Here are some tips for buying discount theater tickets. If you’re not locked into a specific date or set on seeing a specific show, hunting for discounts can be exciting. Here are several tips to get you in the shows you want at a price you like.
Back of the House
In many venues, buying discount theater tickets is as easy as looking for seats in the last two rows of the upper balcony. Often, they are available for $26 to $36, give or take. This is a result of a concerted effort by producers to offer Broadway patrons a range of prices. You can pay a lot to sit up close or less just to be in the house.
I’ve taken my chances with many back-of-the-house seats from the cavernous Marquis to the more intimate Helen Hayes. What I remember is not sitting far back, but that I had a great time at a Broadway show.
Tuesday nights are particularly good for these cheap seats as houses tend to be less full. At just about any non-weekend performance, you might get a chance to move down several rows, too. Ushers generally are very helpful in this regard and can tell you if it’s allowed and where to sit.
Onstage
Make your Broadway debut in Spring Awakening. Onstage tickets are available for around $40, and there’s no secret club to join. If onstage seating is available, it will be listed online and at the box office.
Other shows have done this, too, but be warned! For shows without an intermission, you cannot leave your onstage seat. No bathroom breaks. No calling the babysitter.
Papering the House
Two organizations, Audience Extras and Theater Extras, offer members complimentary tickets to current shows. These tickets become available because sometimes producers just want a crowd. This is called “papering the house,” and it could be because a VIP will be in the audience, a new performer is taking a significant role, or a larger audience helps the morale of the company.
An annual membership in Audience Extras is $85, and Theater Extras is $99. Most of the tickets offered are for off-off-Broadway, but I’ve seen several off-Broadway and Broadway shows listed, as well.
Both groups have websites that are updated daily for shows ranging from that day to a week in advance. You can request two tickets, and you pay a $2 per ticket handling fee. By paying a bit more for the annual membership, you can request four tickets per show.
If you’re in the area and go to the theater a lot, these are worth it. In fact, for two years running, orchestra tickets at Broadway shows more than made up the cost of my membership.
Specifically 'South Pacific'
South Pacific is one of the hottest tickets on Broadway, but students can get a discounted advance ticket by enrolling free in the Lincoln Center Theater's StudenTix Program.
Tips for TKTS
You already know you can get tomorrow’s matinee tickets today at the TKTS booths at the South Street Seaport and in the Bronx. But the majority of buyers go to the Times Square booth, so these tips can help you make the most of your time.
- Check what’s available first on the lighted board near the ticket windows.
- Don’t let the line put you off. Arrive about an hour before the windows open for a shorter wait and for the best shot at hard-to-get tickets. But even if you arrive when the line is at its longest, it’s only about a 40-minute wait. The line moves fast.
- Once in the ticket-buying area, move around to the right as far as you can. Most people bunch up at the windows near the entrance.
- Also, once in the ticket-buying area, if you want to see a play, there is a “Plays Only” window, and the line will be much shorter.
- TKTS offers gift certificates online, and these make a great gift for someone coming to or living in New York.
Lottery Tips
Lotteries are a high-risk, high-reward game. If you hit it, you’ll be on the front row of your show for about $25. (When The Drowsy Chaperone was at the Marquis, I could see Tony-winner Beth Leavel and Tony-nominee Danny Burstein struggling not to break out laughing as they sang "I Am Aldolpho!")
- You can enter two names, so if there are two of you, both of you should fill out cards.
- If you’re alone, find another single in the crowd so you can both fill out cards with two names.
- Tuesdays are the best for evening lotteries (but give it a try any time).
- Have a backup plan. Lottery schedules make it hard or impossible for you to get back to the TKTS booth after a drawing and still get a discount ticket. If you don’t win the lottery, that’s a great night to try for a lower-priced, back-row ticket to another show. Take a chance. Hey, it’s Broadway, everything’s pretty good.
Avoiding Fees
If you live in or near New York or don’t mind taking a chance on what you get to see, you can avoid the handling fees associated with buying discount tickets online by waiting until you get here to buy. Most of the discount sites let you print out the discount and take it to the theater box office. It’s like a coupon, and you can still buy advance tickets and pay cash or credit. The savings can be substantial.
Warning on Street and Online Vendors
This is pretty simple: Don’t buy on the street. You’ll pay a premium, and you might pay a lot more if the ticket is no good. When buying online, stick with the well-known sites. A simple rule: If it sounds too good to be true, it is.