My fall trip to New York was the worst in years. there was so little theater that interested me that I might have well stayed home. I saw Big Fish, and cannot quarrel with its poor box office, and I saw After Midnight, which is more of a jazz show than theater. It was just okay.

The best show on my list was A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, starring the wonderful Jefferson Mays, but I took ill right before the show and had to skip it.

Spring theater looks more promising. Neil Patrick Harris will star in the wonderful Hedwig and the Angry Inch. No doubt it will be the must see ticket for gays. I remember seeing it off-Broadway many moons ago and being just knocked off my seat.

Ticket prices keep climbing. Standard orchestra on Broadway is now in the $150 range, and they are just not giving value for the money, or so I think.

Ticket prices keep climbing. Standard orchestra on Broadway is now in the $150 range, and they are just not giving value for the money, or so I think.

Aren't orchestra seats the good 'uns, the one you buy when you want to impress your date?

I've read that tourism is way up in New York the last couple of years, recession not withstanding. So I'm guessing ticket sales are robust enough for the theater crowd to jack up prices and make hay while the sun shines.

Still, 300 bucks for a pair of seats does seem a bit high even for orchestra.