Day 2 - Take me to Broadway

Being a theatre-lover and an ever loyal West End-follower there was nothing that I looked more forward to than being able to watch my first Broadway show ever and it was The Addams family that had the honour. So we hopped aboard the PATH train en route to 33rd Street… whatever that means.

Of all the countries I have ever been in, apart from the Philippines, I have never come across a more indecipherable public transport system. Sure the newer trains occasionally announce the stops and have a plan of the subway, but if you're one of the unlucky tourists who ends up on an old train you'd probably have no idea where on Earth you're headed to. Our destination was some numbered street located in between two numbered avenues on Broadway. Completely dumbfounded I just blindly followed my Aunt Mona and Marsha and occasionally nodded to at least pretend to be of some help in locating the theatre.

Wandering around Broadway and Times Square was a little like being in a Broadway musical yourself. A man dressed up as Superman prancing around to sell bags for $10. A half-naked man with a cowboy hat belting out country tunes with his arch nemesis stationed across the street, a half-naked cowgirl serenading curious male onlookers with country medleys of her own. Oh and how could I forget the group of young wannabe rappers freestyling on cue trying to sell their records to passersby. And I thought London was crazy. A bare 10 minutes in Times Square makes London look like an obedient Catholic school girl. This really is the urban jungle.



Struggling through the jungle past poisonous bag and ticket sellers, it wasn't long until we found it and were sat in our seats in the mezzanine (expect to pay over $120 to even think of sitting in the stalls). However in contrast to London's West End, theatres here are fairly small and so regardless of whether you're sat in the back of the mezzanine or the front of the stalls, you still get a very good view of everything. Unlike in London where I had to rent binoculars just so I could differentiate between the male and female characters on stage.

'Oh my god… this is my first Broadway show!'

Lights dimmed down and the curtain opened… Showtime. The Addams Family musical was nothing less than brilliant. It was funny, entertaining with an appropriate amount of darkness - enough for you to realise they're a pretty weird and sadistic family but not enough to destroy the light-hearted nature of Broadway. It was a great first Broadway experience, but how would I compare it to the West End you say? Well to be honest I think they're equally as good as each other. The only observable differences were that Broadway tickets are a lot more expensive and they have better seating. So which is better is for you to judge. Try them both out and tell me what you think. My heart is still singing a tale of two cities - London and New York.