The King And I
 

Lincoln Center - previews begin March 12, 2015: http://www.lct.org/shows/king-and-i/

I'm interested in this show. Any advice about tickets during preview period vs. waiting?
Not sure how far ahead I will be able to make a commitment. I guess that's always a problem with popular shows.

Thank you.

I have a ticket for March 15th during previews. Got it the day before tickets went on sale to the public because I"m on LCT's mailing list. I saw Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike the first nite of previews at LCT… and glad I did because it was a very popular show.
I'm a Kelli O'Hara fan so am happy to see her under any circumstances.

I saw Promises Promises on opening night of previews and loved it. I'd go to the King and I in a heartbeat during previews.

Since The King and I is an old standard and not a new show, you won't see many substantive changes between early preview performances and later shows. However, these early shows are more prone to delays and technical difficulties, and with Ken Watanabe, who hasn't performed on stage for almost 15 years, you may see him ease into the role with a bit less fluidity than a seasoned Broadway performer. Kelli O'Hara is a pro and is likely to be on point from Day 1. I'm sure it will be great, and it's almost certain to be popular, but (as with most shows ... even Book of Mormon) I think you will be safe to buy tickets anytime between the period when previews begin and opening night.

I got my tickets to Book of Mormon a couple of weeks before it opened (even after it started getting rave word-of-mouth) and got aisle seats for the Saturday after opening at a discount no less.

The only difficulty with Lincoln Center is that it has subscribers, who fill up the best seats at the early performances, so you might not get a ticket for the first 8 weeks. But the Vivian Beaumont is also one of the best theaters in NYC for sightlines, and it doesn't really matter if you sit on the last row. Every seat there is actually good (at least in my opinion). And I saw South Pacific from the last row on the far right, a place I normally wouldn't ever consider sitting. It was just fine.

I see many shows in previews and lots of times I'm happy I did since if the show is very popular you may not be able to get seats or have to pay a huge price...in fact I'm going to see Delicate Balance this week and it just started previews.

I'll concur with Doug's comments about there being no bad sightlines at the Vivian Beaumont. And, that's only Broadway-size theater that you can say that about!

I'm guessing that you won't have a problem getting tickets during the preview period even if you wait a while.

Preview tickets are cheaper than non-preview. LCT subscribers have already started buying tickets, at even greater discounts, one ticket per subscription and they get to pick their seats, just like you do. The theater is on the smaller side with good sight lines and the upstairs is not really far from the stage and is also on the small side. you can go on the website and look at a seating chart and then see what is available on the dates that work best for you.

I am a lct subscriber and found that on certain dates I was interested in the center seats in the orchestra were already sold for previews in the middle and end of March.

maxima… that is interesting. In early October I bought what I thought was a legitimate ticket thru what I thought was the Vivian Beaumont website. The seat was in the middle of the orchestra. To make a long story short… somehow I'd gotten on a scalper's site. I managed to cancel the transaction. Then I received an email from LCT on Oct 18 with offer to buy tickets.
I bought a ticket for the same date as the one I'd cancelled.. $100 cheaper … side orchestra.
BUT… on the LCT web site there were NO seats offered in the middle orchestra. I thought they were probably reserved for subscribers. How do you suppose scalpers get these tickets ahead of everybody…. have they bought up all the LCT memberships?? Didn't seem like they were out and out crooks.

Thank you so very much everyone. This answers my questions.

Subscribers sometimes sell their tickets to scalpers if the show isn't of interest to them. That's how scalpers get prime seats to shows like this. Simple as that.

If the show isn't of interest I wish those LCT subscribers would give up their memberships. I've can't even get on the waiting list for membership after trying for several years.

Actually I've been told that scalpers are often members of most "membership" theatres. That is how they can buy up so many seats to scalp.

LCT subscribers get advance notice of each production with the dates tickets go on sale to the subscribers. For many years the list was closed meaning that there were no new subscribers. but you could put your name on a waiting list. about 2 years ago the list opened for new members. If you want to buy more than one ticket per person, per show (entire run), you have to pay for more than one membership.

I don't know how many tickets scalpers are buying, but as it is a small theater and some prefer to buy the cheaper preview tickets, I was not surprised to find that center seats were sold. I was looking at weekend matinees; perhaps for weeknights it is easier to get center seats, or perhaps not. I have center loge seats.