Buying Broadway NYC theatre Tickets On-Line
 

I have totally confused myself searching the internet for theatre tickets (Chicago-12/17/10 and Lion King-12/18/10). There are so many websites. I am concerned about overpaying and being scammed. Any advice on how to approach this would be greatly appreciated.

I use ticketmaster....no troubles. Not sure about overpaying...it is reliable.

Broadway shows usually have only one official site for full priced tickets. It's always Telecharge or Ticketmaster. (For instance, you go looking for a show on Ticketmaster that's sold through Telecharge you'll notice you get re-directed over to Telecharge.) However, if you're still worried, the full proof way is to go to the show's official site and then buy tickets from there. That way you're sure to be directed to correct official ticket vendor.

You also might try www.playbill.com for discounted tickets, Chicago is often up at TKTS so you should be able to get better prices in that show. The Lion King is still selling out, so no discounted tickets. Another great show also full price would be Wicked, GREAT show.

For Lion King, call 866-870-2717. While your date is still 5 months away, I think you can get tickets now.
However, for Chicago, as mentioned previously, discounted tickets are available. But, you'll have to wait until October for an offer that'll cover your date. At that time, go to either broadwaybox.com or playbill.com for the discount offer.

Try this site for reduced price:

www.entertainment-link.com

i.e Chicago $68.00 but no discount ticket for Lion

There is only one official site for each show - check playbill.com to see which one it is. If it's an older show look on broadwaybox.com to see if they are offering discount codes (that you then take to the official online seller). Using any other seller usually means you're overpaying for tickets from a scalper.

Chicago should be discounting Lion King almost never does.

I've used Playbill.com several times in the past. You'll notice that the deals are usually for a limited time (Chicago deal currently runs through Sept. 5). However, most of them get extended, so if you wait until 6 weeks before your trip, that show will probably be discounted.

If there's a show that I absolutely want to see, I buy the tickets before my trip. When I am open to several shows, I print playbill offers and go to the theaters box offices once I'm there. We've also walked into a theater a few hours before curtain and been able to get half price tickets that weren't advertised anywhere. It all just depends on how flexible you can be and what shows you want to see.

One thing that could be a little confusing in the above posts is that if you are using a discount -- like Playbill or Broadway Box -- that does not change the fact that you still buy your ticket online THROUGH either Ticketmaster or Telecharge, depending on which one services that particular show. You simply insert the code on THE official seller for that show -- Ticketmaster or Telecharge.

You might also note that while either website shows you "best avaialble" seat -- their idea of best and mine are often different. If you pick up the phone and call them, you are likely to find BETTER seats than you will online. This is particularly true of Ticketmaster which seems not to let you pick a "second choice" for a particular performance if you don't like their first choice.

I rarely book the actual tickets online, but end up calling and checking for better seats -- for example they are likely to show you near the back in the center of the orchestra BEFORE they will show you front row mezzanine seats in a side section. I'd nearly always prefer those latter seats!

Definitely follow Patrick's advice!

Patrick and Howard, Have you used the NEW Ticketmaster Interactive seat map to buy tickets? I have been one of the most outspoken against Ticketmaster over the years. Going so far as to stear away from shows that used TM as their outlet. I hated their limited choices on the web and hated having to phone to find better seats. This new feature is outstanding!!!!! A map with all open seats pops up and you simply pick which you want. Its AMAZING! I love it!

O.K. Telecharge - the bar's been raised.

<u>From Ticketmaster:</u>
<i>Choose Your Own Seats!
NEW! Click section, click seats, click checkout. Interactive Seat Maps give you total control.</i>

That's interesting. Just today I was on Ticketmaster's site but for Chicago which apparently doesn't offer that. They'd only show me a front row seat for Shrek, and when I'd enter, search for a different seat, it would only keep offering me the same one.

I'll check it out for Broadway.

I still strongly favor the direct contact with a real person! So, I'm still a phone man.

I used to travel to NYC often - saw Chicago about 6-7 times - wonderful each time. Used various methods to get tickets, but there used to be a way to line up at the theater very early in the AM ( 7 or 8 AM) - get a bracelet to come back at 10:00 Am and purchase great tickets for about $20. Don't know if that is still going on...

The new Ticketmaster interactive system seems to be a bit tricky. It may not be offered for all shows. Not sure why. I used it for a couple of shows on our trip in May. Today I randomly looked for tickets for Lion King and the interactive option was there, also for In The Heights, but when I tried for tickets to Rain, it was the same old system. I wonder if this is something that TM is asking the shows to opt in or out of? Maybe TM gets a bigger piece of the ticket sales if the show opts for interactive system. Anyone know for sure?

With Ticketmaster anything is possible. My worst experience with them? I bought tickets by phone with them for one of the very first performances of Wicked on Broadway. I bought them months ahead and had them hold them at the box office. The day before we were to go, I stopped by the box office at the Gershwin to pick them up. Guess what. They didn't have them. Here's what had happened. The show had delayed opening a couple of times by a couple of days, so our night was now to be the actual opening night. Our tickets were great ones in center of front orchestra. At the box office they said there had been a problem with my credit card and that's why they had canceled them. HUH? The credit card had gone through months before -- they were long paid for. The truth could only be that they had those tickets in their own will call -- needed some tickets for VIPS since it was now the opening night, so they simply took ours. Sure enough they credited my credit card that same day (day before the performance). If anyone has any other reason why Ticketmaster took back my fully prepaid tickets that had been paid months before, I'd love to hear it.

Patrick, Even with the new and improved interactive system, I'll take Telecharge any day of the week over TM. We got snowed in half way to NY one January (stuck in DTW for the weekend as we made our connection). Telecharge refunded my Broadway show tickets. All I had to do was forward a copy of my airline intinerary to show we were stuck. I can't imagine TM doing something so civilized.

I think your call on what happend with your Wicked tickets is spot on. Maybe just a touch of your anger could be directed at the show's producers/theater, as they may have pulled the tickets from the TM inventory at the last minute. A good case for having them sent out in advance.....<i>"a bird in the hand"</i>, etc. Didn't anyone offer you tickets for another night?

Friends had nearly the same thing happen when Lion King closed its out-of-town run in Minneapolis three days early. However in their case, they were <u>given</u> house tickets to a Broadway performance as an apology.

TC, at the first mention of the problem with the tickets when I got to the box office, they summoned a supervisor, so I suspected something was up. He really couldn't explain what the credit card problem was and seemed very flustered about the whole thing when I explained that the charge had gone through months before. I didn't have them sent to me as we were traveling for some time ahead of that and I thought they'd be safer at the Box Office (silly me). And yes, they offered to do tickets for another performance (they feigned being very sorry about the problem -- do you think they would have been sorry if there really HAD been an issue with the credit card?) -- but since that was our last night in NYC for about a year -- that didn't do us ANY good. It was indeed a year before we could get back and see it.

<i>"do you think they would have been sorry if there really HAD been an issue with the credit card?</i>

If there HAD been an issue with the CC, you would have been contacted months prior. If the CC had been denied, you would have been contacted via email or phone. I'm sure they have problems with cards all the time -- people just transposing numbers, etc. They aren't going to let a sale go for something so simple as that. I think the producers pulled your tickets at the last minute and the box office staff were left to face you with little to offer.

Exactly, TC.