TKTS Booth To Raise Curtain

Shakespeare wrote that, “All the world’s a stage and all of us, merely players.” Well, New York City taxpayers were bit players in the production of the new $19 million TKTS Booth in Manhattan’s Times Square. This state-of-the-art and visually spectacular booth will sell discount Broadway and off-Broadway tickets like the old booth did. Not unexpectedly for public projects in NYC, this facility is 18 months late and $11.4 million over budget. "Unforeseen" business hardships and "poor" project management by the Times Square Alliance are to blame. The group’s Board of Directors however places the blame with its president, Tim Tompkins. The play and the way we’re constantly played, goes on.

Subway Shakespeareans

Many consider Romeo and Juliet, William’s #1 play. Well, here in New York, we have Broadway. Romeo and Juliet ride the #1 train! This summer, USC drama students Peter Vack and Troian Bellisario have been performing the play’s famous balcony scene between train stops. They like the variety of audiences that enter at each stop and time their performances accordingly. Tips have ranged from a penny to $20. Live performances in the subway are often a very entertaining diversion from our famous hole in the ground. However, Troian shouldn’t be standing on train seats in order to recreate a terrace. New Yorkers don’t stand on things meant to be sat on, Troian. You shouldn’t either. Despite some nasty scenes you’ve undoubtedly witnessed while riding the rails, we got some class here!