Theater stars’ favorite bars: 9 to 5

Everybody loves the ’80s

Ace Bar
There’s enough retro culture here to make any ’80s-minded soul sentimental, including Hüsker Dü and the Pogues on the juke, and a vintage lunchbox collection, with tin renditions of The Fall Guy and The Empire Strikes Back. Drown your nostalgia in one, or 12, of the draft beers. 531 E 5th St between First Ave and Ave A (212-979-8476). Average drink: $5.

Suspenders Bar & Restaurant
Leather banquettes, stained glass, brass rails and mirrored walls make Suspenders a Cheers facsimile. It’s just as comforting and yes, maybe a tad melancholy, with regular-folk patrons and staff to match. 111 Broadway at Thames Sts (212-732-5005, suspendersbar.com). Average drink: $7.

Barcade
Classic stand-up arcade games root this hipster den securely in the Reagan era with as many machines as there are microbrews (Donkey Kong, Frogger, Punch-Out!!). It’s as if home computers never happened. 388 Union Ave at Ainslie St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-302-6464). Average drink: $5.

Odeon
There are no traces left of the literary brat pack that made this brasserie its home in the 1980s, but after your third martini at the still-stylish bar, you might start to imagine Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis waiting in the bathroom with Bolivian marching powder. 145 West Broadway at Thomas St (212-233-0507, theodeonrestaurant.com). Average drink: $11.

Alphabet Lounge
On Fridays and Saturdays, this small, dimly lit and often crowded club immerses itself in new wave and Madonna. For better or worse, the crowd is usually a few decades younger than the artists they’re dancing to. 104 Ave C between 6th and 7th Sts (212-780-0202, alphabetnyc.com). Average drink: $8.

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9 to 5 starts previews Apr 7; it opens Apr 30 (9to5themusical.com).

9 to 5: Stephanie J. Block, Allison Janney, Megan Hilty

Relax! Drink! >>
Winter—and everything—gettin’ to you? Party at our favorite bars, just like the casts of this season’s Broadway hits.