Live from (and in) New York!
By Bob Rouse
The “SpongeBob SquarePants” cast performing on Broadway
“You can walk a block and go from one cultural experience to
a totally different one. It changes in an instant, and it’s like no
other city.”
That’s New York City that Pam Upton is referring to. Upton
is in her 11th season as tour director for Blue Grass Tours in
Lexington, Kentucky; the company takes seven or eight school
groups each year to the Big Apple. The size of the groups vary
from one to four busloads—and the itineraries are different, too.
“We always ask what’s your purpose, what’s your budget,
and what’s on your wish list?” Upton says. “Most of our
student groups require an educational component, and we
have performance-based trips as well.”
The choice of hotel is often a balance between selecting
a convenient location and being able to afford additional
activities. “Some groups want to stay in Times Square, and
others will stay in New Jersey, depending on how they want to
use their budget,” Upton says. “They can do a lot of things in
the city, but they need to understand that the dollar is king.”
There’s one activity that school groups of all types will
typically budget for. “Most groups include a Broadway
experience, and we work with Broadway Inbound (a group-
sales company),” Upton explains. “There’s a variety of plays,
you know; some are PG and some are risqué. We want our
groups to select a show their parents will be OK with when the
students come home and talk about it.”
In the 15 years that Broadway Inbound has worked with
groups, the logistics have changed, says Bob Hofmann, the
company’s vice president.
“It used to be all about helping the tour operators to choose
one show that everyone would most want to see. Today,
though, it’s more about offering choice to the individuals
within the group,” Hofmann says. “We still have full tours
going to see one show, which is phenomenal, but with another
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group, we might send different members to different shows.
Choice can really enhance the experience.”
And some groups choose more than one show. “I’ve seen
a n increasing number of tour operators that arrange one show
that everyone will see together and then, on a second night,
individuals choose which show they want,” he says. “And of
course there are theater junkies who will schedule eight shows
in a week.”
Upton’s groups have a broader checklist, though.
“We go to either One World Observatory or the Empire
State Building, and I like to take every group to the 9/11
memorial and museum,” she says, adding that most trips
include a visit to Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood.
Many NYC experiences can be educational for students who
haven’t been to big cities, according to Upton. “The culture
and the magnitude of the city are so different than what
they’re exposed to in Kentucky—even mass transit is new for
them. And live TV on the streets is another new experience, so
we’ll go to the ‘Today Show.’”
To Hofmann’s way of thinking, the show matters the
most. “Our groups can be Americans, international, young
or mature. The common denominator is a desire to share
in an experience—Broadway, off Broadway, Radio City or a
performance at Lincoln Center,” he says. “It’s live and there is
nothing else quite like it … anywhere.”
To ask Upton (pictured) for details email her
at [email protected] or visit
bluegrasstours.com. For more information
about Broadway Inbound, contact Peter Waugh
at [email protected] or go to
broadwayinbound.com.