While we were in NYC, we were saddled with the "burdensome task" of accompanying a friend of mine who was in town presenting his wine for the WS Wine Experience. He somehow got his hands on four tickets to Hairspray and suggested we meet for dinner at Tribeca Grill before the show. I was informed by an old friend who's lived in Manhattan for over 50 years that "real New Yorkers" don't go to dinner before the show, but rather wait to have a light supper after the show.

Nonetheless, we dined Tribeca Grill before the show. (We were very lucky to be able to get reservations here on less than 4 hours notice, but I suppose it helps if your dining partner knows the general manager.) Very nice atmosphere and great service. We had the beef shortribs which were extremely flavorful and tender accompanied by a 2001 Clos du Pape which was drinking quite well for its young age. The sommelier highly recommended it even though we questioned his selection of a 2001 Rhone. (BTW, he and my dining partner seemed to think the wine of the WS Wine Experience was the Vegas Sicilia from Spain.)

Unfortunately we had to leave before finishing off 1/2 of the bottle because of our 8 p.m. curtain.
I would liken Tribeca Grill to San Francisco's Boulevard for those who are familiar with the SF dining scene-great, dependable food and service with a little upscale feel to it. It seemed a little more raucous than usual that night, but that may have been due to the Yankees putting it on the line that night.

Oh, and Hairspray was fabulous and over the top!

Was it hard to get the tickets to Hairspray? We say it early this year right before it won all of the awards and it was fairly easy to get a ticket. Just curious if has gotten hard to get tickets since then.

Another nice write-up. Thanks LR.

Not being used to the show scene in NYC, I had no idea how hard or easy it was to procure tickets for any of the shows on Broadway. In fact, my wine buddy (who I might add is quite hooked up) was able to procure not only 3, but 4 tickets to the show rather easily.

Were tickets to Hairspray hard to get? Good question. Here's how I gage the degree of difficulty involved to get Hairspray tickets. I was playing ball earlier that day down at the New York Athletic Club and one of the guys had an extra ticket to the World Series to watch the Yankees and invited me to go.

When I told them I'd love to go, but I had tickets to Hairspray, they all said, "Jeez, I thought tickets to see the World Series was hard to get, but by all means, if you've got tickets to Hairspray go to that! Those tickets are extremely hard to come by, even for us locals!"

And so I went to the show. So there we were, in the orchestra section, within the first ten rows of the stage. (I hear you don't want to be in the first couple of rows because you get spit on too much by the actors going through their dialogue.) My wine buddy said it cost him a case of his top-notch '01 cab.

I'm definitely in debt to the karma bank for the tickets!!

Are you nuts Lafon? Hairspray you can go to any time but the world series only happens once/year for a couple of days. I'd have nabbed that series ticket so fast it would make your head spin.

Hairspray is a hot show & tickets are hard to get. Although, it is possible if you are willing to reserve & wait. Also remember (as an FYI), you can always try walk-up (day of the show). There are usually tickets available.

As for Shows in general, they are struggling & you can get tickets very easily the last few years (economy, Sep 11th, tourism is down, etc...) to just about any other show.

I waited 6 months for Lion King & Mama Mia. Now, you can buy those tickets as easily as buying a bagel in NY. A few years ago, I waited 4 months for Les Mis. Now, they are closed. So, you see...

By the way, I am hoping to get 1/2-price tickets to Hairspray is a few months.

Skwid:

Thanks for the input. Next time, I'll give you a call before I make my decision.

Good to know you value my opinion Lafon