If you’re lucky enough to have theater lovers on your holiday list, Broadway Direct has just the gift recommendations to make your presents memorable. From tickets and CDs to Christmas ornaments and snow globes, we can help you find exactly the right gift for any theater fan.
This year, the name on everybody’s list is going to be . . . Hamilton. Whether you’re looking for Hamilton merchandise or other great theater presents, don’t throw away your shot at making the holidays extra-special for friends and family.
If you’re lucky enough to be in New York, you can visit most of these sources and buy in person. If you’re out of town, shopping on the Web or by phone make ordering easy.
Give Theater Tickets
What theater fan wouldn’t be thrilled to receive the gift of tickets? Gift certificates from Theater Development Fund (TDF) — a nonprofit organization that supports live theater arts — are easy to get and give, and offer recipients the flexibility to choose from dozens of shows they want to see at TKTS discount booths on the dates they want to go.
You can order gift certificates in denominations of $25, $50, or $100. Recipients may redeem them at any of the three TKTS discount booths (Times Square, South Street Seaport, and Brooklyn), where same-day tickets for an average of 50 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows are on sale on any given day. Full-price tickets are also available for many shows in advance at the full-price ticket window in Times Square. Recent hits available at 50 percent off include: Kinky Boots, Matilda the Musical, An American in Paris, A View From the Bridge, The King and I, and Les Misérables.
Order gift certificates online at www.tdf.org, by phone at 212-912-9770, ext. 374, or in person at TKTS booths. Visit www.tdf.org for more information.
Give Books
Theater books make great gifts. The Drama Book Shop has been serving theater professionals and fans alike since 1917. Its inventory is huge and its staff is happy to make personal recommendations for theater lovers on your list. Staff recommendations include these bestselling titles:
Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story covers more than 140 stage and film productions and the stories behind them. Cloth, $40
The Hirschfeld Century: Portrait of an Artist and His Age by David Leopold looks at the work of the man whose caricatures exemplified Broadway for decades. Cloth, $40
The Humans by Stephen Karam is the script for the moving Off-Broadway hit coming to Broadway in 2016. Paper, $14.95
Visit the Drama Book Shop at 250 West 40th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), or if you’re not in New York, check out BookFilter.com.
Give Posters
From Absurd Person Singular to Zorba, Triton Gallery — which houses the world’s largest collection of theatrical window cards and posters — is the place where theater lovers in the know go to get posters of hundreds of shows from the 1960s to the present, starting at just $20. Hamilton is in stock as of this writing; visit soon to pick up several for the Hamilton fans on your list. Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Aladdin, and Mary Poppins are also big sellers this holiday season. The brand-new Fiddler on the Roof and The Color Purple are also available.
Triton Gallery is located at 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 808, between 44th and 45th Streets. Call 212-765-2472 or visit www.tritongallery.com for more information.
Give Unique Theater Gifts
Visit Theater Circle and its sister store, One Shubert Alley, for a unique selection of Broadway-related T-shirts, caps, cards, mugs, books, CDs, vocal selections, programs, music boxes, jewelry, and lots more. Among their bestsellers this time of year: gold-colored star-shaped wall plaques announcing your gift recipient as “Actor,” “Actress,” “Almost Famous,” and other titles; Liza and Barbra tree ornaments; and Carols for a Cure, a Broadway star–studded two-disk CD of holiday music to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Theater Circle is located at 268 West 44th Street, west of Broadway near 8th Avenue. One Shubert Alley is in Shubert Alley, west of Broadway between West 44th and West 45th Streets. Call 212-391-7075 or visit www.theatercircleshop.com for more information.
Give CDs and Downloads
While we’re on the subject, why not give the gift of the music from this season’s top Broadway shows? Where to start? You can’t go wrong by giving any or all of the Grammy Award nominees for Best Musical Theater Album:
- An American in Paris
- Fun Home
- Hamilton
- The King and I
- Something Rotten!
You can pick up CDs at Theater Circle or One Shubert Alley, or wherever CDs are sold. Downloads of these hits and many others are available at the iTunes store, where gift cards make gift giving easy.
Support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
And speaking of Broadway Cares, this nonprofit organizationhas raised more than $250 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States. They have an extensive catalog of theater merchandise, including pillows, caps, umbrellas, watches, snow globes, tote bags, scarves, aprons, and much more. Order from their online catalog, give a great gift, and know you’re supporting a worthwhile cause.