NYC in the backdrop of The Wiz and The Muppets Take Manhattan

The city is famous as a spot for actors, musicians and dancers to try to make it, so it should be no surprise that similar quests take place in film—though it might be noted that musicals take more liberties with NYC (its look and geography) than perhaps any genre this side of superhero films. The Wiz, a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical that modernised and funk-ified the 1939 classic that was based on the L. Frank Baum book (you're keeping up, right?), starts off in Harlem, with Aunt Em castigating Dorothy (Diana Ross) for never having been south of 125th Street. An accident in a snowstorm sets her on that path; highlights along the way include an encounter with the lion at—where else—the elegant lion statues of the New York Public Library; and a crossing of the Brooklyn Bridge into the Land of Oz. In real life you will find some magic whichever direction you traverse the bridge: the skyline of lower Manhattan on one side or the dignified grandeur of Brooklyn Heights on on the other.
The Muppets Take Manhattan sees Jim Henson's creatures desperately trying to get their show, Manhattan Melodies, made for Broadway. We'd suggest slightly more comfortable digs than the lockers at the Port Authority—and the exterior of the fictional Pete's Luncheonette, where Kermit and friends get waiting jobs (a familiar routine for aspiring Broadway stars), is now the site of a McDonald's. (This author used to eat regularly at the old diner, located at 208 Varick St., back in the early 1990s). Consider instead taking lunch, as Kermit does, at Theatre District institution. Check out the caricatures on the wall, dine on a chicken club and think how awkward you might feel if you spotted frog’s legs on the menu.

Fun fact: The caricature of Kermit the Frog made for The Muppets Take Manhattan remains on display in Sardi's, near the restrooms.