News: Awesome Theater Ticket Deals, Mister Rogers 2.0, Spotlight on Disney Villians, Is Your NYC Child Spoiled?

9/4/12 - By Jeff

Lots of good stuff in this edition of our biweekly news post, including excellent deals on Broadway and Off-Broadway theater tickets, details on the debut of a line of Disney villain dolls, super saving at one of our favorite children's bookstores and an ATM that spits out gold coins. Oh, and Mr. Rogers has been replaced by an animated tiger. Amazing what happens when you're away on vacation, huh?

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Broadway Week is back: From September 4 to 16, score two-for-one full-price tickets to lots of family-friendly shows on the Great White Way including Newsies, Mary Poppins, The Lion King, Peter and the Starcatcher and Bring It On. (Wicked is already sold out and sadly we don't think clicking your heels is going to help you get seats).

Not to be outdone, Off-Broadway shows are also running a deal from September 4 to 23. With 20at20, you can buy $20 tickets 20 minutes before curtain to a bunch of shows, including kid faves like Angelina Ballerina the Musical, Pinkalicious, the Musical, Gazillion Bubble Show, The Berenstain Bears LIVE! and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Books more your speed? NYC's top kid-lit haven, Books of Wonder, is celebrating its 32nd birthday by offering customers 20 percent or more off all merchandise. Hurry as the sale ends this Friday, September 7.

For all those little girls (and moms) out there who relate more to Ursula than Ariel, Disney is finally launching a line of limited edition villain dolls starting Monday, September 10. From the designs, it looks like they're more about fashion than fun. Would Cruella have it any other way?

Proving that, in the future, we're all destined to be replaced by animated animals, the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood reboot stars Daniel, a red-cardigan-wearing, shoe-lacing tiger. Watch an excerpt online, catch it on PBS Kids or pretend it isn't happening. Your choice.

Have you ever wondered which U.S. city has the most spoiled kids? My dad would argue it’s the one I was raised in, but according to a recent analysis of parent spending, the winners are Manhattan followed by Brooklyn. What, were you expecting Cleveland?

So what do you get the spoiled NYC kid who has everything? How about some gold? Now you can hit up the world's first-ever gold coin dispensing ATM located in (wait for it) Midtown Manhattan at the Stack’s Bowers Rare Coin Shop. The limited-edition North American Bison Coins benefit the North American Bison in conjunction with the Wildlife Conservation Society, so at least it's for a good cause.

Heard of The Oogieloves, a new kids' movie from one of the folks behind Thomas the Tank Engine and The Teletubbies? No? Well you're in good company. The independent and interactive family flick made history by suffering one of the worst opening weekends ever! Well, I guess that's one way to get free publicity.

And finally, is there anything more NYC than a MetroCard? Maybe a bagel or a checkered taxi cab? The Times has assembled the history of New York in 50 objects. What do you think? Any glaring omissions? We're surprised not to see a Bugaboo on there somewhere...