Broadway As a Stocking Stuffer? You Bet

12/08/2004 1:36 PM, AP
Michael Kuchwara

Gift cards are everywhere this time of the year, so why should Broadway be excluded from what could be the perfect stocking stuffer this Christmas?

Now, the League of American Theatres and Producers has established the Broadway Gift Card, a prepaid Visa card that can be used to get tickets to shows at more than three dozen Broadway theaters and other places around the country.

The gift cards are available in three denominations: $225, $195 and $155. They can be purchased online at www.LiveBroadway.com or at the Broadway Ticket Center in New York, located in Times Square at 1560 Broadway.

For more information, visit the www.LiveBroadway.com Web site.

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Broadway ticket availability and capsule reviews of shows as of Dec. 6. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are available at the theaters' box offices for the shows listed. Details about how to obtain tickets appear at the end.

_"Avenue Q." Love blossoms among the twentysomething set — a group that includes puppets — in this very funny, adult musical comedy that has transferred from off-Broadway. Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for best musical. Golden. Telecharge.

_"Beauty and the Beast." For those who want a lavish, literal, live-action version of the delightful Disney animated feature, this is the ticket. Others may be content to rent the film. Lunt-Fontanne. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747.

_"Billy Crystal : 700 Sundays." The comedian makes his Broadway debut in a heartwarming and hilarious autobiographical one-man show. Broadhurst. Telecharge. Difficult.

_"Bombay Dreams." A bland version of the lavish London success that celebrates India's Bollywood musicals. Broadway. Telecharge.

_"Brooklyn The Musical." A young French woman comes to America in search of her father in what has been described as an urban fairy tale. Plymouth. Telecharge

_"Chicago." An entertaining revival of the 1975 Bob Fosse musical with a sassy Kander and Ebb score. Broadway's longest running musical revival — and deservedly so. Ambassador. Telecharge.

_"Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance!" Possums, beware. Australia's most exotic import has returned with a new show. Music Box. Telecharge.

_"Democracy." Michael Frayn's play about West German chancellor Willy Brandt and his trusted assistant, who is spying for the East Germans. James Naughton and Richard Thomas star. Brooks Atkinson. Ticketmaster.

_"Dracula, The Musical." The old neck-biter is back, this time with songs by Frank Wildhorn, composer of "Jekyll & Hyde." Tom Hewitt plays Dracula. Belasco. Telecharge.

_"Fiddler on the Roof." A lovely revival of the classic Bock-Harnick and Robbins musical, starring Alfred Molina as Tevye and Randy Graff as Golde. Minskoff. Ticketmaster.

_"42nd Street." Those tapping feet are back. A loud, relentless revival of one of the biggest musical hits of the 1980s. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Ticketmaster. Closes Jan. 2.

_"Gem of the Ocean." August Wilson's latest drama about one man's spiritual journey in early part of 20th century. Phylicia Rashad stars. Walter Kerr. Telecharge.

_"Golda's Balcony." A forceful Tovah Feldshuh, who received a Tony nomination for best actress, is the legendary Israeli prime minister in a fascinating one-woman show written by William Gibson. Helen Hayes. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 2.

_"Hairspray." The cult John Waters movie set in 1960s Baltimore has been turned into a hilarious, tuneful musical. Bruce Vilanch plays full-figured Edna Turnblad, mother of young Tracy Turnblad (Carly Jibson) whose life's desire is to appear on a television dance show. Neil Simon. Ticketmaster.

_"La Cage aux Folles." Gary Beach and Daniel Davis star in a revival of the exuberant Jerry Herman musical about a gay couple who own a nightclub in the south of France. Marquis. Ticketmaster.

_"Laugh Whore." Comedian Mario Cantone's acerbic and hilarious one-man show. Cort. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 2.

_"Mamma Mia!" The London musical sensation featuring the pop songs of ABBA makes it to Broadway. Die-hard ABBA fans will like it best; others may be puzzled. A special "Mamma Mia!" Telecharge number 212-563-5544.

_"Marc Salem's Mind Games on Broadway." Marc Salem knows what you are thinking — before you do. Monday evenings only. Lyceum. Telecharge

_"Movin' Out." Songs by Billy Joel . Choreography by Twyla Tharp. A dance musical about good friends, taking them from the 1960s onward. The dancing is exuberant; the story less so. Richard Rodgers. Ticketmaster.

_"'night, Mother." Marsha Norman's mother-daughter drama of despair. The stars are Brenda Blethyn and Edie Falco . Royale. Telecharge. Closes Feb. 27.

_"Pacific Overtures." A revival of the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical about the opening of Japan to the West. A Roundabout Theatre Company production. Studio 54. 212-719-1300.

_"Reckless." Mary-Louise Parker stars in a Manhattan Theatre Club revival of Craig Lucas' dark comedy about one woman's adventures across America. Biltmore. Telecharge. Closes Dec. 19.

_"Rent." Jonathan Larson's touching and now nostalgic look at struggling artists in New York's East Village. Loosely based on Puccini's opera "La Boheme." Nederlander. Ticketmaster.

_"The Good Body." Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues," looks at women's image issues. Booth. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 16.

_"The Lion King." Director Julie Taymor is a modern-day Merlin, creating a stage version of the Disney animated hit that makes you truly believe in the magic of theater. New Amsterdam. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747. Difficult on weekends.

_"The Phantom of the Opera." The one with the chandelier. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House is the prime, Grade A example of big Brit musical excess. But all the lavishness does have a purpose in Harold Prince's intelligent production. Majestic. Telecharge.

_"The Producers." A riotous stage version of the Mel Brooks movie. The musical is even better than the film, which is saying something. St. James. A special "Producers" Telecharge number 212-239-5800.

_"The Rivals." A revival of the Richard Brinsley Sheridan comedy classic. The cast includes such veteran stage performers as Richard Easton, Brian Murray and Dana Ivey as the linguistically challenged Mrs. Malaprop. A Lincoln Center Theater production. Now in previews. Opens Dec. 16. Vivian Beaumont. Telecharge.

_"Twelve Angry Men." Reginald Rose's drama of jury deliberations. Philip Bosco and Boyd Gaines are in the fine cast of this Roundabout Theatre Company production. American Airlines. 212-719-1300. Closes March 27.

_"Whoopi." Whoopi Goldberg is back on Broadway with her one-woman show. Lyceum. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 30.

_"Wicked." An ambitious if problematic new musical about the witches in "The Wizard of Oz." Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Gershwin. Ticketmaster. Difficult on weekends.

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The Telecharge number is 212-239-6200 unless otherwise indicated. There is a $6 service charge per ticket, plus a $2.50 handling fee per order.

Ticketmaster is 212-307-4100. There is a $6 service charge per ticket, plus a $3 handling fee per order.

All theaters owned by Jujamcyn — the St. James, Martin Beck, Virginia, Eugene O'Neill and the Walter Kerr — have a $1 surcharge per ticket for theater restoration. Shows that opened in Shubert theaters after Jan. 1, 2001, have a "facilities" surcharge for theater restoration: $1.25 per ticket.

Both Telecharge and Ticketmaster will provide information on specific seat locations. They also have toll-free numbers for theater ticket calls outside New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. For Telecharge call 800-432-7250; for Ticketmaster call 800-755-4000.

The League of American Theaters and Producers has a special telephone line called the Broadway Line for information on most Broadway shows (except "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast") and how to purchase tickets. Calls must be made on a touch-tone phone. The number is 1-888-BROADWAY. The line also will provide information on Broadway touring productions. Consumers in the New York tri-state area may call 212-302-4111.

The TKTS booth in Times Square at Broadway and 47th Street sells same-day discount tickets to Broadway, off-Broadway, music and dance productions. There is a $3 service charge per ticket. Cash or travelers checks only. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday evening performances, 3 p.m.-8 p.m.; matinees Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

The downtown TKTS booth is in the South Street Seaport at the corner of Front and John Streets. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Closed Sunday. Matinee tickets must be purchased at South Street Seaport the day before, meaning Wednesday matinee tickets are available Tuesday, Saturday matinee tickets are available Friday and Sunday matinee tickets are available Saturday.

Full-price tickets and information on Broadway and off-Broadway shows are available at the Broadway Ticket Center, located on the east side of Broadway between 46th Street and 47th Street. There is a $4.50 service charge per ticket.

For 24-hour information on theater, dance and music performances in New York's five boroughs, call the Theater Development Fund's New York City-On Stage, 212-768-1818.