Obtaining tickets for "Gypsy" starring Bernadette Peters...help please!
 

My wife is a huge Bernadette Peters fan. We've seen her live at least 10 times and own numerous CD's. She will be starring in "Gypsy" beginning previews March 30 (official opening is May 1st). Ticket sales have just begun for AMEX gold card members, not to the public yet. I contacted my nephew (he has gold card and lives in NYC). Apparently the tickets have sold so quickly that even though the tickets are not yet open to the public, the best row during the week we'll be in NYC (June) is row p. I'm debating whether to jump on this or just wait until closer when some poor sole has to cancel his plans and puts his tickets on ebay... What do you think? I'm not familiar with Shubert theater. It is hard for me to believe that within 48 hours these tickets have gone this quickly. Do you think they're just putting out a limited supply to begin with? Unfortunately, my wife has her heart set on the first 5ish rows of orchestra or the first couple rows of the mezzanine. To make matters worse, it is her 40th birthday celebration. At this rate, I'd like to make some decision quick or we'll end up in row ZZ or something. Not sure how these ticket sales in NYC work...maybe this is the best we'll get or perhaps there will be others coming out. I have no problem checking www.telecharge on a daily basis if this is what it takes. Is it possible for tickets to be selling this quick? Any buzz in NYC about this particular upcoming production? Need help from those familiar with NY theater...I'm certainly not. Since this is an old show, revival...never dreamed it would be so popular. Thanks, Frank from San Diego

Wish I could help...I received an e-mail from Telecharge regarding the AmExp advance sale (which doesn't end until January 18th). I immediately set about searching for tickets. For Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat Matinee &amp; Sat Night for two weeks in April, and the best seats coming up were Rows Q &amp; R or the far left in Rows B &amp; C &amp; F. (I have always been highly suspicious of the manner in which seats are released by both Telecharge and Ticketmaster. I received advance notice of Champions on Ice, for example, and the best seats were the 20th row in the corner.) But, I've also found that if you try your dates off and on throughout the day, especially first thing on a weekday morning or (late at night would probably work too from the west coast) sometimes MUCH better seats show up suddenly (perhaps due to traffic on the website inquiries which temporarily tie up seats?). Or, that seats available a minute ago or no longer available after you've tried another day/time, but then come up again after a few minutes. <BR><BR>My recommendation would be to GRAB Row P. It's not that large a theater, so while Row P is near the back, you're really not that far from the stage. We saw &quot;Chicago&quot; in the same theatre in Row R, and the view was just fine. You can always sell them on E-Bay if better seats come up later. (Better to be selling than trying to buy tickets for a &quot;hot&quot; show.) Seats may be impossible to get at all later, especially for your specific dates. You might also try selecting &quot;Center Mezzanine&quot; (first row is over Row L). I prefer the front of the mezzanine when I can get it for huge musical productions, as you really can see much more and much better.<BR><BR>After trying all day yesterday, what do you know, last night, I managed to snare two seats in the center of Row C for a Thursday night!

Well, if you want to see a particular show on specific dates, you are pretty much beholdened to Telecharge! Row P is just fine and you should jump on those seats if you really want to see THAT show during your visit. There is NO such row as ZZ (did you check the seating chart?). I'm with the advice to grab any tickets you can get for your specific dates. &quot;Out of towners&quot; are at a huge disadvantage when they need tickets for specific dates. Row P is just fine. The first &quot;5-ish&quot; rows are positively NOT the most desirable in this small theater. Especially for a musical with a huge cast/production as the person above mentioned. All in all, any Broadway show is a BIG HIT or not. You'd be extremely fortunate to acquire DECENT seats for your particular dates. You're gonna have to explain to your wife the difference between having seats in the first 5-ish rows or not having any seats at all.

We jumped on tickets the second we got the Amex notice. We ended up with Row G, Center Orch, so AMEX does release decent seats for gold card members. In the Shubert, row G is the 9th row because it starts with rows AA &amp; BB, then A, B, etc. Row P is 17th row. That is FINE for a musical. I would try for a few more days to get better seats. If no luck, take the row P seats so you at least have something. If you end up getting better seats, you can always sell this first set.

I forgot to add that our seats are for a Tuesday night at the end of April. Weeknights are more readily available. Have you tried the matinees?

Thanks guys, I was able to improve with a matinee and now have Row L seats 107 and 108. I'm pleased and at least I have tickets. Thanks again (I tried the mezzanine but no luck there). Thanks!

I would like to know where to sign up for these Gold Card AmEx alert emails for earlier purchases of theater tickets. Anyone??

Don't get hung up on those AM EX special tickets. I was working on the same thing for the production of NINE and tried a month ago with AM Ex before they went on sale to the public. I tried the four performances last week in May when we will be there. The only seats I could get were the very last row of the orchestra or the extreme side seats in the last two rows -- no mezzanine available at all. I didn't purchase, but today, a couple of weeks after being on sale to the public I called Telecharge and got two seats in the 8th row, just two seats off the aisle in the right section -- infinitely better than anything AM Ex had to offer. Glad I waited. Similar tickets were available for the other performances.

Interesting Patrick! This is somewhat what I had suspected all along. Apparently, the seats that become available to AmEx gold are quite selective and not the cream of the crop. I guess it is still good for such sold out performances as Gypsy or Nine that you may get shut out all together...like our buddy Frank was feeling.

You all are missing the point here. Alleged &quot;advance&quot; ticket sales, whereupon immediately the &quot;best&quot; seats available months out, for a show that is not even in &quot;previews&quot; yet, are beyond the first 15 or more rows, would indicate that &quot;they&quot; are attempting to unload the less than optimal seats on all those who are, by now, convinced that really good seats, or any seats at all, for their Specific Dates, will be hard to come by. And, this may very well turn out to be true. With the zillions of folks within the New York metro area who can go &quot;whenever tickets are available &quot;front and center&quot; or not go at all until they are, it is only prudent for all the ticket sellers to hold the most prime seats for later release. <BR><BR>It's a crap shoot for &quot;out-of-towners&quot; and free enterprise at it's Very Best!

Sometimes you can get good seats a while after tix go on sale because they are expensive! Often the cheaper seats sell out first, and if you are willing to pay more you often can get good seats without doing a pre-sale purchase. I also have had decent luck on ebay for sold out events. Enjoy the show!

The show Nine is a Roundabout production and is mostly pre-sold through subscription. That may be the reason for the 'withholding' of the best seats. I wonder if you called and said you were interested in a subscription if you would have been offered better seats directly from Roundabout? If you see a lot of theater, the Roundabout is one of the best subscriptions out there. And not only do you get a better price for the tickets, but your seats improve every year!