Hi there! I live in Brazil and I am going to NYC in september and would like to see The Producers. Do you think telecharge.com really works? If the answer is "no", what should I do? And the original cast play at the matinees? THANKS, THANKS , THANKS a thousand times!!!

Thousands of Americans use telecharge.com, ticketmaster.com, etc. on a daily basis. Do so without fear and enjoy the show!! (I prefer to pick up my tickets at the "will call" window on the day of show but I know many people prefer to have them mailed so they have them in their hands!)

You are perfectly safe using Telecharge. However, you may already be too late to get tickets to see The Producers in September. Call immediately and ask for a weekday performance. Your best bet is a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Dear 1c,

I just recently bought Producers tickets thru Telecharge, and everything worked fine. Because I bought them so close to our trip, the Telecharge operator told me they'd hold the tickets at the box office for me, to pick them up the day of the show.

Because I've always had tickets mailed to me before, I was a bit worried--so I went the day before the show. There they were.

It's unfortunate that Telecharge and Ticketmaster are the only choices for buying tickets to Broadway shows in advance--that you can't call the box office directly. The service charge adds a big wallop to an already high ticket price.

I hope you can get tickets--the show is great!

Have no fear about using this service. I have bought many tickets from them and have had no problems.

Penny: I agree with you about calling the b.o. directly. Telecharge can't answer the questions that a b.o. person can. I also miss the days of different pricing levels. A Broadway show used to offer as many as 5 different ticket prices according to where a person sat.

I ordered tickets for The Producers via www.telecharge.com 2 or 3 days before the opening. I wanted and got late September, best orchestra seats available; they arrived in the mail yesterday (5/10).

There is never a guarantee that you will see the original cast. I've seen more understudies at matinees than at Fri/Sat evening performances. If an understudy is playing, they will tell you before the show and you can leave with a refund for your tickets.

I'm Brazilian too and have already used telecharge, as welll as ticketmaster. It does work!

I use www.telecharge.com all the time. Just once, I had a problem. An error message presented itself at the end of the ordering process indicating that the order may not have been completed but my card may have been charged, with a phone number to call for assistance. I phoned, was on hold for just a minute or two, and the order was completed (my card had not been charged) efficiently by a very nice representative. As for the original cast, already I've read that Matthew Broderick will leave the show for six weeks in the fall to fulfill a movie obligation.

I heard that both Lane and Broderick are bound by contract until April, 2002.

You are correct Sara. However, it is not unusual for a performer to have something written into the contract that allows him/her to take a break as Broderick is reportedly doing.