O.K. guys, I'm not following your logic. If a show is a "hit, sell-out" show, I'm assuming that they would not be offering discount tickets on Playbill.com or others. Therefore, your point about house seats being held to sell at full price isn't computing with my comment regarding discount coupons. I still contend that the parameters on Broadway discounts have changed recently. Not a crime -- just a comment.

BTW Patrick, I have a good friend who is a Tony nominated NY actress. Its not in their contract (and certainly not in a crew members contract) to have access to a "certain number" of house seats. They put their name on a list for house seats for nights they would like. The seats go to producers first and then to cast on a first come, first serve basis (star recognition counting somewhat if it comes to bumping) -- crew members coming long after cast members.

TC, perhaps I haven't been clear.
Producers of a less-than-sold-out show may make discount tickets available, while at the same time holding onto the best seats to be sold at full price.
As performance time gets close, they may (or may not) decide to offer those latter seats at TKTS.

There are crew members and then there are crew members. My best connection is a production stage manager, and he DOES get 4 house seats per week by contract. Maybe that's his own requirement by contract, but I had the impression that is a standard part of his Equity contract. I wasn't necessarily talking about scenery shifters or dressers.

Patrick, You are right...it must be on a person to person basis. One of my good friends was the Production Stage Manager for The Piano Lesson on Broadway. No such guarantee in that contract. Thanks for the tips.

Need to resurrect this thread as tix for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels are indeed on sale now for March 06 visit. HOWEVER, I do see that there have been many discount offers for this show, so wondering if best to wait to purchase? (Aren't discounts usually for shows that aren't selling as well? Thought this was a big seller ...).

And thinking of the "Putnam Spelling Bee" show and see that I can order for our dates if using my Amex card. Curious why there is an extended sale period - should I grab tickets now before they go on sale to general public?

Thanks

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels doing okay, but it's not selling out. If you want the best seats, but them now at full price. If you are looking for a bargain, then wait. Discounts for March performances will not be available until 2006.

I really never feel like there is a truly bad seat in NY theatres, but there's always a first time, right?

And Spelling Bee - what's your take on that show?

and Howard, do you think Lithgow and Butz will still be in the show in March? (Playbill.com says the show will tour next summer but sounds as if Lithgow and Butz will stay in NYC).

I'm not Howard but I'll chime in that Spelling Bee is fun, but not worth full price Broadway price imo. It's really an off Broadway show and I felt "taken" by paying full price. Discount is fine.

I agree -- Spelling Bee really feels like a small off-Broadway show. It was the show that started this whole discussion on discount coupon limitations. When I tried to use the dicount offer at the Spelling Bee box office (even though the coupon did not specify particular seats) I was told that it was only good for "certain seats" -- which were quite far to the side. Being unfamiliar with the theater I chose to purchase full price tickets. Now I know the side seats would have been o.k. The theater is small and there isn't much that happens on stage. Its not worth full price -- cute, but more like a long Saturday Night Live sketch.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is wonderful. Get good seats for it if you can.

It's interesting to think about what is "worth" a full price these days- I would submit that it is purely a matter of taste.

If you enjoy a show, it's worth the money of a full-price ticket (comparatively). If you don't, then no matter how large and glamorous the production may be, it was likely not worth your money. This is especially true with many of the recent flops on Broadway now (great article in the Times recently about "vanity" productions that alludes to that point).

I thoroughly enjoyed Spelling Bee. It's a nice change to many of the trends on Broadway now, and I was completely engaged from start to finish.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is great as well, but I think you can wait to get tickets. There will likely be a discount offer available in March. Also, I saw the show from the last row (last minute tickets!) and because the theatre is on the small side, the seats were just fine and a bit cheaper- I think $60 each on Saturday night.

We will be in NY during daughter's college spring break. I see that full price tickets have gone up by $10 per ticket. Do you think I should bite the bullet and buy these tickets now, or are discounts still possible? I know we'd be disappointed to miss it.

And for that matter, if in the 4th row of the rear mezz saves $20 per ticket, should we do that? Or is it worth $40 to be in first row of front mezz? Thanks

Ooops. Meant to say tix had gone up for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

I would wait on getting tickets for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. There's a good chance that there'll be a discount offer for March, which wll appear probably sometime in January.

inthechips-The word is that John Lithgow is leaving DRS January 8,2006. Sherie Renee Scott is leaving the end of January. I think Norbert extended for a while but not sure how long.

Thanks Paula. Perhaps that's why there could be discounts. Although I'm a little confused as to why tickets went up by $10 pp if one of the main cast members is rumored to be leaving. Daughter is really interested in seeing Norbert more than any of them.

I had read on Playbill.com that the show was going on the road in summer of 06 with the original cast continuing on Broadway, but it reads a little confusing on Playbill and I could be misinterpreting what it says.

I would wait. Most Broadway shows are concerned about getting through the holidays and January right now. It's very likely there will be more discount offers available for the January-March period a little later on.

We've been really lucky to see lots of original casts in some great shows, so it doesn't really matter to me who is in it. I'll wait as suggested. Thanks for the input.

Now if they'd only bring in "Noises Off" again, one of my alltime favorites ...

fodor folks,

pardon the shill, but you may find this listing useful:

http://www.entertainment-link.com/tkts.asp

(a week-at-a-glance listing of those shows that are available at TKTS discount booths)

regards,

david
(full disclosure, i'm the editor of the site)

Perfect, David - the site is ABSOLUTELY what I needed and couldn't find!