The Ultimate Broadway Ticket Buying Guide for Broadway Tickets
When heading to New York City one activity at the top of most peoples to-do lists is to see a Broadway Show. This is often met with the anxiety of making sure you secure tickets and secure them for a fair price. As this can be confusing, I’ve decided to give a brief rundown of the easiest and cheapest ways to get tickets on Broadway. The important this to remember is that each of the below methods may vary depending on the show.
Ordering Online
Certainty: 100%
Cost: $140+
Time consuming: Instant
Payment: Cash or Credit
This is the most common way people buy tickets and why not? It’s how you buy tickets for everything else around the world! It does come at a cost though, this is by far the most expensive way of buying tickets and I would only ever do this if I were traveling to New York over a weekend and there was a specific show you HAD to see which you knew was very popular and you didn’t want to waste time getting a ticket. Shows in this category were Book Of Mormon, Beautiful & Hedwig and the Angry Inch (with Neil Patrick Harris).
Going to the Box Office
Certainty: 80%
Cost: $45+
Time consuming: Instant
Payment: Cash or Credit
If you decide to not order online this should be your first point of call because most box office staff are friendly and will give you the best indication of availability and the best alternate ways (see below) of getting tickets. You never know with this one because they often offer tickets cheaper than what’s displayed on the screen. For example, when we went to see Pippen they had $45 category tickets available, a category which wasn’t listed online or even on the pricing board at the Box Office.
Today Tix
Certainty: 80%
Cost: $29
Time Consuming: Instant
Payment: Credit
DOWNLOAD THIS APP! It’s free and super easy, it seels you tickets much cheaper than the box office, but not ass cheap as rush tickets. But you buy tickets through the app and you meet a “Today Tix” in a red shirt out the front of the theatre and they give you your tickets. The only issue with this app is that you can’t buy tickets for the really popular shows, but it’s updated instantly and it’s a good avenue if you decide “I might go see a show tonight”. Download it here and check it out before you go! http://www.todaytix.com
Rush Tickets/Student Rush
Certainty: 60%
Cost: $35+
Payment: Cash, sometimes credit
Time consuming: Be first in line in the morning, for popular shows this could mean lining up from 6:00.
This was how we got most of our tickets. This is the policy that varies the most with shows. The standard is that shows sell these tickets from when the box office opens (10:00) and the amount of tickets available varies. Ifthe show is popular (A Gentleman’s Guide, Of Mice and Men, Les Miserables) people will line up from about 6:00am however, if the ticket sales aren’t booming you can go just when the box office opens (Pippen, Rock of Ages, Mamma Mia, Violet). To be eligible for “Student Rush” tickets you must have a student ID and it is often cheaper. For Cabaret they sold the Student Rush tickets 30 minutes before the show started and that was a flat 50% off the original price. The best way to find out a show’s policy is to ask at the box office.
Lottery
Certainty: 10%
Cost: $35
Payment: Cash, sometimes credit.
Time Consuming: Get to the box office 2 hours 30 minutes before show time
This is a fun one that I recommend doing purely for the experience, but even the most popular shows that don’t have a limited season will do a lottery. Again, check with the box office to see if they have one. The way it works is you get there 150 minutes before the show starts and write your name down on the raffle and select whether you want 1 or 2 tickets. Then, 2 hours before he shows they will inform the crowd how many tickets are available to be drawn and the price (Usually $35) You must be there at the time of the draw. The likelihood of you getting tickets vary from show to show, for example Hedwig and the Angry Inch had over 200 people put in and there were only 20 tickets available, while for Kinky Boots every person who entered the lottery won a ticket.
Standing Room
Certainty: 40%
Cost: $20
Payment: Cash, sometimes credit.
Time Consuming: The closer to the start time the more likely they’ll be available, keep checking back with the Box Office though
Really popular shows will offer standing tickets for the cheapest price, but will most likely only sell these tickets if the show is sold-out. You stand at the back of the orchestra level and you have to be at least 150cm tall. Again it depends on the show, we did it for Chicago (I was upgraded to premium seats for free), Hedwig & Mamma Mia.
Half Tix –TKTS
Certainty: 80%
Cost: $70
Payment: Cash, sometimes credit.
Time Constraint: about 45 minutes lining up.
This is the most well known way of buying cheap tickets, it’s quite simple to, you get 50% off the full price tickets, but only to shows that are available. They conveniently have a sign out the front with what’s available, we got tickets for Heathers, Cinderella & Avenue Q this way. NOTE: only one transaction per booking, so if you go in a group be prepared.