Kaitlyn's Guide to New York, Chapter 1

I originally started this blog while I was interning at the Today Show this summer, but I got a little distracted in NYC and only put up like three posts about. My plan was to keep this blog up so I wouldn't have to keep a journal in New York -- because I am awful at keeping a journal. Obviously my plan failed because I didn't keep up with my blog. But I've decided to remedy that! The time has finally come for me to tell you all a little more about my time in New York. So every few days my plan is to write about one of my favorite things about the city or about a fun day or experience I had this summer! This will be a great way for me to reminisce about my time in New York and hopefully you'll enjoy reading about the experiences I had in the greatest city on earth! So here it goes...

The best thing about New York City is...

#1: Broadway Shows

While I was in New York I ended up seeing seven shows! I freaking love musicals! In order of best to worst the shows I saw were:

1. Wicked
2/3. Legally Blonde/In the Heights (I couldn't decide which one was better!)
4. Mamma Mia
5. Mary Poppins
6. Cry Baby
7. A Chorus Line

The best part was that I didn't have to pay full price for a single one of these shows. I didn't know this before this summer but practically every Broadway show has a way to get discounted tickets. "Talkin' Broadway" is a great website that lists all the shows that are currently going on and what the different options are for discounted tickets. Some shows offer student tickets (like Legally Blonde which gives students front row seats for $26.50) , rush tickets that you buy the day of the show (Mary Poppins does decent rush seats for $30), standing room when the show is sold out (I did Mamma Mia standing room for $21.50), or a lottery a couple hours before the show (the Wicked lottery gives you amazing front row seats for $26.50).

Another great option is TKTS which offers half-priced tickets for some of the most popular shows on Broadway. The way TKTS works is the shows give their random single seats to the TKTS discount booths and then TKTS sells them for about $60. You might not get to sit next to your friends but the seats are usually great! The TKTS website tells you the exact locations of their booths but the most popular one is right in Times Square. A great tip is to go to the booth at South Street Seaport rather than the Times Square one -- not as many people know about it so they sometimes have more tickets left.

If you are trying to get show tickets at the last minute I also reccomend going to straight to the box office and just asking what kind of discounted tickets they have for that night. I had some friends who got Hairspray tickets for $26.50 just because the box office had a ton of tickets left for that particular night. It never hurts to ask!

Anyway that's all for my rant about discounted tickets. They are really the coolest thing ever. When you are an LDS girl in the big city there just isn't anything much better than front row seats to Legally Blonde or Wicked for $26.50...except maybe a fake Gucci bag!

Stay tuned for my next entry when I tell you a little bit more about my favorite shows! I know you can barely stand the anticipation!