Looking for a good time? A quick guide to the many diversions of your new home city

Many Yale students think that for entertainment in New Haven, the Yale campus is the one and only place to be. Not true. The Elm City is a cultural mecca packed with a wide variety of entertainment options. If you look in the right places, you will find that there is indeed plenty to do beyond the Yale campus. Check out this guide to New Haven fun for things to do when campus life starts getting a little repetitive. The map on the following pages shows how to get anywhere.

Where to kick it

As a freshman, tradition dictates that you go to Naples Pizzeria (90 Wall St.) on Thursday nights. The pizza at Naples is great, but it's the atmosphere that really draws the crowds. Though recently renovated for a more "family-friendly" ambience, Naples has tables made of thick, stained wood covered with carvings of students' initials. The jukebox plays a random assortment of sing-along tunes, including Sinatra's "My Way" and the classic "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." For students lucky enough to avoid having Friday morning classes, Thursday nights at Naples can be an integral part of the Yale undergraduate experience. Though Naples doesn't have its own dance floor anymore, innovative freshmen are known to dance in every available inch of the restaurant, even on top of the ever-popular booths and tables. In addition to music, Naples is a reliable source for pitchers of beer.

If the usual drinking games just aren't cutting it for you anymore and you feel like you need a bit more "culture," then you should definitely check out Mory's (306 York St.), featured in the recent teen thriller The Skulls. Mory's is a members-only restaurant with high-priced, old-school eating club food. Part of the Old Blue tradition at Yale, Mory's is where the Whiffenpoofs were founded in 1909, and they still gather to sing there every Monday night. What attracts most undergrads to Mory's, however, isn't the food or the music, but the cups. "Doing cups" involves consuming large silver goblets of colored champagne-based drinks, singing loudly, and following pointless rules that are followed solely for tradition's sake. The dress code is strict: skirts or dresses for women, jackets for men.

For a more laid-back party atmosphere, large groups often like to frolic with nachos and sangria at Viva Zapata (161 Park St.). Some students go there for Mexican meals, but most go for late-night snacks or the occasional birthday or cast party. An eclectic assortment of farm equipment and sundry objects decorates the wood interior. It may be dim and smoky, but you are guaranteed to find some of your friends there on a Friday or Saturday night.

Music and dancing

Several years ago, Performance magazine rated Toad's Place (300 York St.) the best nightclub in the country. Over the years, Toad's has hosted a number of famous performers. The Rolling Stones kicked off their Steel Wheels tour at Toad's while one of Mick Jagger's daughters was a student at Yale. These days, the concert action is a little slower, and Toad's is better known among Yalies for its Saturday night dance parties and the notorious "booty cam," which projects images of partygoers across the club for all to see.

A recent addition to the club scene is Alchemy (223 College St.), a new dance club that also features dining. Alchemy's sombrero-shaped sofas provide a comfortable atmopshere for the intake of their special "conversation food." Special lighting effects and a digital sound system keep the party pounding in the club section of the establishment until 2 a.m.

A beloved hole-in-the-wall, The Tune Inn (29 Center St.) offers an intimate environment in which to enjoy lively and intense shows. The stage is stuck in the corner of a cozy, enclosed area and audiences are forced to commune and stand close to the band. Though it occasionally hosts big shows and dance parties, The Tune Inn usually offers a venue for off-beat musicians, both local and touring.

New Haven's flashiest and most dynamic dance club, Gotham Citi (130 Crown St.) offers something for everyone. Wednesday night features "Party 105," co-sponsored by a local mainstream radio station which delivers constant top-40 hits. Friday is "Dark Carnival," lauded as "the largest goth/industrial party in the tri-state area" and Saturday is renowned for "the largest gay party in Connecticut." After doubling its space this past year, Gotham Citi complemented its classy dance floor with an exotic alcohol-free after-hours lounge area upstairs.

Offering both spirited jam sessions and reasonably good meals, the newly-opened Blues Café (71 Whitney Ave.) has become a popular hangout for New Haven's music lovers. Major blues players from Boston, New York, and beyond, along with considerable local talent, have made this long-troubled club site a recent success.

The Palace Theater (246 College St.) hosts a bevy of musical festivals. Two years ago, Rusted Root and *NSYNC performed here, and in the past several years, Ani DiFranco, Sonic Youth, the Indigo Girls, Lou Reed, Dave Matthews Band, Spin Doctors, Robert Cray, Tori Amos, Bob Dylan, Wynton Marsalis, Lyle Lovett, Natalie Merchant, and Blues Traveler have all made appearances. In addition to musicians, comedians, bodybuilders, and other entertainers frequent the Palace during the year. Last winter, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation sold the theater to a private area developer when Yale declined to buy the property. But despite the change in ownership, the Palace remains fully functional and continues to attract prominent performers.

Theater

Called "the birthplace of the nation's greatest hits," the Shubert Theater (247 College St.) was once the place where shows opened before heading to Broadway. World-famous musicals such as Brigadoon, South Pacific, The King and I, My Fair Lady, and A Streetcar Named Desire have all made their debuts on the Shubert's stage.

After peaking during the '50s and '60s, however, the Shubert fell on hard times and even closed down for a short period. Although it is no longer the powerhouse that it once was, it is still the centerpiece of a thriving theater scene in New Haven, and it remains the breeding ground for much Broadway-bound theater—Neil Simon's Proposals, opened here in the fall of 1997 before going to New York. Other recent productions have included Crazy for You, Angels in America, Guys and Dolls, Les Miserables, Grease, and Fiddler on the Roof.

Over the past few years, the Shubert has presented numerous musicals and operas such as Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Chicago and other popular fare such as Savion Glover's tap dance extravaganza Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk. The Alvin Ailey Dance Company also appeared here recently. In addition, the theater has staged operas like Die Fledermaus and plays like Master Class, which also ran successfully on Broadway.

Founded in the '60s, the Long Wharf Theatre (222 Sargent Dr.) offers an affordable alternative to the Yale theater scene. Its schedule comprises upwards of 10 shows per year. Although known for bringing in such big names as James Avery from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Geoffrey Owens, BR '83, from The Cosby Show for a well-received 1920s-style restaging of Much Ado About Nothing, the theater has otherwise had a hit-or-miss record.

The Yale Repertory Theatre (corner of Chapel and York), known also as the Yale Rep, is a professional theater that employs actors from around the nation and trains students in the Yale School of Drama. It stages six different performances every year, each running for three weeks.

Plays at the Rep range from the traditional to the bizarre. This past season has displayed impressive staging and artistic design as well as fine, if uncultivated, acting talent. This year's highlights included William Congreve's Restoration comedy The Way of the World, and The Birds, a modern adaptation of Aristophanes' classical comedy. The Way of the World combined a sparse, modernized set with period costumes. The Birds, with wild, feathery costumes, displayed the comic antics of the Yale School of Drama's MFA class of 2001. Tickets range from $10 to $28, or you can buy a $51 season pass good for six shows.

Art and museums

The Yale University Art Gallery (1111 Chapel St.) is the oldest university gallery in the country and admission is free for undergraduates. The Gallery is located right around the corner from Old Campus, and houses such works as Picasso's "First Steps" and Van Gogh's "Night Café." It also contains pieces by well-known artists such as Kandinsky, Gauguin, Monet, and Rothko.

The basement features an acclaimed Ancient Art exhibit, and the first and second floors feature temporary exhibits that change several times throughout the year. The new, main wing of the gallery was designed by the American architect Louis I. Kahn.

Kahn also designed the Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St.), located across the street from the Art Gallery. Housing the most comprehensive collection of English art outside of Great Britain, the Center displays works from the Elizabethan period and later and hosts exhibits by such artists as J.M.W. Turner, Francis Bacon, and Vanessa Bell—and it's all free. The Center houses traveling exhibits, hosts guest lecturers, and offers musical concerts in its skylit portrait gallery. Following the recent death of philanthropist and BAC founder Paul Mellon, Class of '29, the museum received $75 million and over 130 works of art from his estate. New exhibitions have sprung up as a result of the bequest. "Wilde Americka: Discovery and Exploration of the New World, 1500-1800", an exhibit of British maps, atlases, and travel accounts will be shown from Sept. 27 to Dec. 30, 2001. Thanks to Mell-on's bequest, admission to the BAC will always be free.

One of the oldest institutions of its kind in the nation, the Pea-body Museum (170 Whitney Ave.) is free for anyone with a Yale ID. Housing over 10 million specimens, this natural history museum has one of the largest research collections of any institution in the world. Perhaps the most popular exhibit is the Great Hall of Dinosaurs, which boasts one of the best dinosaur collections in the world. A 60-foot long brontosaurus skeleton—one of the best-preserved and most complete of its kind—greets its visitors. The collection also contains a cast of a tyrannosaurus rex, a 100-million-year-old skeleton of archelonischyros (the largest turtle that ever roamed the earth), and skeletons that served as models for the velociraptors in Jurassic Park.

Other features of the Peabody include the Hall of Human Cultures, with relics from around the world. In addition, the Peabody contains an extensive bird collection, boasting at least one specimen of every known bird, living or extinct. Besides its animal exhibits, the museum houses a beautiful collection of crystals and rocks, and even includes a rock from the moon.

Interested in the history of New Haven? The New Haven Colony Historical Society (114 Whitney Ave.), just past the corner of Temple and Trumbull Streets, stands a few blocks from the New Haven Green. The Society has an extensive collection of artifacts and documents that span New Haven's more than 350 years of existence.

Film

Screening an impressive variety of art house, foreign and classic films, York Square Cinema (55 Broadway) is a suprisingly high-tier independent movie theater. Though the cinema usually misses the latest Hollywood blockbusters, the owner recently sued the local film distributer for monopolizing the big-name studio film market. The result of this action is that York Square can now bring in an increasing number of first-run feature movies—recent films include Traffic and Cast Away. Typically playing up to six or eight films on four screens, the theater's movies rotate fairly frequently (some only last a week), so it's worth it to head over immediately to catch a title you want to see. An added perk is the student pass you can pick up during the first few weeks of school, which will get you in at any time for a mere $4.50—a deal in this day and age. Otherwise, it's seven dollars.

To catch the latest blockbusters, you'll have to rustle up a car and head down the highway to Showcase Cinemas (1201 Boston Post Rd., Milford, 878-3203), a typical example of a modern suburban movie multiplex. There's rarely a mainstream movie you can't catch here, but you'll pay heftily for it. Other multiplexes are in North Haven and Orange, the latter about a twenty-minute drive from campus.

Parks

Edgewood Park is a good place for rollerblading, biking, and, if weather permits, ice skating. Edgewood offers a variety of outdoor possibilities. It has acres of rolling woodland, a duck pond, two playgrounds, soccer and baseball fields, shuffleboard, bocci, and tennis courts. It's located between Whalley Avenue and Chapel Street, just past Boulevard Avenue.

East Rock Park has forests, 10 miles of trails, and barbecues. At the summit, a 112-foot tall monument dedicated to local residents who fought in America's early wars overlooks a panorama of New Haven. To reach East Rock, just walk straight down Orange Street for about 45 minutes.

West Rock Park, although farther from campus than East Rock, offers more strenuous mountain biking, a wider array of trails, and an equally fantastic view. A short bike ride away, you can reach West Rock by following Whalley Avenue to Blake Street and Springside Avenue. At the road fork, take a left to get to the summit or turn right to get to the Judges' Cave, a field of large, piled-up rocks. The West Rock Nature Recreation Center on Wintergreen Avenue has native birds, reptiles, and mammals.

It may not seem like the ideal getaway, but the Grove Street Cemetery is actually a cool place to reflect and to get a sense of New Haven's history. It's peaceful and quiet, and the tombstones make nice seats if you want to get some reading done and don't mind the morbidness. Big, old trees line the avenues of the cemetery. Though the police warn that the cemetery can be dangerous, students generally feel safe walking around during the daytime.

Edgerton Park, located off Saint Ronan Street in one of the wealthier neighborhoods of New Haven (and home to a pavilion and greenhouse), is a great destination for a nice, long walk. Several events take place here throughout the year, including a popular Shakespeare festival over the summer.

New Haven Green is your typical city park, and in the spring and early fall, it's beautiful. If Old Campus is too crowded, or if you're sick of being surrounded by Gothic architecture, the Green is a great place to relax and escape the frisbee crossfire. Compiled by the Herald staff.

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