Nora

A bunch of friends and I are going to NYC and want to see a show. Should I order the tickets on-line or should I wait till I get to the city and get the tickets there. I was hoping that they would be a little cheaper if I wait last minute instead of ordering on Telecharge.com.
Also how hard is it to get SLN tickets the day of the show?

Thanks for your help!

lisa

Well, that depends on whether you have your heart set on particular shows or not. If you want to get cheaper tix and are willing to see one of several options, I'd vote for the day-of tickets at the TKTS booth (there is one at 48th & Broadway and they *just* reopened the booth downtown -- although I'm not sure where it is). Lines start at 10am for matinees and 3pm for evening shows the day of the show. I'd try to get there at least 1/2 hour in advance. Do not be daunted by the long lines, they move quickly once the booth opens. TKTS only takes cash or travelers checks.

We did TKTS for a Saturday matinee last weekend. Choices included 42nd Street, Cabaret, Chicago, Rent, Tale of the Allergists Wife (which we saw) and several others.

P.S. You can't get Lion King or Producers at all unless you use a ticket broker.

lisa

Oh yeah, tickets are usually 25%-50% cheaper at TKTS. We paid $38 for a $75 orchestra seat to Allergists Wife (although it was a "partial view" seat and I wouldn't recommend the partial view).

Howard

If you're going on a weekend, you might want to get tickets in advance. Broadway is approaching pre-September 11 attendance levels. Check out the Playbill website (www.playbill.com) and join its club. It's free and it's not a gimmick. Once you join, you're eligible for discount tickets for some shows, and you can order them in advance.
One minor correction on a previous post: The TKTS booth is at 47th Street, not 48th. If you go there, they only take cash and travelers checks.

lisa

Downtown TKTS booth is at Bowling Green (last Manhattan stop on 4,5 subway line). Benefit to downtown: you can buy matinee tix one day in advance.

Dawn

I would definately purchase on-line. It is a real gamble to wait until you arrive because most of the best shows will be sold out. But I have been reading in the NYT that many shows are suffering since Sept. 11th (many people have not been very interested in musicals, etc.) and have lots of seats available.

As for SNL, the last time I checked the wait was almost a year long.

Owen O'Neill

Unless you're very well connected the SNL tix are more or less impossible to get. Not only do you have to wait for nealry a year (the tix are allocated in August)... you must enter a lottery that month to determine whether you even get tix at all. It may have changed but this was the arrangement last time I looked into it.