The Sunday Giveaway: Two tickets to Blue Man Group Off Broadway!
Blue, blue blue man group! Blue, blue, blue man group! (Sung to the tune of “Blue Suede Shoes”!)
Blue Man Group is officially a New York Institution. Like the Empire State Building, The Met, Blue Man is synonymous with unique, cutting edge theater that was born and raised in the one city that would support three bald and blue mutes from another planet . . . New York City.
And if you live in New York City and haven’t seen it, then you might as well live in New Jersey. (Ok, ok, that was a totally uncalled for Jersey joke – but it was just hanging out there like a curve ball so I just had to hit it . . . I’m sorry . . . I promise I’ll make fun of Massachusetts later this week to make up for it.)
Good news is that it doesn’t matter where you live to be eligible to win this week’s giveaway: two tickets to see this blue institution! An institution so successful, that they spawned companies all over the world, an Intel commercial, and even bought the theater where they perform in NYC!
So how do you win?
Give me the name of your favorite NY Institution. It can be Central Park or Magnolia Bakery. Something that you think makes NYC . . . well . . . NYC, and not . . . Boston (See I got it in there already! I totally could have said Hoboken! Dang it. There I go again.)
Ready? Comment away and good blue, blue, blue luck!
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Tkts booth
Schmackary’s of course!
That’s so hard! My favorite at the moment is probably the Freedom Tower. Nothing screams NYC better than a sign of our resilience ♡
Schmackary’s!!!
It is a toss up between Times Square (during a blizzard at night … So fairly vacant) and Bryant Park.
Gray’s Papaya!
Times Square is not my favorite institution. In fact, I really don’t think is is, by definition, an ‘institution’. That said, I defy the naming a different NY ‘institution’ that evokes NY more.
Washington Square Park
Frankie and Johnnie’s Steakhouse at 45th and 8th. It was a speakeasy during prohibition. Have had many wonderful meals and experiences there. A trip to the theater is not complete without a visit to this NY Institution.
I guess I’d have to go with Lincoln Center.!
Broadway of course! Nowhere else exactly like it!
Times Square. Well, you can feel the energy in the middle of the world and it fills you with joy.
That being said, my favorite place would have to be Ellen’s Stardust Diner. There isn’t anywhere like it.
Chobani Cafe!
The New York Public Library!
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL
Shakespeare in the Park. There is something about seeing a show there that is always amazing, even the times when the show is, um, not amazing.
Shakespeare in the Park
Coney Island! And Nathan’s hot dogs.
The Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park.
Well for someone who doesn’t live in NYC, I still carry around an MTA card in my wallet! Never know when I’ll jump on a plane and need it!! The subway…definitely a NYC institution!!
The Brooklyn Bridge, baby!
The Sheep Meadow. Specifically, the view from the Sheep Meadow. When it’s in a movie, we know it’s New York and not some city in Canada, masquerading as New York.
Upright Citizens Brigade improv shows at their (tiny, but awesome) theaters in Chelsea and the East Village!
In a city which has the most diverse and vibrant arts scene in the world, it remains a travesty that the artists which create that art cannot afford to live here. So my favorite NY institution is the one which allows such artists to live where they work: MANHATTAN PLAZA.
Amy’s Bread… especially their tangy sourdough.
Westway Diner, of course. I eat breakfast there almost every day I’m in the theater district.
Penn. Station. It is the first thing I see when I come in from New Jersey!
Without a doubt, The New York Shakespeare Festival, aka Shakespeare in the Park. They may have it everywhere now, but it started here with Joe Papp’s vision to bring the bard to the masses. Coincidentally the Public now lives right across from the Astor place theatre where BMG resides!
Empire state building
Amy’s Breads is a great answer, but when I think New York… I think Yankees. And it’s not that different from Broadway, there are stars and performances and probably lots about marketing that we can learn from them and vice versa.
Most definitely Swing 46 jazz and supper club
I’m going to go with Junior’s. Why? I’m not exactly sure, but it might have to deal with the fact that I am craving a good slice of cheesecake but currently stuck in Indiana.
The Ansonia building on 72nd and Broadway. Before I moved here to go to school in 1993, I rented “Single White Female” which was filmed at the Ansonia and it’s where AMDA is located. Every time I walk by it, I remember how excited I was to move to the Greatest City on Earth! (And still am!)
It’s tough to just pick one….but I would say Chelsea Piers.
Lincoln Center, especially the iconic fountain on the plaza, and the Met Opera!! 🙂
54 Below (an outgrowth of THE original drugs & dancing disco Studio 54)
Carnegie Hall is quintessential New York!!!
Radio city! Tons of NYC landmarks in themselves have taken place there (Rockettes, Tonys, AGT etc)
Patzeria Perfect Pizza
The Highline. They had to raise money to make it happen, too.
All of the Broadway theaters near Times Square!
Chelsea Market! Such a great place 🙂
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Stumptown at the Ace Hotel!
Grand Central Station….thankfully saved from the wrecking ball.
For me nothing is more NYC than Grand Central Station and the Oyster Bar, having traveled a lot I’ve never even seen anything close to this NYC Institution…….
the theaters of Broadway!!
Whenever I travel to NYC I think Macy’s — Macy’s is to NYC what Harrods is to London
There is nothing that says New York like the lights of Broadway!!!
My favorite NYC institution is Bryant Park. Always nice for a little breather after going through sensory overload in Times Square.
It’s so hard to pick a favorite — NYC has far too many beautiful and historic landmarks. However, if I had to choose it’d be a tossup between the Plaza Hotel and Radio City Music Hall!
Eataly – because Mario Batali is an institution in himself and Eataly NY is like no where else
B*R*O*A*D*W*A*Y, of course! What else makes NYC uniquely NYC for a theater person?
But you knew that. This was a trick question, right? 🙂
My native New Yorker Mom went into labor at the Second Avenue Deli (no longer at it’s original location). My native New Yorker Dad took me to Shea Stadium (no longer there) on a night in 1969 when the Mets went into first place for the first time in their history. My favorite NYC institution is generations of creative, talented, striving people from all over the world.
Here is native New Yorker Carl Kissin on the TV show of native New Yorker Joan Rivers performing a political parody of “You Gotta Have a Gimmick.” It’s about the Presidential election that had candidates Clinton-Bush-Perot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwlR-18UG80
Ken, not trying to rush you and your bride, but if you have a child here, he or she will be a native New Yorker!
BROADWAY, of course!
My favorite NYC institution is 2 Bros Pizza. Nowhere else in the world can you get a filling lunch for less than $3. Plus they’re everywhere.
Shubert Alley. The stage doors of the Shubert and the Booth along with that line of show posters has always said Broadway to me like no other place. I still walk through it any chance I get.
Great NY Noodletown! — inexpensive and delicious “dive”: best tasting Chinese food in the City, for not a lot of money! (Corner of Bowery / Bayard). My favorite dish: chicken pan fried noodles with black bean sauce. It’s one of my “secret spots”, an institution rated by both Zagat and Michelin.
Zabar’s.
Not sure if this qualifies as an “institution”, but, the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC)… {I’d normally say yellow taxis, but, now we have those lime green ones
Noting compares to the New York Skyline. It can be seen from miles away and it is the most beautiful sight to behold. Whether driving from NJ or the other buroughs it is truly magnificent.
The Brooklyn Bridge.
Bow Bridge in Central Park, the site of my engagment.
The Highline
Randall’s Island – you may not have been there, but when you are, you know you are only in NY
Margon. You haven’t had Cuban food until you’ve gone to Margon on 46th Street. The lunch prices are unbelievable for this right off Times Square hole-in-the-wall. The place gets packed for lunch but that only speaks to how unbelievable it is. It also perfectly represents the unbelievable cultural melting pot NYC is.
Marjorie Eliot’s “Parlor Entertainment” (free jazz in a living room in Harlem every Sunday for the last 10+ years)
Drama Book Shop, the Mecca for all things theatrical and literary.
Radio City Music Hall
Something that has always been a NYC defining place for me is Edison Cafe. I HAVE to go there anytime I am in the city.
Shake Shack!!!!! The best ever of NYC!!
People – its name is Grand Central Terminal and it is quintessential New York, a soaring testament to the human spirit. My spirits lift every time I walk through its vast, elegant, bustling main hall – and look up.
Ellen’s Stardust Diner. “Alice” meets “Broadway”
Junior’s Cheesecake. Seriously, if you miss out on Juniors, you’re missing out on a huge chick of NYC. Your stomaches will thank me – your thighs will not.
Angel of the Waters fountain and Bethesda Terrace, Central Park
Sheep Meadow, Central Park
Shake Shack at Grand Central Terminal. I am a commuter taking the train to grand central everyday from CT. I work for the arts. I see both visitors and commuters there… eating fast… long line as always… i smell shake shack and trains….then i walk to work. I heart new york.
Choosing one of thousands: Halloween at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine … with its gigantic puppet parade, live organ accompanying a Lon Chaney film, dramatic lighting & fog & smoke, peacocks in the garden, and the incredible architecture of the World’s Largest Gothic Cathedral.
The Blue Ribbon Bakery on Downing Street.
To me, all of New York City IS an institution. And… every single stage. There is no place I’d rather be than in a seat watching a show in NYC!
The Central Park Rambles.
Indubitably.
Seems to me that KD was asking for two institutions– a favorite and one most representative of New York City. Not my favorite but Times Square environs is quintessential Big Apple.
The “FREEDOM TOWER”
Serendipity 3 and the Frozen Hot Chocolate!
The New Yorker Hotel. My R&R stop during my annual “See as many Broadway musicals as I can in a week” marathon.
Statue of Liberty, a good NY bagel, and the NYC subway
tiny ramen shops! and Shake Shack
Hi Ken,
There are many New York Institutions that I grew up with; the cart on the corner selling Hot Dogs (Dirty Water Dogs) no taste like it anywhere. But I guess the grandest Institute in New York I would have to say is Broadway in my opinion, as there is no place, no where like Broadway. As you may know about me I have traveled a great deal doing many live shows (Recording Artists) around the country, I have seen many Broadway Traveling shows (Truck and Bus Shows), but there is nothing like Broadway!!!!
Rick
Theater. Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway, it’s everywhere and the variety is astonishing. Boston’s got some theater, Jersey’s got some too (?) but nothing matching the amount of talent working in NYC.
Also dinner — being able to get a sit-down dinner after 9pm without the waitress saying “the kitchen’s just about to close.” Out of town, it’s Friendlys, IHOP, Diners and chain restaurants after 9pm. Jo Allen’s and Juniors – especially the cheesecake. New York’s great.
I’m crazy about New York, …
What makes New York City – New York City —— WHAT ELSE —— “THE PEOPLE”. There is nothing like New Yorkers any where in the world.
Gotta say Macy’s Parade cause my husband designs. And I’m on a float every year and
my friends carry the balloons..so def..Macy’s Parade!!!
The famous “Circle Line”!!!
The Museum of Natural History followed by Shake Shack! This city is fantastic; there is something to do everywhere (I just moved up from Georgia).
Circle at the Square (also worthy of mention: the Frick Collection, the Met, and the AMNH)!