The Big Apple, The City of Dreams, The City That Never Sleeps, NYC. We set off to New York City for a whirlwind weekend in January, and we had so much fun. I planned this trip as a fast getaway surprise for my husband to see his favorite musical on Broadway – Hadestown. When I told him about my plans (only a few days after booking because I’m horrible at surprises), he suggested we see another Broadway show on Sunday. Then before we knew it, the weekend just turned into a Broadway extravaganza trip. We arrived in New York on Friday evening, saw two Broadway shows on Saturday and two on Sunday, then left for home early Monday morning.

As part of my surprise, I purchased the tickets to Hadestown, then when I told my husband about the trip, he bought tickets for us to see Moulin Rouge on Sunday. Then a week before we left, we noticed that more shows were available and bought tickets to Wicked on Saturday. While in New York on Saturday night, we canceled our dinner reservations for Sunday and bought seats to The Book of Mormon. Four plays in two days!!

We didn’t do a majority of the sightseeing that’s available in New York City. I didn’t go into the trip with any must-sees, so we decided to wander around Broadway in the mornings after finding breakfast and see where we ended up. I booked The Belvedere Hotel due to its proximity to the Broadway theaters. The hotel was old but really charming. In fact, we almost entirely had to use the service elevator to get to our floor throughout the weekend because the two public elevators were not operating. The location was great for us – within a 10-minute walk to all Broadway theaters.

We arrived Friday night and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant called Becco. We walked around afterward and went to Times Square. There were a lot of people there and an overwhelming number of screens and storefronts. On Saturday, we woke up and found breakfast at Amy’s Bread. I had a sourdough bagel; it was delicious. Then we walked in the direction of Rockefeller Plaza, we thought. Nope, we were heading toward Central Park, so we went with it and spent some time in Central Park before our first show of the weekend.

Wicked

Wicked was first on our ballot on Saturday (and our first Broadway play ever), and it was my third favorite show of the weekend. Wicked tells the story of Elphaba in the Land of Oz – an extraordinarily talented and misunderstood witch with green skin. She befriends Galinda (Glinda), the “good” witch that we know from The Wizard of Oz. I have nothing bad to say about Wicked – the acting and music were incredible, the costumes were beautiful, the set was captivating, and the story was heartwarming. The downside was getting seats next to children who sang as loud as they could and a woman who opened individual candy wrappers throughout the entire first half.

There was nothing wrong with Wicked to make it third on my list; it just had very difficult competition. 9/10 recommend Wicked.

Hadestown

Saturday night was the main event – Hadestown. This was the impetus for the trip and my favorite play of the weekend. My husband and I had seen the traveling Broadway rendition of Hadestown in Salt Lake City, but seeing it on Broadway was a special experience.

Hadestown tells a version of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology. Eurydice is a young girl, starving in their world, and goes to work for Hades for the promise of escaping poverty. Her singer-songwriter lover, Orpheus, sets out to rescue her from the underworld. Even if you are uninterested in Greek mythology, it’s still an enjoyable play with fabulous music and impressive sets.

However, we very much enjoy Greek mythology, and Hadestown was amazing. If you are familiar with the characters and story, it helps you connect with the music and acting that much more. We loved everything about Hadestown – the acting, the music, the sets, and the story. Plus, Walter Kerr Theatre was very intimate, and our seats were up-front and center. 10/10 recommend Hadestown.

Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge was our first play on Sunday. The only thing I knew about Moulin Rouge beforehand was what I remembered from seeing the movie many years ago. Of the plays we had planned before our arrival to NYC, Moulin Rouge was the one I was least excited about. However, that all changed once we entered the theater and sat down.

Moulin Rouge is known as a jukebox musical – meaning the majority of songs are well-known popular songs one would hear on the radio. The story is set in Paris just before the 20th century. A young composer, Christian, falls in love with a cabaret actress named Satine. The setting was absolutely captivating as we entered the theater. The costumes were gorgeous. And the music was an absolute blast to sing and dance to. Oh, we also had Aaron Tveit as Christian, who is well-known in the Broadway scene, and he was incredible. The whole cast was amazing. I placed Moulin Rouge as my second favorite play of the weekend because it was just so much fun. 10/10 recommend Moulin Rouge.

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon was our last Broadway play of the trip. We bought last-minute tickets while we were in New York City. I actually think this play would be more enjoyable in Salt Lake City, where the majority of the crowd really gets it. But it was still a lot of fun in New York.

The Book of Mormon was developed by the creators of South Park. So as you can imagine, it was pretty ridiculous. The story follows two missionaries, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as they attempt to preach to a Ugandan village. The ensuing hilarity is crude and off-color but gave a bunch of laughs.

This play isn’t for everyone and definitely not for kids. For me, some scenes were absolute knock-outs, and others were a bit much. Overall, I would give The Book of Mormon 8.5/10. It was my least favorite play of the weekend but still a great time. I was glad we saw it, and we might try to catch the traveling show in Salt Lake next.

We had so much fun on our whirlwind weekend in New York City. I can’t wait to go back and see more Broadway plays. What plays have you seen?