Broadway is more than just the theatres.
While the grand historic buildings, and the spectacular shows they house, are its focal point, there is so much more to Broadway than eight performances a week. Broadway is an industry, yes -- but also an energy; a culture; a way of life.
Here are three of my favorite (free) landmarks, the places that for me define Broadway as more than a collection of theatres. These are the spots to which I turn on the days I can't afford a ticket; or when I'm on my way uptown but want an infusion of theatrical energy; or on a night after a show when I'm just not ready for the evening to be over.
1) Shubert Alley
Large show posters paper the West wall between the gold stage doors for the Booth and Shubert Theatres. I like to stop and count the advertisements for shows I've seen vs. the ones I need to see. I find joy in watching tourists take photos with the posters, imitating poses of the photographed actors or pretending to kiss the leading men. During the day the alley is a passageway of pedestrians, taking the shortcut between 44th & 45th streets on their way to lunch meetings or the A/C/E stop on the corner of 8th. It's a gathering place for school groups meeting for treats at Juniors Cheesecake, or getting ready to head into the Discovery Museum across the way. But as the day turns to evening, the alley begins to attract a new populace. Colorfully dressed tourists, eager families, and groups of giddy fans line up to enter their temples. And if you pay close attention, you'll spot amongst them a few nondescript, hoodie-wearing, quickly-moving bodies: they anonymously slip by us and through those golden doors, only to transform into the extraordinary characters we have purchased tickets to see. I go out of my way to walk through Shubert Alley even when I'm headed elsewhere, in order to simply absorb Broadway's energy by osmosis. While perhaps not the geographic center of New York's theatre district, Shubert Alley is definitely its heart.
2) TKTS Red Steps
In the midst of the towering billboards, soaring skycrapers, and throngs of gaping tourists of Times Square sits a massive, angular grandstand that gleams a brilliant red. Part sculpture and part roof to the TDF's half-price ticket booth beneath it, the TKTS red steps is also a meeting place, a lookout point, and an attraction all its own. I go in the morning when the city is just starting to bustle and the steps are mostly empty. I like climb to the top (28 steps) and turn in slow circle, taking in the panorama of color -- the marquees, the advertisements, the storeys-high likenesses of Broadway stars and logos from every show. Standing along the railing at the top of the uppermost step, I'm only 16 feet above the street but it feels like I'm floating in a dream of Broadway ephemera. I get giddy every time. As the day goes on the steps begin to fill. Business people from the surrounding skyscrapers materialize to eat their lunches in the sunshine. Deal seekers arrive to line up early for the best selection of half-price tickets. And barkers employed by every show, often dressed in eye-catching costumes begin to pass out fliers, answer questions, and pose for photos with fans. The TKTS booth opens at 3pm and the line around the base of the steps begin to move. Family members and groups of friends squeal over the seats that they've scored. Travelers who have been walking the city all day collapse with relief onto the bleachers. Occasionally a newly married couple will ascend the staircase as the backdrop for their wedding pictures. Everyone seems to have one thing in common -- gratitude for am oasis of rest in the midst of the bustle. Finally, a place to stop and stare at the wonderland of theatrical spectacle that is Times Square.
3) 9th Avenue
Want to know where Broadway casts & crew hang out before, between and after their performances? The answer is 9th Avenue, roughy between 44th & 48th streets. Not only does the area have a dense concentration of unique, affordable restaurants, but it's also the neighborhood in which many of them live (so many that the area is affectionately known to some as "the dance belt"!). This is where I feel the sense of true community that I so associate with Broadway. Every time I pop into City Sandwich (45th & 9th), Chelsea Grill of Hells Kitchen (46th & 9th), Amy's Bread (47th & 9th) or any of the three (yes, three!) Yum Yum Thai restaurants along that stretch, I encounter a pleasant mix: actors decompressing after a show or re-energizing before another one; families with theatre tickets enjoying a pre- or post-performance nosh, and staff that seems to know them all (even those who are dining there for the first time). Restaurant employees are so charismatic that it's clear they are performers too when they're not serving food. More than once I've had a strong feeling that the guy serving my iced tea is someone for whom I'll give a Broadway standing ovation someday (case in point: Tony nominee and Glee cutie Jonathan Groff started his New York career waiting tables at Chelsea Grill!). There's no orchestra, no stage and no script, but in midtown along 9th Avenue, the energy of Broadway is everywhere. And if you keep your eyes peeled, it's the perfect spot to catch a glimpse of your favorite actors relaxing in their natural habitat.
