Greetings from Virginia. On a separate thread we asked about shows in London and Wicked, Jersey Boys and Les Miz were all recommended. I have found that official tickets for Wicked are GBP 60 but there is a website offering tickets and 2 course dinner at J.B.'s restaurant for GBP 60. Anyone have any experience with these arrangements? Any info on J.B.'s? Thanks for your help. David

I don't have answers for you, but you might also check this website (though it may be the one you've already seen): www.broadwaybox.com
Look up in the upper left corner (I think) on the "London" option. What you'll find are codes for available discounts at many shows.

I haven't used any of the codes, but a friend of mine has used the site's NYC offerings repeatedly and recommends it.

Sure - the top tickets to Wicket are £60 - but there are also tickets in all price ranges. So -- exactly where are the seats w/ the dinner special?

If it is the JBs I'm familiar w/ (in Victoria) it is an OK hotel restaurant. Is it in the Victoria Park Plaza hotel? Dinner for two there w/o wine would probably run £60-ish so yes it would be a deal -- but the Wicked seats could be so high up you'd not see much. It is a very large theatre.

Generally the restaurants that sign onto the programs do so since it's the only way they can fill seats. And you will find the seats you get with that deal are not the same seats - but the back of the balcony. Much better to buy the seats you want and get dinner at a place with better food.

Hi again -

The first thing that you want to do to before you make your decision is check which seats they are going to give you with the dinner package. You can do that on Londontown.com by clicking as if you are going to book the tickets. The section and seat #s will be towards the bottom of the page. Then you can just back out of the screen without putting in any payment info and go to Theatremonkey.com to see exactly where the seats are, and read the reviews about which seats are the best and which you should avoid because railings and overhangs will obstruct your view. By doing that research, I discovered that I was able to get what I felt were better seats for less money by purchasing my tickets separately without the dinner package. There are tons of restaurants to choose from along the way to the theatres, and you won't be locked in to going to a paticular restaurant if you see another one that catches your fancy instead. I checked out the menus for the restaurants that were included in the packages on-line and decided that they didn't interest me. Once I decided where I wanted to sit in each of the theatres I was going to, I contacted the theatres directly to book my tickets, which allowed me to get the best choice of seats for what I wanted to spend on my tickets. Hope that helps!

For most shows (not Wicked though) you can get best seats in the house at 1/2 price at TKTS in Leicester Square. They do sell Wicked - but only at full price.

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co....hats_on_today/

One problem w/ doing a "trial booking" to see where the seats are -- by the time you get back in to book for real those seats may be sold. Popular shows like Wicked move fast

meant to add -- Wicked is at the Apollo Victoria and that area really isn't a "Gourmet Gulch" - I'd probably eat elsewhere and then go to the show.

Greetings, everyone. Thanks for the good info. Sounds as if the old maxim of if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You provided some good info regarding web sites for booking tickets that is proving to be very helpful. Thanks again. David

I have seen some discounted packages (theatre + dinner) at lastminute.co.uk. Sometimes they are good deals, but you need to do the homework (find out what type of seats and the regular costs of those seats).

is it a lastminute.com deal?

they do spell out exactly what you get and i've done them a few times. Looking at their Wicked/dinner deal for £60, they state you are getting top tickets, face value normally £60. I think they only have to put it that way so they are covvered in case the theatre suddenly does a promotional ticcket price or something...so essentially you are getting a free 2 course dinner. Only you know if that is worth the lack of choice/control over the exact seats/full menu.

the dinners are the element where there is a bit of cost-cutting. Don't expect to have anything you like off the menu. You'll get a special 'theatre menu' (as lastminute stell you)with a choice of about 3 starters or desserts, and about 3 main course choices...at least that's what I've xperienced. All items from the main menu, but obviously from the cheaper end of the scale.

certainly not 'too good to be true'and i've had some fun with these deals...but I've only been on some of the cheaper ones as an impulse thing....not spent a lot of money (and £120 is a lot on a night out) on a show I was desperate to see, or for a special evening.

But anyway, there's nothing 'dodgy' about the deals, if that was the impression you were getting.

Greetings everyone. I don't plan to do a blow by blow account of our trip, but did want each of you to know how much we are appreciating your recommendations. We arrived LHR this morning after overnight flight from Washington DC. Went to the TCKTS booth at about 1 PM and got what I thought were good seats in row K for GBP 38 each or 76 for the 2 of us. Went to the theatre and were sitting there and an usher taps me on the shoulder with a story that there was a mixup with the vendor and they were supposed to sell 20 tickets today and 20 tomorrow and they sold all 40 today. I was ready for him to say we had to leave or send us to some terrible seats. Instead, he sent us to row O - about 4 back but almost in the center of the theatre. Not only were the seats great, the show was fabulous. They did a couple of encores (maybe those are part of the show but the audience was really into it and appreciative of the performance) and the band played on and on. Really great evening. Thanks to everyone for your recommendations.
I'm off to TCKTS tomorrow at 10 (just a short walk from here) for either Phantom or Wicked. David

Hi - hint about TKTS. If you see this in time -- don't go right at opening time. That is just about when the lines are longest during the whole day. If possible go a bit later in the day (like after lunch). And you don't necessarily get the very best choice at opening time since some theatres release more tickets during the day.