antlori

Taking my 12-year-old nephew to NYC at the end of the month for his birthday. He's now decided that he would like to see a Broadway show and he's picked Spamalot. Any advice for how to get cheaper tickets for a Saturday night performance (July 30)? I'm assuming I won't be able to get tickets at the TKTS booth. How are the mezzanine and balcony seats? Does it matter where you sit? I notice the orchestra seats are priced way out of my league.

nytraveler

For the end of this month you will be very lucky to get anything (I think they're sold out throught October at least) unless you go to a broker - which would be a premium - not a discount.

You might try e-bay to see if anyone has tickets they can;t use. (Just checked and they have several sets of tickets available for the end of the month - ranging from $200 to $400 for a pair.)

But I would definitely have another show picked as a back-up - and try to get a discount in advance (broadwaybox.com, theatermania.com etc).

antlori

Thanks, nytraveler, I was just surfing the net to see what I can find and it looks like there are tickets if I want to spend $300/person!! His second choice is Lion King which I thought might be on the TKTS board as it's been around so long. I didn't see it there though, and when I checked pricing even Lion King tickets were over $100/person. I'll check out the 2 websites you mentioned and see what they have. Thanks again.

HowardR

You will not find discount tickets anywhere for The Lion King. So save yourself some wasted time and effort and don't even bother looking.
Saturday night is the most popular performance for all shows, so your options for discount tickets, in general, is limited. Further, since you're talking about 11 days from now, your chances are even more limited!
You might be able to get less expensive balcony tickets for Hairspray or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which he should enjoy.
Have you considered any off-Broadway show, such as Stomp of Blue Man Group? Tickets are less expensive.
In any event, don't delay, get your tickets ASAP.

TarheelsInNj

Hello! I would second the recommendation for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's a very fun show for kids, and really a spectacular visual show (great sets, and of course, the flying car).

Also, don't know if this works for your travel plans, but you might do a little better with a Saturday matinee. Saturday night is definitely the most popular time, so most discounts, even for shows that have them, aren't available then.

Good luck!

SB_Travlr

I agree about the need to plan WAY ahead if you want to see Spamalot. We saw it in May, at a Saturday matinee -- but we booked those orchestra seats online, full price, at Christmas, and that was the earliest date we could get for a decent seat! It was well worth the wait, we loved it. But then, we are all Python fans. (Maybe you could start planning now for next year's birthday!! ;-))

didijo

I went with my husband, daughter and 8 year old son in early June to see Spamalot and we all loved it! We went to a Sunday matinee. We also had fourth row mezzanine seats which were excellent. So if you could get mezzanine seats don't worry. However, they were very expensive too. But the show is worth it.

msr3017

Sometimes tickets pop up on Craigslist.org.

antlori

Thanks all for your replies. He isn't interested in Blue Man Group, Stomp or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The only ones he picked were Spamalot, Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, and I don't think I can sit through Beauty and the Beast again. I think we'll just forego Broadway this time. We have lots to do and he wasn't really interested until I pushed it (silly me).