How long in advance do you need to purchase tickets for a Broadway Show. And what is the best site to purchase them from? And how is parking in NY if we choose to drive in to see a show. We're not familiar with NY at all and we're a little apprehensive about getting around.

All Broadway shows use a ticket agency for their tickets. Most use Telecharge. A few use Ticketmaster. You cannot call direct to the theatre and book advance tickets (except for large groups) so the best bet is through the official agency for each show. Other agencies may also sell them, but generally with an extra charge or mark up.

Go to www.playbill.com and you will find information on all shows and links for buying tickets.

If you have specific "hot" shows you want to see, you may need to book up to a year ahead or you will not get tickets. Top shows are sold out for months ahead.

Other shows may offer discounts. Register on the above mentioned playbill site for free and you can find some discount codes for advance tickets for many shows. Or you can look at www.theatremania.com or www.broadwaybox.com for other codes. Although you can then book those discounted tickets on line, I'd suggest you call the mentioned Telecharge or Tickemaster and book your tickets on the phone using the discount codes. It will be much easier and you are likely to have a better choice of seats then trying to do it on line yourself.

You can always wait until you get there and try the TKTS booth in Times Square for half price tickets (not for the top shows) on the day of show only.

Most people would suggest not driving in to New York, but there are parking lots in the theatre district if you want to do that. Plan on about $30 to park for a show.

If there is a specific show you want to see that is already sold out it is always possible to get tickets - but at a premium. You can try either e-bay or one of the on-line ticket brokers (stubhub.com etc). For a big hit - ie Spamalot - plan on paying two to three times the face value of the ticket.

What I would do and what I do all the time , is to actualy go to the theater box office and ask for the best seats available for that day. Of course I usually do this before show time, but I have also got some great seats right before the show. Saw Spamalot, fourth row, by waiting in the ticket cancelation line. I would never get a ticket by using anything except TKTS or the theater box office. Way too pricey.

Since Patrick gave such a complete answer about the tickets, I'll just comment on the parking question.
Since I infer that you are totally inexperienced in the New York driving experience, I would urge you not to drive in for the show. Sure, there are plenty of parking lots in the area, but there will also be a lot of traffic at show time.
Patrick is quite right about the parking rates. On a Wednesday or Saturday, you'll pay up to $30, less on other days.

Howard, since you say we should not drive in, are you suggesting we park somewhere and take the subway. If so, where? We'll be coming from Pennsylvania. Thanks for all your help!

Beth, where in Pa are you from? Would it make any sense to take a train or bus from Phil. for you? If not, parking options depend on how long you plan to stay. If you're trying to do a day trip, people have posted about shopping malls in NJ where you might leave a car for free for the day. But if overnight, that's different. Give us a better idea of your plan.

I also happened to notice there are buses and limos that run between various parts of Pa. and Newark airport. If you were to get to Newark, from there you could get into NYC by bus, train or car service. Just another option.

We're thinking of staying in the Poconos and driving to NY from there. I know it's at least a two hour trip but that's ok. Driving in NY does scare me a bit so parking somewhere outside of the city is appealing; but where? And what bus do you take to get to the theater district? I'm really not familiar with NY at all !

I'm a little uncertain about your plans. Lots of questions:
Are you saying that you're going to make the 2-hour drive to NYC just to go to the theater and then leave?
How long a drive did you plan for after the theater?
Were you plannng on an evening performance or a matinee?
What day?
Those responses will help with the advice.

We'll drive into NYC in the morning, have lunch, then go to the matinee on a Saturday. Then there will be time after the show for dinner, before we drive back to the Poconos. This isn't my idea -- I'd rather just stay in NYC -- and I'm sure you all would agree with me!

In that case, regarding parking,
on Saturday there are special prices for all day. There are coupons on the ticket envelopes from Telecharge and I think you might be able to download them at www.parkfast.com

$14 all day Saturday at Hippodrome Garage, enter 43rd or 44th, between 5th and 6th.

$15 all Saturday at 713-719 Tenth Avenue between 48th and 49th. Enter on 10th or 49th.

Now knowing your plans, it'll probably make more sense for you to drive into the city. I'm not sure of the best way into the city from the Poconos, but you want directions that will take you to the West Side. If you come in from New Jersey, then the Lincoln Tunnel is the most convenient and is not that far from the theater district.
Parking will be expensive if you select a lot in the heart of the theater district. And, since you are planning on two meals plus the theater, parking in that area will be very, very expensive (possibly more than the $30 figure previously quoted, as you will be overlapping the matinee and evening crowds). Thus, you may want to park further west, i.e., nearer to the Hudson River.
The good news is that being a Saturday, traffic should not be that bad when you arrive mid or late morning.

The second of Patrick's parking suggestions is a good one. I wouldn't consider the first as it's in the center of the city and will be a pain getting in and out of the city.

Howard, it's interesting you say that. We've only driven into NYC twice. The first time we were on our way to New England and were driving a van, so parking was a major issue. We ended up staying at the Algonquin Hotel because they use the Hippodrome as their garage and would accept a van. They told us how to arrive, east bound -- was that 43rd or 44th (?) and it was easy as could be. After months of worrying about driving into the city, we couldn't get over how easy that was. It was just as easy when we left. I'm not sure why that is -- is 43rd or 44th a particularly "not busy" street or were we just lucky?

And I didn't mean that last post to be defensive about my suggestion. Driving in New York City is one of the things I know absolutely the LEAST about of any topic related to that city. It's just that we found it so easy to get there and assumed it must be because of the location.

Patrick, you didn't say what day and time you left.
My recommendation was based on the fact that the original poster said they would be having dinner after the matinee, which means they'd be leaving the city early to mid-evening on Saturday. At that time on Saturdays, traffic can be hell in the Times Square area, so they'd probably have a tough time getting across it to the Lincoln Tunnel.