I will be in NYC for about a week & staying in Times Square. My hope is to see one show each day.

In the past I have bought all my tickets at the TKTS booth either in Times Square or the Seaport area. This has been a great way for me to get tickets at half price.

Generally I arrive at the TKTS booth with a list of 5-6 different shows I'm wanting to see. I tell the ticket agent that I'd like to see a show that has orchestra seats available, preferably in the first 10 rows. By being flexible on the show I see, I have always been able to get fantastic seats.

BUT, I have been reading in this forum about various ways to buy Broadway tickets at a discount. It appears I can get discounted seats WITHOUT having to go to a TKTS booth & wait in line.

Is www.broadwaybox.com the best venue to use? And, what kinds of seats are generally available? If I'm flexible on the dates & shows, is it likely I'll be able to get a seat in the first 10 rows? Does broadwaybox.com offer discounts that are even better than what is available at TKTS booth?

Thank you!

A couple things to consider:

Broadway Box tends to show all the discounts that you will find at the various other sites so in my opinion, yet it is the easiest to use.

If you use the discounts and get the tickets in advance (via Telecharge or Ticketmaster as you must do if you are out of town) then you will be adding $15 or more for each ticket order that is for two seats -- even more for more tickets.

If you print off the discount codes and wait until you get to New York, then go directly to the box offices, you can get those discounted tickets without paying the extra agency fees.

If you wait until you get to New York, then you will have more limited choices of seats than you have if ordering a month or so in advance. It's up to you if you think the extra service charges are worth the better seats or better chance of getting popular shows.

I don't believe there will ever be a show that you can get half price tickets to at TKTS the day of the show, that you couldn't get discounted (but not necessarily half price) at the theatre box office a few days before using a code -- and you will have more choice of seats at the box office for those same shows, but again you may still be paying more than half price.

Broadway Box doesn't exactly "offer seats" at all. They merely provide you with a discount code to use at the regular ticket source or the box office.
Basically the only way you get "better choice of seats" is getting them the earliest possible. So to answer your last question, in a sense, yes the seats may be better via the discount codes, but only if you buy them earlier.

Does that help?

I'll just add one thing to NeoPatrick's excellent information:
The advantage of TKTS is that the seats are cheaper than the discounted offers.
The advantage of the discounted offers is that you don't have to spend time waiting in line.
To give you an idea of the difference in cost, TKTS half-price offers are usually around $15 cheaper than the majority of the discount offers.
I favor the route of bringing copies of the discount offers with you and going to the box offices when you get to the city.

On our last trip to Vegas the 1/2 price booth had long lines but when you bought tickets they gave you a pass to go in a much shorter line the next day to buy tickets. Does the TKTS booth in NY have anything similar? Sorry to Hijack but I thought this added to the OP's question. Thanks!

Not only do the Vegas half-price places give you a pass to come back the next day on a shorter line, but they also give you a voucher for $1 off each ticket.

Unfortunately, unless things have changed in the past few months, neither of those perks are available at the NYC TKTS booths.

Two more good reasons to use broadwaybox.com as opposed to standing in line at the TKTS booth: If it's during the winter time, it can be very, very cold (and you're wasting valuable vacation time) and you must pay with cash or travelers' checks. Whereas if you purchase in advance (or at the theatre box office) with a discount code, you can pay with a credit card.

Thx NeoPatrick & Howard! This is FANTASTIC info, I didn't know any of this!

For others trying to weigh the pros and cons of where and when to buy Broadway tix, I will also add this ... at the TKTS booth I have been lucky enough to take advantage of several marketing promotions. For example, sometimes vendors are offering free musical soundtracks when you purchase show tickets. I haven't seen anything like this being offered anywhere else ... is that true?

More good points Judy24 ... I've always hated having to buy tickets with cash as well as having to make sure I'm near a TKTS booth when it opens.

Jenson

What wonderful replies you received. Thanks for asking. I am saving for future reference.

Sandy

The winter weather is not as much of a negative factor for TKTS patrons as it was when in Duffy Square in the heart of Times Square, compared to its current temporary facilities sort of "under cover" at the Marriott Marquis.

To me there are 2 key factors in using broadwaybox versus standing on line:

You're getting tickets weeks earlier - so have a chance at better seats

You don;t have to wast valuable vacation line standing on line (to me my vacation time is worth way more than $15 an hour)

If you have a bit of time before your trip, you might also think about signing up for the email offers on Playbill.com and Theatermania.com. The same discounts will probably end up on broadwaybox, but it never hurts.

I'll add I think it depends on how many tix you need. If you're alone, I think TKTS booth same day can sometimes yield better options as odd tix get sent there last minute.

Has anyone ever used the web site: www.hitshowclub.com ?

It gives you a discount code (for some, not all Broadway and off-Broadway shows) and then sends you to another site, such as www.broadwayoffers.com, to purchase the tickets.

I just looked up tickets for both A Chorus Line & Altar Boyz and the prices are great, $85 and $40 respectively, and the seats were FABULOUS. (yet searching for single tix on flexible dates probably helps tremendously...)

Has anyone ever used this site & can verify that it's a legit site?

Thx!

It's legit. Theatermania and playbill are other websites that also have discount codes. YOu generally have to register for free to see them. Broadwaybox actually tends to have all the codes from all the sites. I'd be curious to know if the hitshowclub is better than anything on broadwaybox.