Friday, June 28, 2013

Summer Theatre Vacation: Broadway Around the World in 20 Stops

Broadway sure can be expensive - if you bought Premium Seats (or, in some cases, simply top ticket prices) to every Broadway show currently on the boards, it would cost you a whopping $6,078.00!  But imagine if you took a long summer vacation and toured the locations of all the currently running Broadway shows.  Talk about costly!

While it wouldn't exactly be an around the world tour, you would get a pretty decent tour of Europe, a couple of stunning stops in Africa, and a coast-to-coast tour of the United States.  If you start in old New York (Newsies, The Nance, Annie, The Assembled Parties, Lucky Guy) you can make 19 stops (The Book of Mormon is so huge, it gets 2 stops) before returning to modern-day New York to see the sights found in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark!

From 1899 New York City (Newsies)...


THE SUMMER 2013 BROADWAY WORLD TOUR
*see legend below map
(Zoom in and out to make the place markers visible.
Left-click on the map and move the hand around the map to move across.)



... to 2013 New York City (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark)

STOP
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
SHOW
WHAT YOU HAVE TO SEE
1
New York, New York, USA
* Newsies
** Annie
*** The Nance
**** The Assembled Parties
***** Lucky Guy
* The car ramp onto the Brooklyn Bridge, site of The Pulitzer Building until 1955 – home of the New York World- and seize the day!
** While you are at the Brooklyn Bridge, envision a Hooverville on the rivers’ edge, and then check out an upper East Side manse, then to Times Square for a movie.
*** While in Times Square take a walking tour of Broadway theatres, taking special note of which one used to house burlesque shows.
**** Check out the ultra chic apartment buildings that face Central Park West, starting with the block where The Dakota is.
***** 220 East 42nd Street – former home of The Daily News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, home of the New York Post, then off to Suffolk County to see where New York Newsday is made.
2
Dublin, Ireland, UK
Once
Do a pub crawl, stopping only when you get to one that features an earthy woman strolling the place playing the accordion…
3
Inverness, Scotland, UK
Macbeth
Check out castle ruins and the Burnham woods, of course!
4
Derbyshire, England, UK
Matilda
Tour a public school – maybe even the one where Roald Dahl attended – be good, though, or you’ll tour the Chokey, too!
5
Northampton, England, UK
Kinky Boots
Tour the actual factory where the film (and later, the musical) was based.
6
Paris, France
* Cinderella
** The Phantom of the Opera
* Tour the countryside outside the city, and, later, in the city, find where Charles Perrault – he wrote the version that the show is partially is based upon.
** See the Paris Opera House, duh.
7
Arles, France
Pippin
Tour the area from which Charlemagne ruled the world – watch out for dagger-wielding priests in disguise in the cathedral!
8
Skopelos, Greece
Mamma Mia!
See the clear blue water and the rocky terrain of one of Greece’s most scenic islands.  And leave your spandex home!
9
Mara, Tanzania
The Lion King
You have to tour the Serengeti from here!  Hit the Savannah and the deep jungle to get the full feel of the land where Simba rules.  Bring water, just in case!
10
Uganda, Africa
The Book of Mormon
The first of 2 Mormon inspired stops…  see firsthand what those Mormon boys are up against.
11
Hollywood, California
* Rock of Ages
** I’ll Eat You Last
* Party Hardy, dude!  Check out a bar or three on the Sunset Strip!
** Discreetly roll and smoke your joint in the back of the Tour of the Stars’ Homes bus, while checking off the homes of Sue Mengers’ former clients.
12
Provo, Utah
The Book of Mormon
Check out all things CLS! Or randomly ring doorbells and sing “Hello!” until Donny and Marie answer!
13
Anywhere, Kansas
Wicked
Go storm chasing until you see a twister.  But get out of the way… [spoiler alert] Oz isn’t real.  And don’t bother applying to Shiz U, either.
14
Rural Central Texas
Ann
Drive to a small, central Texas community college, sit in their auditorium and wait for the Governor of Texas to speak.
15
Houston, Texas
The Trip to Bountiful
Tour the city, and then take a bus trip to a nearby small town. Bring a box lunch and feel nostalgic.
16
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago
Go on, babe… after you pull up your stockings, see the Cook County Jail!
17
Detroit, Michigan
Motown
2648 West Grand Avenue is where you can see where it all started – Hitsville, USA.  But don’t count on seeing Berry, Diana or Smokey…
18
New Hope, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
You don’t have to dress like Snow White to see stars – check out the Bucks County Playhouse.  Maybe they’re doing a Chekov revival.
19
Newark, New Jersey
Jersey Boys
See where it all started for Frankie and the boys.  And just across the river…
20
New York City, NY, USA
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
It’s today!  Swing by The Foxwoods and wave to Spidey.  But first, go to the top of the Chrysler Building and fend off the Green Goblin…


Jeff
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