Broadway, Baby
Broadway. Bagels. Bonding. If you’re thinking about a girls’ getaway to New York City, let this be your sign – and your unofficial guide.
My daughter and I just got back from a long weekend in the city, hitting our favorite spots, and finding some news ones along the way.
The Headliner: The Outsiders
Obviously a trip to NYC isn’t the same without a Broadway show. My daughter saw The Outsiders last year and hasn’t stopped talking about it since. So we built the trip around the show, and it did not disappoint. The 2024 Tony winner for Best Musical brought a classic story to life in unexpected ways, and the rumble scene was sensory overload. Amazing choreography, pelting rain, flying gravel, splattered blood – I’d never seen anything like it. We were lucky to see UC-College Conservatory of Music grad John Patrick Collins as Sodapop and he was just as charming at the stage door as he was on stage. I’m not afraid to admit it: there were tears during “Stay Gold.” It’s a must-see.
What a Rush: John Proctor is the Villain
This one was more spontaneous. We decided to try getting rush tickets—which, for the uninitiated, means showing up early at the box office in hopes of snagging same-day seats at a discount. Seats is a bit of an overstatement for this situation, since we actually scored standing room only tickets. To earn those tickets? I waited in line for two hours before the box office opened. There was a line. There was coffee. There was bonding with fellow theater nerds. And in the end? Totally worth it.
John Proctor is the Villain is about a high school English class in a small Georgia town studying The Crucible. The play stars Sadie Sink from Stranger Things, and is smart and current and at two points, we literally gasped out loud. Pro tip: if you don’t know the story, DON’T GOOGLE. Be surprised. We were and it made the experience that much better.
Don’t Miss: The New York Public Library
Between shows and sightseeing, we ducked into one of my all-time favorite places: the New York Public Library next to Bryant Park. You may know it as the site of the Sex and the City episode where Carrie almost marries Big. I know it as a quiet, beautiful space with marble staircases, reading rooms that belong in a movie, and one of the best gift shops in Manhattan.
Best part? It’s free to enter, and the rotating exhibitions are surprisingly incredible. On this trip, we saw George Washington’s handwritten farewell address and the original Winnie the Pooh and all his Hundred Acre Woods friends. The items were among dozens of others on display from the library’s archives.
Street-style dining
We had exactly one fancy meal—and it was worth every bite. After The Outsiders, we went all in with dinner at Bond 45, where we pretended to be very sophisticated while ordering Broadway-show themed dishes.
The rest of the time? We kept it deliciously simple:
Street meat: foldable pizza and a New York hot dog. These are non-negotiable.
Bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel: the official breakfast of champions.
Fruit cup with tajín and chamoy—yes, from a cart in Central Park. Spicy, sweet, and somehow the most refreshing thing we ate all weekend.
The viral Dubai chocolate bar—a TikTok must-have. Pistachio cream and crunchy caramel bits surrounded by milk chocolate. Don’t overspend on this. One bar was $30 at FAO Schwarz, but we found the same one for $10 at a wonderful NY Bakery & Desserts, a 24-hour sweet spot just off Times Square.
A Few Favorite Shops
Step away from Times Square shopping and try a couple of these only-in-NYC spots:
Drama Book Shop – A Broadway-lover’s dream. Play scripts, show merch, sheet music, and a cozy café with dramatic lighting, obviously.
Mure + Grand – A colorful little boutique full of accessories, jewelry, the girliest NYC t-shirts and “we probably didn’t need this but we’re glad we bought it” finds. There are several locations in the NYC area, which wherever you stay, you won’t have to go far to find one.
One Shubert Alley – Tucked in a tiny alley behind the Shubert Theatre, this hidden gem is packed with merch from nearly every Broadway show running. T-shirts, magnets, posters and cast albums - it’s a souvenir dream.
Killing time, killer makeup
We ducked into Saks Fifth Avenue one day to avoid the rain. The building is gorgeous inside and we encountered some wonderful salespeople who looked past our drenched-rat aesthetic and offered some high-end luxury makeup without a hard sell. The place smelled amazing – so much so, I decided my souvenir would be a home fragrance kit. The staff happily helped us ship it home, and it was at our doorstep within 48 hours.
On our last day, with just a few hours to kill before heading to the airport, we did what any savvy mother-daughter duo would do: got a full face of makeup at Sephora. No agenda, no event—just vibes and bronzer. It was accidental, but educational, and a plane trip is the perfect way to find out if a concealer really won’t crease.
Keep costs low and spirits high
A girls’ trip is a perfect opportunity for a little “save or splurge.” We kept costs down by prioritizing shows over dinners, and exploring over paid activities. Some of our souvenirs were inexpensive postcards and stickers from the library. We spent time strolling through Central Park and checking out the nearby Plaza Hotel. (Yes, we pretended we were Eloise.) We even hit a thrift store along the way. We walked everywhere, but a Metro card is an easy way to cut down on those thousands of steps without spending too much. Bottom line: the fun is in the experience, not the extras.
And if you plan it right, you’ll leave with sore feet, full hearts, and maybe a tote bag full of merch you didn’t technically need—but absolutely love.
– Kathrine Nero