New York City theater is the best in the world, but you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars for a top ticket to a Broadway or Off-Broadway show. There are multiple ways to score discount tickets, even for top shows.
These are the best, especially if you missed the annual 2-for-1 Broadway Week and Off-Broadway Week discount ticket deals.
TKTS
TKTS is NYC’s largest discount ticket operation, offering steeply discounted tickets for same-day shows.
TKTS is operated by the Theater Development Fund, with the goal of selling unsold tickets for that day’s matinee or evening performances, at steep discount. In addition to theater tickets, TKTS offers same-day concert and ballet tickets, also at steep discounts.
The largest TKTS Booth is at 47th Street and Broadway, at the famous “Bow Tie” area, and there’s a large digital sign displaying which shows have available tickets, so if your heart’s desire is not on the list, you can skip the line.
There’s a second location at Lincoln Center, where the lines are often shorter.
You have two options – get there early to beat the long line, or show up closer to showtime, when theaters release last minute seats, including unsold prime orchestra seats .
There is also a TKTS App.
TodayTix
This website and app offers discounted seats for performances up to a week ahead, with seating charts for each show on offer so you can pick the seat (and the price) you want.
TodayTix lets you browse dozens of Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway, Lincoln Center (including The Metropolitan Opera) theaters and showtimes, and even such top non-theater cultural attractions as the popular Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden.
The app’s creators are former Broadway producers and have partnerships with more 1,300 theaters in big cities worldwide. The largest selection, of course, is in New York, which has the largest selection of live performances on the planet.
And this is the place to purchase advance tickets to shows which haven’t opened yet, even previews – just set an alert when tickets go on sale.
TodayTix also offers last-minute Rush Tickets for shows, at $25 or $25. All tickets purchased online – which is the only way you can purchase TodayTix discount tickets – carry a $12 service charge.
Rush Tickets
Theaters have a limited number of Rush tickets, which sell for between $25 and $40. These are also day-of-performance tickets, sold at the box office, on a first-come, first-served basis.
There also are special categories of these discounted tickets, such as Student Rush (you’ll need a student ID) and Senior Rush (you’ll need to be over 65 years old).
For popular shows, you may find lines already forming by early morning, hours before the box office opens. Also expect designated Rush seats to have an obstructed view. But that’s the price you pay for getting a $250 ticket for $25, a zero less.
Call the theater of the show you want to see to find out if they offer Rush Tickets.
Student Tickets
How do you get to Carnegie Hall for just $10? By being a Student Insider.
A free, annual registration is all it takes to unlock student discount prices to selected concerts. Student Insiders can purchase tickets online, over the phone, or in-person at the box office for exclusive access for special student seats.
Offers are subject to availability and are limited to two tickets per performance.
Standing Room Only
Some theaters offer Standing Room Only (SRO) tickets, also on day-of the show.
The downside: Standing room means you will be standing for the entire performance.
The upside: SRO tickets, where available, are around $30. You be standing at the back of the Orchestra level seats, so you’ll have a great view – and since you’re already in the back, you’ll be closest to the bathrooms at Intermission.
Call the theater of the show you want to see to find out if they offer SRO tickets.
Mobile Apps & Lotteries
In addition to TKTS and TodayTix already mentioned, similar apps include BroadwayADay, Broadway.com, and BroadwayBox.
Some popular or long-running shows even get their own app. For example, you can download the official Hamilton app for original content, updates about the show, a shop with official merch, and more.
The Hamilton app makes it easy for you to enter the lottery every day for $10 Hamilton tickets. But there are just a few such long-running hit shows with their own apps.
LuckySeat offers daily lotteries for day-of tickets to top shows, including The Book of Mormon and MJ The Musical.
That’s the upside. The downside is that you have to apply every day for the show or shows you want to see.
Lottery entries accepted until 10 AM on the day before the performance. Winners are drawn at 11 AM the day before the performance and must purchase their tickets by 3 PM the day before the performance.
Broadway for Broke People is another site for shows are offering lotteries or other deals.
Playbill.com has a full listing, updated regularly, of which shows offer SRO and lotteries, and the rules for each – including that the Hamilton lottery is for just 46 such seats available for each performance.
Cancellations
Sometimes tickets become available at the very last minute due to audience cancellations for weather or other issues. These are released by the theater just before showtime.
Memberships With Discounts
The Theater Development Fund (TDF) offers a $40 membership that grants you access to a vast number of tickets discounted up to 70%. If you just see two shows a year, membership pays back in a couple of performances.
Manhattan Theatre Club stages performances in its own theater on Theater Row on 42nd Street. The non-profit theater group has been producing both off-beat and award-winning plays for more than five decades.
Roundabout Theatre is another non-profit theater group which produces top shows and offers discount tickets to members.
Membership is important to all three of these groups, which support live theater in New York City.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA) and is a former Board Member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
What do you think? We value your comments and love hearing from you.