Feeling lucky? Many popular and Tony Award winning shows offer digital lotteries (think of this as a Powerball but for Broadway - a Broadway lottery) at huge discounts. Each show has its own rules and prices vary: as an example, Hamilton offers the Ham4Ham ticket lottery – you can enter the digital lottery through an app, and if you win, you can purchase up to two tickets for $10 each. Not a bad deal, right? Check out Lucky Seat to find digital lotteries for various shows including Hadestown, Moulin Rouge!, and The Book of Mormon. And Broadway Direct handles the digital lotteries for shows like The Lion King, Six, and Wicked.
The idea of rush tickets started with the hugely popular Broadway production of Rent in the 1990s. The show started selling discounted, affordable tickets for first two rows of orchestra seats in the theatre to anyone who showed up at the box office on the day of the performance. Broadway tickets were sold first come, first served. That process continues at many shows, and the rules are the same: a limited number of discount tickets are available at the box office from the time it opens until the tickets are sold out. Exact seat location is usually at the theater’s discretion.
Standing room only (SRO) tickets are what they sound like: for a much cheaper price than an orchestra seat, you can stand in the back of the theatre and watch the show. This is actually much more comfortable than it sounds, most theaters have a padded bar to lean on, and the view is pretty great. Even better, you can avoid the long lines by being first in line for the bathroom at intermission. Standing room only tickets are only sold at the box office if a performance is entirely sold out, so it can be worth calling the theater to ask if they are available before you make the trek into Times Square.
The cancellation line covers tickets that have been, you guessed it, canceled or otherwise gone unclaimed. Head to the theatre box office a few hours before a performance and see if any tickets are available. These tickets are usually sold at face value, though this can be a way to get a ticket to a show that has been sold out for months. Quick tip: People cancel in bad weather: one person’s snow storm can be another person’s Broadway dream…
BROADWAY WEEK
If you’re lucky, you’re visiting New York during Broadway Week, which runs twice a year (and for longer than a week) in late January/early February and then again in September. Many of even the most popular shows offer 2-for-1 Broadway ticket discounts. You can check out who is participating here: https://www.nyctourism.com/broadway-week/.
TDF MEMBERSHIP
If you live in or near NYC and love seeing Broadway shows, it may be worth getting a TDF membership. For a $40 annual fee, TDF offers discounts on many Broadway and off-Broadway theatre shows, dance performances, concerts and more. Many people are eligible to join including students, teachers, recent graduates, seniors, freelancers, and more.
