New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [105]
Film
Fodor’s Choice | The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (11 W. 53rd St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/708–9400 | www.moma.org | Subway: E, M to 5th Ave./53rd St.; B, D, F, M to 47th–50th Sts./Rockefeller Center) has some of the most engaging international repertory you’ll find anywhere; it’s shown in the state-of-the-art Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters 1 and 2.
Movie tickets are available at the museum for same-day screenings (a limited number are released up to one week in advance for an extra fee); they’re free if you have purchased museum admission.
Adjacent to the Plaza Hotel sits the Paris (4 W. 58th St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/688–3800 | www.theparistheatre.com | Subway: N, R to 5th Ave./59th St.; F to 57th St.)—a rare stately remnant of the single-screen era. Opened in 1948, it retains its wide screen (and its balcony) and is a fine showcase for new movies, often foreign and with a limited release.
SonyWonder Technology Lab (550 Madison Ave., between E. 55th and E. 56th Sts., Midtown East | 10022 | 212/833–8100, 212/833–7858 tickets | www.sonywondertechlab.com | Subway: E, M to 5th Ave.–53rd St.), the kid-oriented hands-on extravaganza of high-tech how-to for moviemaking and more, shows films as well on Thursday and Saturday.
Though mostly of the Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street genre, it’s worth checking their schedule for teen and adult options. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. You can reserve tickets—all free—by phone in the week of a screening.
Its vintage is late 1960s, but the Ziegfeld (141 W. 54th St., between 6th and 7th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/307–1862 | www.clearviewcinemas.com| Subway: F to 57th St./6th Ave.; N, Q, R to 57th St./7th Ave.) is as close as you’ll come to a movie-palace experience in New York today. Its chandeliers and crimson decor, raised balcony, wide screen, some 1,200 seats, good sight lines, and solid sound system make the Ziegfeld a special place to view anything it serves up. Grand-opening red-carpet galas often take place here as well.
Music
Historic Town Hall (123 W. 43rd St., between 6th and 7th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/840–2824 | www.the-townhall-nyc.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.) is where Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio show broadcasts from in December. It also hosts programs of jazz, cabaret, and rock, the Peoples Symphony Concert series, and a variety of international music, theater, and dance events.
Fodor’s Choice | Carnegie Hall (881 7th Ave., at W. 57th St., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/247–7800 | www.carnegiehall.org | Subway: N, Q, R to 57th St.; B, D, E to 7th Ave.) is, of course, one of the world’s most famous concert halls. Its incomparable acoustics make it one of the best venues—anywhere—to hear classical music, but its presentations of jazz, pop, cabaret, and folk music are superlative as well.
Since Tchaikovsky conducted the opening-night concert on May 5, 1891, virtually every important musician the world has known has performed in this Italian Renaissance–style building, often at the peak of his or her creative powers. Leonard Bernstein had his debut here; Vladimir Horowitz made his historic return to the concert stage here.
The world’s top orchestras perform in the grand and fabulously steep 2,804-seat Isaac Stern Auditorium, the 268-seat Weill Recital Hall often features young talents making their New York debuts, and the subterranean 644-seat Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall attracts big-name artists such as the Kronos Quartet, Milton Nascimento, and Ravi Shankar to its modern and stylish space. A noted roster of family concerts is also part of Carnegie’s programming.
TIP The Carnegie box office offers $10 rush tickets on the day of performance, or you may buy partial-view seating in advance at 50% off the full ticket price.
Performance Centers
City Center (131 W. 55th St., between 6th and 7th