I finally went to The Polish Tea Room on 47th between Broadway and 8th. I took Michael Rubinoff and Kendra Bator (the producers on Plane Crazy) out for dinner (woohoo, big spender!). What a great coffee shop! Tons of Broadway posters, cool vaulted ceilings that look like iced wedding cakes (blue and pink) and inexpensive, good food.

As soon as we sat down Kendra spotted Jamie Bell who starred as Billy Elliot in the movie Billy Elliot, sitting at a nearby table. I love celebrity sightings!

And of course, Billy Elliot is now Billy Elliot The Musical, playing in the West End. The creative team includes:

ELTON JOHN - COMPOSER
LEE HALL - WRITER
STEPHEN DALDRY - DIRECTOR
PETER DARLING - CHOREOGRAPHER
IAN MACNEIL - DESIGNER
MARTIN KOCH - MUSICAL SUPERVISOR
PAUL ARDITTI - SOUND DESIGNER
RICK FISHER - LIGHTING DESIGNER
PHILIP BATEMAN - MUSICAL DIRECTOR
JULIAN WEBBER - ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
NICKY GILLIBRAND - COSTUME DESIGNER
WORKING TITLE - PRODUCERS
OLD VIC PRODUCTIONS PLC - PRODUCERS
DAVID FURNISH - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Yeah, Sir Elton John!

We left determined to put a Plane Crazy poster up in this venerable institution.

Here is some info from L.A. Splash Magazine on the Hotel Edison:

The hotel was opened in 1931, just a few months after the opening of the present incarnation of the Waldorf Astoria...another art deco masterpiece, and Radio City Music Hall. Due to the Depression and World War II, the Edison was the last hotel to be built until 1957 When Loew's Summit opened on Lexington Avenue. So for all those years the Edison was New York's newest hotel!

The most prominent feature is the famous Art Deco Lobby and it's grand murals depicting New York Scenes as they once were. But don't just look up; look down at the beautiful inlaid tiles and around at the walls. Notice over the check in/out counter the clocks displaying time in various global zones, a subtle indication of the worldwide clientele this hotel serves.

There are several restaurants and a bar attached to the hotel. The loan-shark murder scene in The Godfather was shot in what is now Sophia's restaurant. The pink-and-blue (wedding cake looking filigree and plaster) of the Edison Cafe is a theater-crowd landmark consistently recognized as New York City's best coffee shop.It is a famous meeting place of Broadway producers and cast members, (Neil Simon has a regular), so much so, that it was nicknamed the Polish Tea Room. Playing on the fact that a lot of business deals were made at the Russian Tea Room and those that weren't willing to pay the high prices there would meet, eat and deal at the Cafe Edison and thus came the name, the Polish Tea Room.

The Russian Tea Room is gone, but the Polish Tea Room lives on...

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