broadway longer thanThe Lion King. Other long-runningcurrent shows: Mamma Mia (2001),Wicked (2003) and Jersey Boys (2005).

The newest form of entertain-ment in town is a traveling, 49-seattheater called THE RIDE. Onsuper-sized, custom vehicles outfittedlike a theater, with sideways-facing stadium seating, tour passengers rollthrough Midtown Manhattan on a 75-minute journey that combines com-mentary with sidewalk performances(designed just for THE RIDE) bydancers, singers, rappers and comedi-

ans. The 4.5-mile tour starts at theNew York Marriott Marquis in TimesSquare. Group tickets are $55. (experi-encetheride.com)

TV fans flock to Rockefeller Plazafor behind-the-scenes tours of NBCStudios in the GE Building, locationof the TV series 30 Rock. Guests walkinto studios used by such shows as Dr. Oz, Football Night in America, NBCNightly News and Saturday Night Live.Every tour member has a chance topose behind an anchor desk in a mock

studio, and two people can volunteer toread the news or do the weather. Thetour starts in the NBC Studios Store, agood place to shop for souvenirs of cur-rent TV hits like 30 Rock and The Of-fice, plus old favorites like Seinfeld andFriends. (nbcstudiotour.com)

If your group doesn’t catch a concert

or The Radio City Christmas Spectacularat Radio City Music Hall, they canget an eyeful of this Art Deco jewel onthe one-hour “Stage Door Tour,” an-other behind-the-scenes offering atRockefeller Center. A highlight ismeeting a Radio City Rockette andposing with the leggy dancer for a pic-ture. Walking through back corridors,tour members see posters of past con-cert performers (from Bette Midler toSteve Wonder) and movies that pre-miered at this larger-than-life theaterdating from 1932. For 45 years it pack-aged first-run movies with the Rock-ettes and other live acts until thatformat lost appeal. Radio City was indanger of being demolished after per-manently closing in 1978. Today thislandmark glistens from a restorationproject that started in 1999. More thanone million people walk through itsdoors during The Christmas Spectacu-lar’s eight-week engagement—that’stwice as many as the biggest Broadway

show draws all year. (radiocity.com)This summer Radio City’s cav-

ernous, 6,000-seat auditorium hostsZarkana, a Cirque du Soleil acro-batic spectacle that runs from June 9through Sept. 4. The story plungesZark, a magician on a quest to findhis lost powers, into a bizarre worldinhabited by surreal creatures.

Top of the Rock, the GE Build-ing’s three-level observatory, is yetanother Rockefeller Center must-see. Views of the skyscraper-stud-ded skyline and the vast expanse ofCentral Park unfold from open-airterraces on floors 68, 69 and 70. Inthe distance the Statue of Libertystands sentinel in New York Harbor.

(topoftherocknyc.com) Top of the Rock is an attraction

covered by New York CityPASS.Valid for nine days, the convenientticket ($79 for adults) lets pass holdersskip the lines and pays for itself if you see only five of the six attractions.

22 April 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

on location: northeast �

THE RIDE, a new Manhattan tour option, presents its own live entertainment.

Continued on page 25

Radio City Music Hall hosts concerts and

the annual Christmas Spectacular.

Mar

c Bry

an-B

rown

SPECIAL GROUP ADD-ONS!SPECIAL GROUP ADD-ONS!

Make your New York Broadway experience even more magical with historic New Amsterdam Theatre tours.Call 800-439-9000 to speak to a Disney Theatrical Sales Group Specialist.

”★★★★! A perfect piece of musicaltheater.”

–NY Post

THE WONDER OF BROADWAY. THE MAGIC OF .

DISCOVER THE PRIDE OF NEW YORK

New York City | Las VegasOn Tour Across North America

© D

isne

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For a sneak peek, visit

In New York City • On Tour Across North America

ect piece sicalr.”

24 April 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

New York is a state widely known forbustling city life, but it also has many

beautiful botanic gardens that offer an escape from the urban frenzy. Locatedthroughout the Empire State are gardensthat embrace horticulture from all over the world. Here are just a few examples:

Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Staten Island offersgroup travelers a garden experience mixedwith history, museums and theaters. Thegardens reflect different time periods andcultures. The Chinese Scholar Garden, a visitor favorite, embodies Chinese art andphilosophy through an arrangement ofshrubbery, rocks and ponds. Designed after the Villa Gamberaia in Florence is theTuscan Garden, where topiaries, formalwater elements and a vineyard give touristsa glance into Italian culture. Throughout theyear Snug Harbor hosts various events andconcerts. (718-448-2500, snug-harbor.org)

New York Botanical Gardens wasnamed by the New York Times a “New YorkMasterpiece.” Located in the Bronx, NYBGis recognized as a classical botanical gardenwhere plants are studied and exhibited. Its250 acres contain over one million plants in 50 gardens, including one of the most beautiful rose gardens in the U.S. The PeggyRockefeller Rose Garden displays over 600species of roses, which are in bloom sixmonths out of the year. Groups visitingNYBG in spring will enjoy the lilacs andtulips. Apart from flowers, guests can alsoexplore the native forest, comprised of treesup to 200 years old, along the Bronx River.(718-817-8700, nybg.org)

Brooklyn Botanic Garden features adozen gardens and several conservatories,including the aquatic house and a bonsai

museum. Entering the garden from the eastentrance, groups will be immersed in the Osborne Garden’s spectrum of colors pro-vided by such flowers as azaleas, rhododen-drons and wisteria. Those visiting in Apriland May get to experience the cherry trees in full bloom. (718-623-7200, b bg.org)

Occupying the former estate of WilliamRobertson Coe, an insurance entrepreneurand philanthropist, is the Planting FieldsArboretum State Historic Park. Located

in Long Island’s Oyster Bay, the park’s 409acres consist of greenhouses, gardens andmiles of hiking trails. The RhododendronCollection features over a 1,000 types ofvintage and modern species. The MainGreenhouse seasonally showcases poinset-tias, Easter lilies and chrysanthemums. Alsoopen to visitors is Coe Hall, the Coe familyhome featuring an Elizabethan-style interior. (516-922-9200, plantingfields.org)

The three-tiered Formal Italian Gardensat Vanderbilt Mansion National HistoricSite in Hyde Park are a restoration of thegardens built in the 1930s. The top levelconsists of annual plants, the middle ofperennials and pool gardens and the lowerlevel, built by gardening enthusiast FrederickVanderbilt, features a variety of rose species.In mid-spring, native trees such as dog-woods and redbuds are in bloom. Guests

can enjoy views of the Hudson River andtour the Vanderbilt Mansion. (845-229-9115,2.marist.edu/fwvga)

Also in Hyde Park is the Rose Garden at Franklin D. Roosevelt National HistoricSite. Featuring 28 types of roses, the gardenis the burial site of FDR and Eleanor Roo-sevelt. Groups can explore the grounds androse gardens or tour the FDR PresidentialLibrary and Museum. Guests are also invitedto visit FDR’s Top Cottage, the building hepurchased as a retreat from presidentialpressures. (800-337-8474, nps.gov/hofr)

In the Finger Lakes region of New York,in the town of Canandaigua, is SonnenbergGardens and Mansion State Historic Park.Open from May through October the parkconsists of nine formal gardens, each rep-resenting different cultures and historicaleras. Included are Japanese, rose and Italiangardens, plus a 20-acre arboretum and agreenhouse. Built in 1887, the Sonnenbergmansion is one of the few remaining QueenAnne-style manors in the country. (585-394-4922, sonnenberg.org)

The flora at the Buffalo and Erie CountyBotanical Gardens is dispersed between the Palm Dome and nine greenhouses. ThePalm Dome is a tri-domed Victorian conser-vatory that was built in the 1890s and housessuch visitor favorites as the orchid roomand begonia room. Also in the garden is theSouth Park Arboretum, where a collection oftree species is showcased. (716-827-584,buffalogardens.com)

These New York gardens give flowerlovers a chance to experience a kaleido-scope of colors, sights and smells from avast array of vegetation. Each garden offerstour groups a unique perspective on theworld of horticulture. LGT

Obtain New York

visitor guides

and itineraries –

and contact group-

friendly suppliers

directly – at

leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info

Discovering the Gardens of New York StateHorticultural wonderlands enchant

groups that appreciate a green thumb

New York Botanical Gardens is one

of the Bronx’s hidden treasures.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVERead about some of the best

attractions and restaurants in New

York’s Broadway theater district. Log on to

http://leisuregrouptravel.com/?p=23019

on location: northeast � alyssa cherwak

Beauty in the Bronx: New York Botanical Gardens

Participating sights include the Empire State Building Observatory, American Museum of Natural History (in-cluding a space show in Hayden Planetarium), Metropol-itan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art (just a few blocks from Rockefeller Center). In addition, CityPASS users can choose from either the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry or Circle Line sightseeing cruise,and either Top of the Rock or the Guggenheim Museum.(citypass.com)

Besides theaters and bright lights, Times Squareabounds with fun stores and high-octane tourist attrac-tions like Madame Tussauds New York and Ripley’s Be-lieve It or Not! Shop for baseball souvenirs at the YankeeClubhouse or indulge your sweet tooth at the M&M and Hershey stores. Keep your camera out at the Toys R Usmega-store, with its indoor Ferris wheel, toy demonstra-tions, and Empire State Building made with 180,000 Lego blocks.

Times Square and Midtown Manhattan, as any tourorganizer knows, packs in more than any group could possibly see in a week, much less a few days. There’s nobusiness like show business, and no place like New York,the heartbeat of America’s theater scene. LGT

LeisureGroupTravel.com April 2011 25

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