mike

Want to buy tickets when we get to NYC, someone told us to go to the box office of the show 2 hours before and we can get good left over tickets that the press and cast members didn't use. Anyone know if this is true?

lisa

This is true for some shows, but the tickets are generally face value (no discounts). For discounted tickets you are better off going to the TKTS booths in Duffy Square or at the World Trade Center (both take cash only -- discounts of 25% to 50% plus a service charge), or buying through www.playbill.com.

For the most popular shows like Lion King you can't get discounted tickets, and they do have a cancellation line at the box office on the day of the show but you have to get in line REALLY early (like by 9 a.m. for a matinee) in order to get tickets and even then there's no guarantee.

howard

Mike, it's possible that you could luck in and get tickets at the last minute, the odds are against it happening.
You're better off going directly to the box office as soon as you get in. Also, the previous advice about getting in like at TKTS or going to the Playbill website (playbill.com) is good advice. Do you know which shows you would like see? And, for weekday or weekend performances?

mike

Thinking of seeing Contact and Phantom of the Opera. We get to NYC Friday morning plan to see a show on Friday night and Saturday night.

howard

Contact is great show...and it's a very tough ticket. Call immediately! Phantom is still doing fairly well, but again, call now for weekend tickets! Take any tickets you can get for Contact. You can see from any seat in that theater.

Vic Osaki

The opposite of TKTS is a ticket broker. There are a good number of them on or near Broadway because good seats to popular shows are often not available at the box office. You'll pay a premium, but since you're paying 90 bucks anyway, you might as well get a good seat.

tweedy

I went to get tickets at the TKTS booth in Time Square last night and was amazed at how many shows still had tickets available, and that was at 7:00pm so there must have been alot of tickets available for last night.

When you get into town, I would suggest heading down to the World Trade Center to get tickets there at the TKTS booth. It is not well known to tourists that there is a second booth, so the lines there generally are much shorter and open at 10 or 11am, on Friday and Saturday.

Most shows sell tickets for 50% off the face value and there is a $2.00 service charge per ticket. We saw Patrick Stewart in "Ride Down Mt. Morgan" last week and loved it. I paid $35 per ticket and we sat front Mez, great seats.

On the other side I used a ticket broker recently (Applause) and got "Aieda" (which was great) and paid $125 per ticket and again sat front mez.

Hope this helps some, have a fun time in our wonderful city and enjoy the shows.

tweedy

howard

You won't find Contact nor Phantom at TKTS for a weekend performance. And besides, Mike, I have a feeling you want to get the tickets before you get to NYC.
(One minor correction on the previous post, the TKTS service charge is $2.50 per ticket, not $2.)

NYC traveler

Correction on tourists not knowing about the TKT stand at the World Trade Center. The lines are EXTREMELY long. My husband and I went there last year. The line was wrapped around several times. We opted to check out the theatre and found a cancellation for seats on the 10th row very center. Lucky, but better than standing in the line.

Bill

Just got back from 24 hours in NYC (dropped our son off for a choir tour). We ended up at a blues club Friday night - Fabulous Thunderbirds at BB King's club, an excellent brand-new venue in Times Square). We got in line at TKTS at 9:30 a.m on Saturday for matinee tickets. We had never seen Les Mis, and it was 50% for decent seats (4th row center of the lower mez). The ticket windows open at 10:00 and there was already a long line. But don't be depressed about the length of the line; it moves surprisingly fast and there are a couple of street musicians to keep you entertained. I had my tickets by 10:20.
And Les Mis was terrific!

howard

Bill makes two good points about getting tickets at TKTS:
1. Arrive early. (He got in line at 9:30 for a 10 a.m. booth opening.)
2. The lines move fairly fast. You can figure about a half hour wait for each block-long length of the lines. (Yes, sometimes the lines can snake the equivalent of 3or 4 blocks long!)

NY Traveler

Thanks for pointing that out. Since I was not aware of how long the wait was I just assumed the long line meant long wait. I guess I got lucky with my tickets to RENT. Maybe I will try the line one visit. Thanks.

mike

I think you are right Howard. I logged onto the TKTS web site this weekend and I didn't see Phantom or Contact. My wife is also interested in Kiss me Kate. We may buy seats for Saturday night ahead of time and try our luck for Friday night at TKTS does anyone know if any of the off broadway shows are any good, in case we can't get the others. What time can you buy tickets for the night time shows at TKTS?

tweedy

I know the booth at the Trade Center opens at 10am. The lines are generally shorter there. The booth at Times Square used to open in the early afternoon and the line there especially during the summer can get LONG there.

You can buy tickets for that evenings performance and on Matinee days those tickets are also available. Wed and Sunday Mats are available on Tues and Sat.

Hope this helps some.

tweedy

howard

Mike:
There are two excellent off-Broadway straight plays--"Dinner with Friends" (on 3rd Avenue, between 13th & 14th Sts.) and "Fully Committed" (in Greenwich Village on Commerce St.)
You will NOT find discount tickets for either for a Friday night. However, tickets are less than Broadway prices.
Mike, "Kiss Me Kate" is also an excellent choice, an extremely professional and very entertaining show. Again, you better get tickets right away. (It won't be discounted anywhere.)

Harriett

Not to beat the proverbial dead horse, but . . . My husband and I used the World Trade Ctr TKTS booth when we were there in May. We arrived around 10 a.m. for an 11 a.m. opening. He stood in line while I went down to the main level for coffee, a newspaper and incredible pastry from the French patisserie. We sat on the floor, read the paper, talked to others about what to see (We wound up with "Dirty Blonde," the fabulous Mae West show which has since closed) -- had already purchased advance tkts for Cabaret, which is also fabulous -- and had paid for tickets (CASH ONLY)and were on our way by about 11:20.

I didn't notice if anyone has mentioned it here (on this thread) but besides shorter lines & the French bakery, the other good thing about World Trade Ctr location is that you can purchase matinee tickets a day in advance -- so by standing in line only once, you could get discount tkts for Friday night & Sat. matinee, or Tuesday night/Weds matinee . . . whatever. We'll definitely do that next time. And I'm not sure I would splurge on the full-price order-in-advance tkts next trip, since we had chosen 5 or 6 shows we wanted to see and there were discounted tkts available for all of them.