I recently had the good fortune to spend the day in New York. After going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then taking a nap in Central Park, my sister and I went to see the Broadway musical /Rent/. I saw it last year at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, but there is nothing like going to Broadway.

I swear I didn’t know the name Joey Fatone until I read the program. I figured the artistic value of the show was out the window. Bye, bye, bye. Fortunately, the rest of the cast carried the teen idol. His character opens the show, and the poor guy couldn’t find his voice. Without the rest of his band, N’SYNC, he couldn’t carry a tune if it had handles, but in a duet, or with the rest of the cast, he was good.

It’s amazing how a big-name star can draw people to a Broadway show, and how a Broadway cast can outshine that star. That’s what happened with Fatone. Manley Pope (Roger) was excellent, as was Mark Ford (Tom Collins).

Fatone’s character, Mark, is emotionally detached from the action, so he didn’t have to be as good an actor to play the part. I certainly wasn’t alone in my assessment-the three teenage girls I met on the train leaving New York City agreed that Fatone was lucky to be a part of the show. Kate, 16, also mentioned that she wanted to kill the girls who were screaming ”Joey” throughout the performance.

It was easily worth the $90 ticket price. It’s not something a working student can do all the time, but when the opportunity arises, it is worth it. There really isn’t a bad seat in the house; unlike some theatres, the Neiderlander is small, and I appreciated being able to see the actors’ facial expressions easily.

All in all, it was the best show I’ve seen. I’d wait to see it, though, unless you’re a big N’SYNC fan. You might find a throng of giddy girls out front waiting for autographs.