The theater season is kicking into high gear, not just on Broadway but also with special performances and benefits popping up all over town. File your taxes early and use that refund to snag seats to one (or all) of these unique events:

Megan Hilty (photo provided by Dan Dutcher PR)

Luck Be a Lady: Megan Hilty Sings Sinatra and More
March 8
Carnegie Hall

The New York Pops continues its 30th season with an evening of swinging favorites in “Luck Be a Lady: Megan Hilty Sings Sinatra and More.” Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke – described by The New York Times as “young and vigorous, with a playful attitude” (and who doesn’t love that?) – will lead the orchestra as it tips its hat to the Rat Pack, Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe and other stars from the golden age of entertainment. The performance features Broadway and TV starlet Megan Hilty and Ryan Silverman, one of Broadway’s favorite leading men. The program will include “Luck Be a Lady,” “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” music from “Smash” and more.

Tickets $18.50 – $112
Click here for tickets.

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It has been a little more than a month since tragedy struck Sandy Hook Elementary School and our nation mourned with the residents of Newtown, CT. As the town continues to recover, Broadway stars, producers, writers, and directors will lend their voices in support. “From Broadway with Love: A Benefit Concert For Sandy Hook” will take place on January 28, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT, 20 minutes from Newtown. All proceeds and donations will go to United Way of Western Connecticut’s Sandy Hook School Support Fund.

“From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert For Sandy Hook” will feature song, dance, and other appearances from some of the biggest names on Broadway, together with select students from various Newtown choirs and dance groups.

Tony award-winner Christine Ebersole is one of the many talents scheduled to perform. (©Christine Ebersole)

Renowned Broadway performers scheduled to appear include Brian Stokes Mitchell, Linda Eder, Stephen Schwartz, Micky Dolenz, Marc Shaiman, Michael Cerveris, Christine Ebersole, Frank Wildhorn, Philip Boykin, Richard Kind, Nikki Blonsky, Mary Testa, Alan Muraoka, Jan Maxwell, Robin De Jesus, Julia Murney, Capathia Jenkins, Janet Metz, Lance Guest, Erik Hayden, Randy Redd, Dan Mills, and Victoria Matlock, Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats as well as members of the touring cast of “Sister Act” and Muppets and cast members from “Sesame Street”.

Brett Boles, author of the musical “Foreverman,” and Broadway producer Van Dean, both from the Newtown area, are the original conceivers of the benefit concert. The Tony Award-winning producer and the emerging musical theater writer decided to put together this concert as a way to lift the spirits of a town so close to their hearts and show that Broadway cares.

“The outpouring of love and support from the Broadway community has been incredibly heartwarming,” noted Dean, “and everyone was looking for a way they could use their talents to bring something positive to the community. ‘From Broadway With Love’ provides them with the perfect outlet to do so.”

“From Broadway With Love” provides a free night of entertainment for the impacted families, first responders, and the Sandy Hook Elementary community. The Palace Theatre seats approximately 2,600 and a limited number of tickets are now on sale for the general public, ranging from $50 to $250. To purchase tickets or make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.FromBroadwayWithLove.org.

This benefit event is made possible, in part, by the generous donations from many companies and individuals including Bermuda Limousine International, One Dream Sound, the Palace Theater of Waterbury, CT, Atomic Rental, Consulting for a Cause, The Silent Orchestra and more.

Your wish for discount theater tickets really can come true. (Kristin Chenoweth in the original Broadway production of "Wicked." Photo: Joan Marcus)

Even the most die-hard theatergoer cannot afford to see a show as often as he or she would like. With the top ticket price clocking in at $135.50, and premium seats soaring even higher, being a Broadway fan may be the best fad diet in town. Nobody should have to choose between a classic New York pizza and slice of cheesecake and a chorus of svelte dancers spinning triple pirouettes.

Fortunately, nycgo.com has come to the rescue, offering 2-for-1 Broadway seats from Jan. 22 – Feb. 7. While not every show is available (those boys at Book of Mormon are still at capacity,) there are a surprising number of great shows participating, including “Wicked”, “Jersey Boys” and the much talked about production of “Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”.

You can also upgrade your ticket for an additional $20 per person, which will get you out of the rear balcony and into orchestra or mezzanine.

The Great White Way isn’t the only place where bargains can be found. Off Broadway is offering the same 2-for-1 deal from Jan. 28 – Feb. 10. Seeing an Off Broadway show is a great way to have a more intimate theatrical experience. And these days, some productions that originated on Broadway, like the Tony award-winning “Avenue Q,” are now in Off Broadway theaters. You can also catch edgier works like “BARE: The Musical,” “My Name is Asher Lev,” and the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Water by the Spoonful.”

The cast of "Water by the Spoonful." (Photo: Richard Termine)

If you can’t make up your mind or pull it together in time to order tickets in advance, I’ve got one more option for you: 20at20. From Jan. 22 – Feb. 10, simply show up at the box office 20 minutes before curtain at a participating Off Broadway theater and request a “20at20” ticket. If available (yes, these shows will sell out so there is a risk factor to save a few bucks) you’ll have a good chance of snagging a $20 seat.

Whichever option you choose, winter can be the best time to enjoy live theater in New York City. And I want to know what you’re seeing! Visit The Broadway Blog’s Facebook page and tell us if the show you saw belongs on the discount rack or if you’ve discovered a hidden gem.

The year is 1981. My parents have a subscription to the Broadway series in Cleveland, Ohio.

The first show we see? “Annie,” of course. For the next three months I can be found singing “Tomorrow” in the stairwell of our split-level suburban home. Several months later they take me to see the second show in the series, “La Cage Aux Folles.” Seriously. I spend the rest of the summer belting out “I Am What I Am” with a towel wrapped around my head like Tallulah Bankhead.

Clearly ahead of their time, my parents will be happy to know that The Broadway League (with The New York Times as presenting sponsor) will enable children to see a Broadway show for free from Monday, February 25 through Sunday, March 3.
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Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’ve got breaking news from the booth…

Image via tdf.org

Maybe the K in TKTS stands for Kmart…because the venerable ticket booth in Times Square is heading into one-stop discount shopping territory.

The Theatre Development Fund, which runs the discount ticket service, announced that they will be testing out some new services to allow customers to take care of all of their Broadway and Off-Broadway buying needs in one spot. In addition to their usual day of “sale price” tickets, starting this week the booth will offer:

• simultaneous sales of same day matinee AND evening tickets from the time the booth opens on two show days

• a full price ticket window for future performances  or same day full-price tickets to shows that are not available at a discount

What does this mean for you? Well, for two show days it means the early bird gets the orchestra seats; get to the booth when it opens in the morning and you might have a shot at the best tickets for that evening’s shows. (Though remember, the booth gets discounted tickets through the day as producers decide they can no longer sell them at higher prices…so you can never be sure when the tickets will “hit” for the better selling shows. We’ll have to do some investigating over the next few months to see how this lands.)

It also means that folks interesting in doing a double feature can buy their tickets for the whole day at once. No more getting back in line after your matinee.

One big asterisk: these changes are not being instituted at the Brooklyn and South Street Seaport TKTS locations; you’ll have to go to Times Square to double dip. However, unlike the main booth, these locations will still be offering matinee tickets the evening before.

Breathe. Change is good. It will all be OK.

Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’re going to bring Broadway to you…

Gavin Creel in "The Book of Mormon". Photo by Joan Marcus.

They say that home isn’t a place; it’s a state of mind. Well, the same thing can be said of Broadway.

It’s not just a few select theaters along a boulevard in New York City. Broadway can represent the best of live theater performed by top tier talent — wherever that may be. But for those of you outside the Big Apple, how do you find out about the latest shows near you?

The Broadway League has just relaunched an updated (and might I say, quite snazzy) version of their Touring Broadway website, featuring all that you might need to know to get your curtain call fix. It features profiles of Broadway tours, video previews and news designed specifically for the theater lover who lives beyond 42nd street but still wants to see a production of 42nd Street.

Best of all, there’s a simple, user friendly search tool. Enter your zip code and they’ll tell you the affiliated theaters and touring shows that are within a 150 mile radius of your home. (Come on, a Broadway show is worth a two and a half hour drive, isn’t it?) Say you enter “Des Moines, IA;” in the next year you’ll be treated to tours of The Book of Mormon, Les Miserables, War Horse, and Jersey Boys as well as the Broadway bound Jeckyl and Hyde. Click the links and you can access tickets and more info.

Sonny Paladino, Director of Staff at BroadwayU. Image via BroadwayUonline.com.

“You got big dreams? You want fame? Well, here is where you start paying. In sweat.”

When a stick-thumping Debbie Allen spoke those immortal words in the opening credits of Fame, the “here” she was referring to was a dance classroom. But now, it seems, that “here” can be anywhere, thanks to the power of Skype. At least that’s the gospel according to the folks at Broadway U, a new online service that offers one-on-one theater classes taught by Broadway performers via webcam.

Sure, nothing can replace the work done in a rehearsal hall with a serious teacher, but for students far from great training opportunities or dabblers who want to get a taste of the business and learn some confidence-building skills, it isn’t a bad idea. The program offers sessions in voice, dance and audition training from folks with real-world, working resumes. Comparable with what you’d pay for a lesson in NYC, the sessions aren’t cheap at $99 bucks for an hour (plus studio time for dance) but the convenience might make it worthwhile. And if you have a big audition coming up, why not let a pair of experienced outside eyes take a look at what you’re preparing?

Color me curious. If anyone has tried it, I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments. Until then, let’s watch some of their free (and solidly informative)  ”One Minute Master Classes” to get a sense of what you might experience. First up, a quick dance combo that is a fun challenge for anyone who loves a little “pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time” test…

Next up, a helpful lesson in breathing and a useful tip about overcoming nerves…

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Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’re going to freshen up your audition repertoire and your insider knowledge…

Zac Resnick sings Kerrigan & Lowdermilk. Photo by Monica Simoes.

There’s a new generation of music theater writers (I like to call them young whipper-snappers) storming the Broadway castle, savvily building buzz by harnessing the power of social media. Whether it’s the pioneering grassroots campaign to get [title of show] on the Great White Way or the twitter-ing fan base for Kerrigan & Lowdermilk, it’s hard to break into the big time without youtube videos and a strong digital presence.

One of the best ways to dive into this world is newmusicaltheatre.com, a website featuring downloadable sheet music by new composers. The user-friendly marketplace allows singers (and/or fans) to legitimately own fresh material while giving writers the opportunity to make some money. (As they say, you can make a killing but not a living in music theater.) The search system is intuitive, the song samples are helpful and the range of material is growing to feature most of the next generation talent out there (Iconis, Friedman and Pasek & Paul are all represented among many others.) And even if you don’t want to buy a song, it’s a great place to get a snapshot of what’s happening in music theater today.

Not sure where to start? Here’s video of the lovely “Alaska” by Adam Gwon, as sung by Nick Blaemire:

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Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’re going behind the curtain to see how Broadway shows really get to opening night…

2006 Broadway Revival of "A Chorus Line". Photo by Paul Kolnik.

It’s July and all is quiet on Broadway.

Or so it seems. Actually, right now in production offices, rehearsal studios and writers’ rooms around New York, the real drama is happening as the 2012-2013 theatrical season takes shape. Big decisions are being made with multi-million dollar investments on the line.

So how do we mere mortals get behind the scenes and find out what’s really happening? (And don’t say, “Watch the first season of Smash on my dvr.” It’s fun but a documentary it is not.) Fire up your netflix subscription and rent these three highly recommended, “warts and all” films about the state of the Broadway art…

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Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’re getting out our datebooks for some important dates…

"Memphis". Photo by Joan Marcus.

The recent surprising news that Tony-winner Memphis will be closing on August 5 (after a healthy run, though without an official recoupment announcement) highlighted the fact that this has been a particularly brutal summer on Broadway. In fact, I’m finding it hard to keep track of who is still standing–or kick-ball-changing–on the Great White Way. And if you have a vacation to New York planned, you may be similarly at sea about what will still be around to see or not to see.

[Special note: For the holiday week next week, most Broadway shows are changing up their schedules to avoid competing with fireworks. The added/rearranged shows are a great time to pick up last minute tickets.]

So let’s take a moment to update our scorecards and take a look at who is on the death watch list (see them now, just in case) and what new shows will be replenishing our stock in the coming months. First up, a moment of silence for the shows that won’t make it to Labor Day:

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