american girl store tour

American Girl Doll News

Doll of the Month: Lea

• Jun 7, 2023

American Girl Live In Concert Tour

American Girl just announced that they're having another live tour! This time around, it's the American Girl Live in Concert experience, an all new pop concert featuring beloved characters, including Claudie, Nicki, Courtney, Melody and Julie. In the show, audiences will follow an original story where American Girl characters throughout the decades—including Claudie from the 1920s; Melody from the ’60s; Julie from the ’70s; Courtney from the ’80s; and Nicki from the late ’90s—come together to find confidence and kindness

The show is produced by Gershwin Entertainment, that produces shows like A Charlie Brown Christmas Live and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. Dates and venues will be announced soon, but the show will take place in these cities:

-Concord, NH

-Boston, MA

-Wallingford, CT

-Stamford, CT

-New York, NY

-Washington DC

-Glenside, PA

-Wilkes-Barre, PA

-Morristown, NJ

-Red Bank, NJ

-Patchogue, NY

-Schenectady, NY

-Hagerstown, MD

-Staten Island, NY

-Atlanta, GA

-Charlotte, NC

-Detroit, MI

-Greensburg, PA

-Indianapolis, IN

-Wabash, IN

-Chicago, IL

-Fayetteville, AR

Tickets will go on sale June 14 for AG Rewards members and June 16 for regular customers.

Do you plan on attending? I hope I can attend, but I'll have to see what date the Charlotte show is to see if I can come home for a weekend for the show.

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Is Nicki but not Isabel featuring?

I'm kind of surprised it includes Julie. Some people say she's been here for too long (14 years--or was it 16?) and needs to retire. But apparently she's successful! I don't mind--her "Oogie Boogie" song in the last tour at first seemed goofy and maybe was but also came across as super fun. The actress nailed it, so I hope whoever plays her this time has the voice and acting of the last actress.

Excited that there will be shows in the SouthEast! Hoping we can get tickets!! Either Charlotte and/or Atlanta!

Why is there none in California??? California is so big so I hope they realse more dates with spots in california!

Three of the top 10 largest cities in the country are in TX and yet nowhere in the entire state gets a show. That's messed up.

Maybe they'll announce some dates soon??? There *has* to be one in at least Houston or Dallas.

Last time they did the tour (American Girl Live), they didn't announce a Chicago location until two-ish months until it got a date there.

I visited the American Girl Place as an adult, and I can't believe how much it's changed since I was a kid

• American Girl Place is the flagship store home to its iconic toy brand, which makes dolls with historical and contemporary stories.
• I used to love the brand's girlhood-centric books and magazine, and I had two dolls of my own.
• Years later, I visited American Girl Place in New York City and was floored at its Instagram-worthy photo areas and hands-on doll "wellness center."
• Even though the store is now tailored to attract kids born in the 2000s and 2010s, many parts of the brand have remained unchanged since my childhood.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

Starting around age 6 or 7, when I wasn't at school or swim practice, I was probably playing with Kit Kittredge and her dog, Coconut.

While it may sound like a girl named Kit and a friendly pup named Coconut were my real-life neighbors, that wasn't the case. Allow me to explain.

Founded in 1986, American Girl started as a toy brand that sold a small collection of dolls with historical backstories via catalogs. Today, the brand — owned by Mattel, Inc. — sells hundreds of its signature 18-inch dolls that can cost from $98 to $200 each. American Girl offers 11 dolls with historical stories, including Kit Kittredge, the one I had as a child.

The idea behind the brand is credited to a writer and former teacher named Pleasant Rowland , who apparently imagined a line of dolls whose stories would educate girls about American history.

Previously, I spoke with American Girl's current president, Jamie Cygielman, about how the toy brand that I knew and loved as a little girl is getting creative to stay relevant in the digital age .

Keep reading to see what it was like to visit the New York City flagship store as an adult, where I saw with my own eyes how the dolls and their stories are continuing to capture the hearts of children (and parents), but in a much newer way than I would've ever imagined as a kid.  

Growing up, I loved American Girl dolls, and they played a big part in my childhood — from furthering my love of storytelling to fueling my imagination.

I especially connected with the dolls' accompanying books that told their historical stories, and the Kit character — who I'm holding in the above picture — had a special place in my heart.

Kit lives in Cincinnati, Ohio (which is also the state where I grew up) during the Great Depression, and is a budding journalist.

I can't say I decided to go to journalism school because of my Kit Kittredge doll, but who knows? Maybe her story planted the seed in my head. 

We even had matching pajamas. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Aside from loving the dolls and their accessories, I was a fan of just about everything from the American Girl brand.

When I went to summer camp, my parents would send me the latest issues of American Girl Magazine, which came in the mail while I was away.

As I got a little older, while traveling and on road trips, I voraciously read the brand's books — many of which tackled nonfiction topics and had journaling activities. 

Years later, I decided to visit New York City's flagship American Girl Place to see for myself how much the brand has evolved.

American Girl currently has two flagship stores: Chicago and New York City. The first opened in Chicago in the late 1990s, which is the location I visited as a kid. 

At the time, the Chicago American Girl Place was the first of its kind: a brick-and-mortar shop that also had a restaurant and a theater for doll-themed musical shows.

It's been many years since I was among the target age group for American Girl — after all, my dolls are now safely stored in a container in my parents' house, on reserve for a potential grandkid; and it's been since the early 2000s that I visited American Girl Place in Chicago.

I was eager to see in person how the brand has adapted and grown to stay relevant for a new generation of kids (and parents). 

Even on one of the rainiest, most dreary days in Manhattan, American Girl Place exuded warmth.

I no longer needed my Google Maps walking directions once I saw American Girl's classic red color streaming through the windows of the store. 

I looked up and saw a row of dolls staring back at me.

Even from outside the store, I noted the variety of dolls that were on display, which I thought was a clear reflection that American Girl aims to cater to a wide range of audiences.

Inside, I was greeted by several displays of Joss Kendrick, the brand's 2020 Girl of the Year, a surfer and cheerleader who was born deaf in one ear.

American Girl launched its Girl of the Year collection in 2001, and every year since then the company has released an exclusive doll with a story set in the present. 

The collection is a big part of the brand's shift to tell contemporary stories that modern girls connect with, American Girl's president, Jamie Cygielman, previously told me in an interview. 

"We see the line as an opportunity for girls to see themselves in that character and also to help them create a broader worldview," Cygielman said.

The 2020 Girl of the Year is an example of how American Girl is continuing to make its dolls reflect a variety of abilities. For example, part of Joss Kendrick's story is that she was born deaf in one ear , and the doll comes with a hearing aid. 

Joss, whose story is set in California, has a cheery blue van where she stows her surfboards and other gear.

An American Girl store representative told me that Joss' vehicle was designed and manufactured in partnership with Volkswagen. 

The surf bus doesn't come included with the Joss doll. It's a limited-edition item that was available to purchase for $650 at the time of writing. 

Inside Joss' van, her laptop — showing a video editor program with clips of her surfing — was arranged on a table with a sandwich, cold drink, and "Surf's Up" magazine in the back.

Honestly, this doesn't look too different from my own desk at work.

I even caught some (pretend) waves as part of the store display celebrating Joss.

American Girl Place has been optimized for the Instagram age, with several interactive photo backdrops scattered throughout the store.

Then, I entered a festive area full of furniture, photo ops, and hands-on activities dedicated to the doll Julie, whose story is set in San Francisco during the '70s.

The general manager of American Girl Place, Stacey Martland, told me that the Julie pop-up area was only recently installed.

Martland has worked for the American Girl brand since 2000. She's managed American Girl retail locations around the country and has been the general manager at the New York flagship since 2012.

She explained that the store's spacious Julie doll display has reinvigorated interest in the character, which was originally released in 2007.

"It makes you love Julie again," Martland said. "You get to talk about her again. We talk about the characters girls are attracted to for whatever reason, but Julie's immersive part of the store really brings her back into the spotlight."

I was amazed at the ornate backdrop for the doll, which was complete with the Golden Gate Bridge and a miniature cable car.

The bright yellow cable car can't be purchased and is just for display purposes.

Similar to Joss, Julie also has transportation options of her own. If the imaginary cable car isn't running, for example, she can hop in her shiny blue convertible.

Her aqua-colored vehicle was modeled after a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle and was previously available for purchase for $350. The model convertible looked nicer than any car I'll probably ever drive.

There was also a life-sized version of Julie's Volkswagen Beetle, which invites visitors to "climb in and take a '70s selfie!"

Within the span of just a few minutes, I was hit with my second social media-friendly photo installation.

Cygielman previously told me that the Instagram-worthy photo areas around American Girl Place have been an important part of keeping the retail experience relevant for visitors.

"Having those photo-op moments is important because that's the way our customers like to celebrate family events, and obviously posting on social is an important aspect, particularly for the mom or dad, but also for the way [American Girl] deploys our content," Cygielman said.

Part of the character Julie's story is that she loves to play basketball, so naturally, the store had a setup for a real-life game of hoops.

The basketball game is a big hit with store visitors of all ages, Martland told me.

"Every Saturday, we see several girls, several families, playing this and intermingling," she said.

Moving on, I found myself face-to-face with neatly arranged Truly Me dolls, which are available in a variety of hair, eye, and skin colors.

The brand's Truly Me dolls are available in boy and girl options, and they're $98 each. They come dressed in the outfit displayed here, along with a book called "Friends: Making Them & Keeping Them."

One of the newest Truly Me doll options has rainbow-colored hair with blue, purple, and pink streaks.

"We call her our unicorn-hair doll," Martland told me.

I obsessed over the dolls' 21st-century accessories. This character wore over-the-ear headphones and held a miniature cell phone with interchangeable screens.

From the hoodie to the tiny cellular device, this doll looked identical to millennials I see commuting on the subway every morning. 

I was also amazed at how digital the experience was. Here, people can use a tablet to design a custom doll.

The brand's custom doll option is $200. Visitors who design their doll at the store using the tablet can expect to have it shipped to them in about three weeks.  

Next, I stopped by the Doll Hospital, which has an interactive "wellness center" inside the store.

American Girl's official Doll Hospital is located in Wisconsin, where its parent company, Mattel, Inc., is located.

Owners with dolls in need of repairs (i.e. a broken limb, body part, or "skin" that's been stained with marker or paint) can bring them to any American Girl store location, and they'll be sent to the hospital center in Wisconsin, then fixed and shipped back home.

The NYC and Chicago flagship stores have what's known as the "wellness center," where owners can watch their dolls go through routine checkups, X-rays, and eye exams for fun.

Bria Fernandez, the Doll Hospital caretaker on duty, gave me the full wellness center experience, including checking a doll's temperature and reflexes with tiny tools.

The wellness center experience, which is free of charge (unless the visitor decides to purchase a product or service offered in the area, like getting glasses or having their doll's ear pierced) lets store guests see their doll get all the regular checkups that would be tested in a typical pediatrician visit — including ears, eyes, nose, and heartbeat.

There are also imaginary flu "vaccines" for dolls, which Fernandez explained doesn't actually involve syringes.

Fernandez explained that the doll "vaccine" process involves taking the doll in a back room for a minute or two. 

"I usually ask the doll owner, 'Do you want your doll to get a flu shot?' And if they say yes, we just take the doll in the back. There's no actual shot involved," Fernandez said.

The make-believe flu shot is an example of how the doll wellness center is adding an immersive, educational component to American Girl Place. It's meant to mimic the experience doll owners have during their own real-life doctors' office experience.

Fernandez even performs eye exams on dolls. "Of course, they're usually 20/20," she said, laughing.

American Girl offers a variety of glasses made just for dolls — none have actual prescriptions, though.

I marveled at the wellness center experience, which wasn't around when I was little.

Cygielman previously told me that the wellness center has been one of the most popular features of the store since it was introduced in October. 

"We're seeing tremendous amounts of visits with it and a lot of traffic to the store in that area," Cygielman said.

While I was an extra-cautious 8-year-old and never had to send my dolls to the American Girl Doll Hospital to get repaired, I'm sure I would've been entranced by the imaginary medical experience when I was a kid. 

I stopped by the store's other interactive hubs, including the hair salon, where girls and dolls can get matching hairstyles and nails.

Dolls get the ultimate beauty treatment with aprons, miniature hair tools and accessories, and authentic salon chairs. Girls can even get matching treatments, whether it's a coordinating hairstyle or manicure.

The store also has a café, where families and dolls can dine together. Dolls get their own tiny cutlery and seat.

When I visited the American Girl café, dolls were arranged with festive crowns for a birthday party happening later that evening.

The restaurant also gives visitors the option to borrow a doll if they don't own one or didn't bring one to the store.

"It's because we want everyone to be included," Martland said of the option for guests to borrow a doll to join them during their meal. "We want everyone to be able to have a special experience here."

Just outside the café, rows of characters were stacked, as if they were waiting patiently to be selected to accompany a guest. 

I took the escalator downstairs and descended upon the brand's section of historical characters, which is marked by a timeline featuring each doll and its era.

Martland told me that while she is seeing most people very excited to buy a Truly Me doll, or a doll with a contemporary story and modern accessories, she thinks there's still a big interest in the brand's historical characters. According to Martland, it just depends on the child's personality.

"It's a different type of girl who goes for the Truly Me dolls or comes down here for a doll with a story set in another era," Martland said. 

The brand's historical doll collection has expanded and includes characters that weren't around when I was a kid — such as Rebecca Rubin, a Jewish-American living in New York City.

Rebecca was added to the historical collection  in 2009.

There were also museum-worthy miniature displays equally as ornate as Joss Kendrick's Volkswagen van, like this realistic diner setup.

The doll behind the counter is Maryellen Larkin, whose story is set in the 1950s. Her meticulous  diner set was sold out on the American Girl site at the time of writing but originally retailed for $275.

I found myself feeling most struck by motifs throughout the store, like the positive affirmations on every mirror.

When I wasn't admiring the adorably detailed dolls and arrangements, I noticed that the store had a unique use of mirrors. They were decorated with inspirational quotes — there was never just a plain mirror.

I thought this was representative of the whole essence of American Girl, which Cygielman told me aims to stand by and lift up girls as they're growing up and navigating their early years.

While child visitors may not think much of these quotes that adorned many of the mirrored decorations, to me, they were a modern example of American Girl's commitment to uplifting young girls.

It's been many years since I've visited the American Girl Place flagship in Chicago, but even if I did see these kinds of quotes or affirmations plastered on the walls or mirrors throughout the space as a child, I probably wouldn't have thought much of them.

Today, though, I thought these positive quotes were a small but significant way in which American Girl not only inspires, but also aims to appeal to the people actually buying the dolls.

While I'm not a parent, I can imagine that a mom or dad or grandparent bringing their child to the store would probably love and appreciate seeing these sayings. I think it tells them that their purchase of a nearly $100 doll is an investment, and that they're buying into a brand that's promoting positivity for their kids.

There were also mirrored displays that let visitors envision themselves in the shoes of historical characters.

This reminded me of what Jamie Cygielman, American Girl's president, previously told me about the dolls being a "window" or "mirror" for girls.

"We like to say the characters we bring forth through our storytelling and through the physical product are either a mirror to a girl, where she can see part of herself, or they're a window onto another culture or someone else's perspective," Cygielman said.

I thought the newer, hands-on parts of the store — like the wellness center checkup, the doll salon, and the photo backdrops — are certainly smart ways to entice visitors.

The hair salon looked and smelled nicer than just about every overpriced studio in New York City, and if the friendly, warm American Girl doll wellness center opened a human version, I would be the first to write my name on a waiting list.

While I had never visited the doll salon or had a Doll Hospital experience as a kid, from my adult perspective, I was floored at the quality and attention to detail of these experiences and can understand why they help American Girl Place remain a destination for tourists and out-of-town visitors.

But even with the modern additions, I realized the best parts of American Girl haven't changed all that much since I was little — they have just been enhanced for today's generation.

I was relieved to still see so much space in the store dedicated to the dolls that started it all in the 1980s — and what many people who owned an American Girl doll in its early years remember — the historical characters.

That being said, it was impressive to see in person just how much more diverse the characters have gotten over time.

Growing up, I would've loved to have a doll who came with Jewish holiday accessories. I can imagine other girls are excited to see a piece of themselves in the dolls that have been introduced since I've aged out of the brand, from Nanea Mitchell , a Hawaiian girl who survives Pearl Harbor; to Melody Ellison , the second black historical doll, who grows up in 1964 in Detroit.

On my way out of the colorful wonderland, I passed the display of Bitty Babies and felt a little emotional.

After all, the next time I think about these iconic dolls might be when I have a daughter of my own (which isn't anytime soon).

After hours of roaming the store and viewing hundreds of dolls, I concluded that I felt simultaneously old and like a child again.

Unfortunately, though, I couldn't drive Julie's blue Volkswagen Beetle back to my Brooklyn apartment.

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• Main content

Advertisement

How American Girl is Bringing its Flagship Store Experience to the World — Virtually

• November 8, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST
• By Nicole Silberstein

For the most part, ecommerce the world over presents in the same standard format — whether it be high-end jewelry or groceries, products are typically displayed in that familiar scrolling grid we all know so well.

Neha Singh, a former Google engineer who also helped build Vogue ’s digital properties, wasn’t satisfied with that status quo. “This interface — a grid of thumbnails on a white background — was created by Amazon 25 years ago to sell books, and from there it got used somehow for every category and every brand,” she said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints . “As a consumer, I love shopping, but I used to hate online shopping. It’s just so tedious, while going to stores is so much fun.” Her solution? Re-create the store experience online. In 2017, she founded Obsess , where she serves as CEO, to do just that.

“Originally my reason [for founding the company] was that you don’t always have time to get to stores, so you should be able to get that experience without going to stores,” said Singh. “Now we view our mission more broadly — we are reinventing the online shopping interface to make it much more engaging, interesting and branded .”

In five short years, Obsess has gone on to power online virtual experiences for the likes of Ralph Lauren , Tommy Hilfiger , De Beers , Coach , Dermalogica , General Mills and Party City , to name just a few.

The company’s recent work with American Girl offers a perfect example of both the vast potential and the real-world results of these virtual experiences. For American Girl, Obsess developed two separate virtual experiences — a digital version of the brand’s famed Rockefeller Center flagship and a virtual museum that has no real-world equivalent.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a completely different way for customers to engage with and shop American Girl online,” said Stacy Carpenter, User Experience Senior Manager at American Girl in an interview with Retail TouchPoints . “ We want to be where our customers are, and these virtual experiences allow us to build on this relationship while also showcasing our brand’s point of difference .”

For American Girl the results have been clear, with high traffic across both experiences, strong engagement and solid click-through rates , according to Carpenter. The activation has been so successful that American Girl is now rolling out holiday updates for both the virtual store and museum.

As American Girl illustrates, these kinds of virtual experiences:

• Create more dynamic digital experiences that encourage discovery ;
• Expand the utility of real-world real estate investments by allowing stores to be re-created online and made available to a broader audience;
• Move beyond the constraints of the physical world, allowing retailers to create immersive online experiences that wouldn’t be possible IRL ; and
• Offer a stepping stone toward the future of digital commerce in the metaverse .

Bringing Discovery to Online Shopping

The ultimate aim of these 3D virtual spaces is to create an element of discovery that’s been missing from the online shopping experience. “It’s more like a real store experience,” explained Singh. “You can go toward the things that you like, but you see other things along the way. Discovery today is happening on [platforms like] Instagram, but even then, it’s becoming more and more tailored to what you’ve already looked at. And on brands’ own ecommerce websites, it’s typically just a search-and-filter action — there’s not a lot of discovery, because it’s just not designed in that way.”

These 3D virtual spaces are an add-on to the brand’s existing ecommerce site, not a separate website or platform, and no additional hardware or software is required. Singh thinks this kind of diversification of the online experience is what will lead to the next evolution of both online and offline shopping: “For the past five years or so, omnichannel was mostly about logistics — how you get your products delivered across all different channels,” she said. “But the next phase of omnichannel is about experience, how you can provide a consistent branded experience across all your customer touch points.

“If you’re offering an experience in the store, the customer online should also be able to experience that, and vice versa. Younger generations are spending all their time on gaming, eSports, social media — all of these are very interactive, visual interfaces, and ecommerce is now starting to catch up to that demand. ”

Expanding the Reach of Real-World Real Estate

Retailers that want to take an initial step into this type of ecommerce can have Obsess digitally re-create their physical stores in photorealistic 3D, integrating both in-store and online inventory for a fully shoppable online store experience.

“This is a very easy way to create a much richer experience for consumers online, because you already have your beautiful retail stores that you have merchandised with so much effort,” explained Singh. “ This is about increasing the ROI on your retail investment, because now a much wider audience can see it, they can experience a store without having to physically go to the store.”

A prime example of this is the series of virtual store re-creations Obsess has built for Ralph Lauren, which include the brand’s Boston , Beverly Hills , Hong Kong and Paris locations, among others. In fact, it was one of these Ralph Lauren stores that first turned the American Girl team on to the concept. They decided to launch their own virtual store to celebrate the brand’s 35 th anniversary earlier this year.  

American Girl’s iconic store in NYC’s Rockefeller Center can now be visited and shopped remotely, with separate experiences for children and adults (kids can’t see prices or add items to a cart, similar to how the broader American Girl ecommerce site is set up). Not only can customers from all over the world now explore and shop the store, they also can virtually experience some of the location’s most popular experiences. For example, visitors can book tables and parties at the American Girl Café through an integration between the virtual store and the actual store’s reservation system.

“ The purpose of these virtual stores when they’re based on a real store is definitely also to drive foot traffic to the store , so a lot of our customers will promote their in-store services and allow the booking of appointments,” said Singh.

This virtual store isn’t an exact replica of its real-world counterpart — the American Girl team capitalized on the flexibility of the virtual world to add in some of the best elements from its Chicago store as well. “Because the experience was virtual, we knew we had room to play to create the ultimate virtual store experience for our customers, which is why we combined aspects from our New York and Chicago stores alongside digitally rendered spaces,” explained Carpenter.  

Creating Whole New (Virtual) Worlds

Of course since all of this is taking place in the virtual world, there’s no reason it has to have any ties to the real world and its physical restraints. Tommy Hilfiger created a summer pop-up store that was located on a virtual island, and De Beers dropped the store framework completely, creating a sweeping digital fantasyland for its Forevermark brand where the jewelry is presented as larger-than-life pieces of art.

American Girl dove deep into the history and ethos of its brand for its virtual museum experience. Each doll has her own interactive room with a design and activities unique to that character’s backstory. The museum experience itself features no shoppable elements, but there is a virtual museum gift shop.

“The virtual museum was definitely more challenging [than the virtual store], since we were creating something that had never been done for American Girl before,” said Carpenter. “I worked across the organization to develop a framework for the museum and gather resources that could help bring it to life. I believe we went through over 20 different versions of the museum exterior before landing on something we all loved. The rooms within the museum were a labor of love, as our characters have entire worlds we wanted to convey and also create a thoughtful and immersive experience for visitors .”

And these spaces, just like real-world ones, can constantly evolve. “We are very excited to ‘holidify’ the virtual experience and give customers worldwide access to explore the shop and see what’s new for the season,” added Carpenter. “We’ll be launching the holiday activation in early November with some special experiences across the store and museum.”

Personalized Stores and the Metaverse

As far as Singh is concerned, Obsess has only scratched the surface of what is possible for virtual retail environments. She and her team are currently working on ways to personalize the store experience by integrating dynamic product rendering that would allow the virtual store’s merchandising to be curated for each user.

“Over time we also want to do that not just for the products, but the store design itself,” Singh said. “Let’s say, as a very simple example, if somebody loves the color orange, we could make the store décor orange. Essentially we could change the setting of the store based on your preferences. We already have some stores that have day and night view, so maybe you land in one or the other based on your time zone.”

And as for the metaverse , Singh sees her company playing a natural role there as well: “ Metaverse today is essentially a term for a new interface for the internet , these 3D virtual worlds where you will start doing all your online activities, including shopping. And for shopping it makes so much sense because the way we shop online today is not intuitive, it’s not natural. The real world is 3D. These virtual worlds and stores that we are creating for brands are already a step in that direction.

“Today our virtual stores are running only on the websites, but next year they will be running on other platforms, including gaming platforms and headsets ,” Singh added. “The hard part for the brand is to decide what their virtual vision is. Once we have that, then it’s just a matter of finding a way to run it on these different platforms, which we are working on.”

• Posted In: Digital Commerce , E-commerce Experience , Experiential Retail , New Store Concepts , Retail Innovation , Retail Store Design
• Tagged With: 3d virtual , american girl , De Beers , design:retail News , Featured , metaverse , obsess , online discovery , online experience , personalization , Ralph Lauren , tommy hilfiger , user experience , virtual experience , Virtual Store , website design
• This post has been read by 1630 executives in the retail industry.
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ONE OF MANY

Visiting the American Girl Store in NYC: A fun family experience on a Budget or Going All Out

Breaking down each type.

Type One: I am a freebie connoisseur. I have a list of all the free things to do in NYC and I check it off often. Especially during the summer months. A desire for air condition buildings is also on my hunt during the summer months. The American Girl store is actually great for both. Good luck at going into the store expecting you will not buy anything, but it is possible to do and still have a great time.

The American Girl store is two floors. On the bottom floor, there is an area with a clubhouse, games, and many activities. There’s also an American Girl Doll history section that gives a brief rundown of the history of the dolls and company. A small arcade for kids that are tired of looking at dolls and playing games is on the second floor.

You can also add extra for a delicious birthday cake that was plenty for the three of us and to take home for later.

And if you’re really want to go over and above, there are extra activities to purchase.

I’ll definitely go back and even eat at the café again.

There’s also a doll hospital in the store where you can drop off an American Girl doll to heal up. We’ve got a couple needing some tlc on our next trip.

The American Girl Store is located at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. If you are going to eat in the café , you’ll need a reservation.

Need gift ideas for everyone in the home? Check out these gift guides: New York Islanders Gift Guides Cleveland Cavaliers Gift Guide Cleveland Browns Gift Guide  Flaviar is a great gift for whiskey lovers Dallas Cowboys gift guide Father’s Day Gift Guide Gifts for Runners Real Madrid Gift Guide  Taylor Swift Gift Guide Advent Calendars for Kids  Advent Calendar for Adults

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Good information and personally I’m glad our kids are grown, cost wise, that’s more than I’d expect to spend on a starter bike. BUT, if I was living close to something like this, might consider going there with grandkids for maybe some accessories, just not the whole doll. Dolls didn’t used to cost so much. Guess I’m living back in the previous century, as you can tell by what I spend on my own wardrobe 🙂

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Spirited ‘Funny Girl’ captures excitement of early musical theater

The show that made Barbra Streisand famous is playing at Maine State Music Theatre through July 13.

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Jenna Lea Rosen as Fanny Brice with the cast of “Funny Girl” at Maine State Music Theatre. Photo by MSMT/Jared Morneau Photography

Who are the luckiest people in the world? At least for theater fans, the answer is “people who need people,” a line made famous well over half a century ago by Barbra Streisand in the original production of the musical “Funny Girl.”

THEATER REVIEW

WHAT: “Funny Girl: the Musical” by Maine State Music Theatre

WHERE: Pickard Theater, Bowdoin College Campus, Brunswick

REVIEWED: June 28 (matinee); continues through July 13

TICKETS: Starting at $93

CONTACT: 207-725-8769, msmt.org

On the heels of the show’s recent Broadway revival, the Maine State Music Theatre has opened a spirited production of the classic musical on its home stage at the Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

The show primarily captures the rousing excitement of early musical theater while unavoidably making us think about how it launched the career of Streisand. At a lengthy but enjoyable two-and-one-half hours, plus intermission, it’s a show that still charms with its memorable songs, old-style comedy and bittersweet love story.

The impressive production, directed and choreographed by Kenny Ingram and with the time-honored music of Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, tells the semi-fictionalized story of Fanny Brice, a real-life figure who rose from humble origins to showbiz stardom as a give-it-everything-you’ve-got performer in the early 20th century.

At first socially awkward and vulnerable, but with a unique talent and an admirable determination to succeed, Fanny gained the attention of famed impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. and went on to star in many of his glitzy stage shows. At the same time, Fanny’s personal life was a bit of a rollercoaster ride.

Jenna Lea Rosen takes the lead role and scores comedically with her initially wide-eyed approach to Fanny’s personal and professional challenges. Armed with a feisty “New Yawk” accent, the actress easily takes charge of backstage, front stage and offstage scenes. Her vocals are compelling on both comic numbers (“Sadie, Sadie” and “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat”) and in more intimate moments (“People” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade”). Advertisement

Douglas Raymond Williams plays Fanny’s handsome rogue of a love interest who brings her to a fuller life but fails her in the end. His opera-trained vocals alongside Rosen (“I Want to be Seen With You” and “You are Woman, I am Man”) establish both the heat and uncertainties within their relationship.

Among the many standout secondary actors and choristers, Tyler Johnson-Campion is a tap-dancing whiz. His work with Sue Cella, who plays Fanny’s mom, is a treat on “Who Taught Her Everything.” Cella also has some fun moments squabbling with a competitive friend played by Maine State favorite Charis Leos.

Tommy Betz shines as a Tenor and David Girolmo returns to the Pickard stage as the stern but supportive Mr. Ziegfeld. Jeremiah Valentino Porter gets to toot a hot horn on “Cornet Man.”

The Maine State Music Theatre Orchestra, led by Jason Wetzel, mixes up the period flavors with a newer Broadway expansiveness. The costumes designed by J. Theresa Bush and scenic design by Jeffrey D. Kmiec take the audience back to a distant era when musical theater and its early stars were on the rise.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

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