Graduation Present: New York Muscials

Parent Cafe
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<p>My S, recently bitten by the bug and playing Gaston in his HS production of “Beauty and the Beast”, has asked to go to some New York musicals for a graduation present. I can handle most of the planning, but could use some help on getting tickets for the shows. We’ve been in the past and stood in line and got tickets at the half price place in Times Square. That’s OK for several of the shows he wants to see, but we know that you usually can’t get tickets to more popular shows. Is there any way to know what shows are typically going to be available? I don’t mind paying full price for certain shows (looks like I can still get tickets to Monty Python’s Spamalot matinees online, for example), but the only way I could do this with a clear conscience is if we try to manage what we’re spending on some of the longer running shows. Do they typically have the Disney shows, particularly “Beauty and the Beast” (guess why) or “The Lion King”?</p>

<p>(Sadly, my wife and I have tickets to the Dallas Summer Musicals and will see a couple of shows he’d like to see, “Wicked” and “The Producers”. It’s not the same thing, of course, but still a bit of a waste.)</p>

2

<p>Unfortunately, TKTS in Times Square isn’t always half-price (often just 25% off), and it’s hard to predict what will be there in several months. Another possibility is to try the Playbill site (<a href=“http://www.playbill.com%5B/url%5D):”>http://www.playbill.com):</a> If you register for their free club, you can often buy Broadway tickets in advance–though perhaps not this far ahead. (For example, Beauty and the Beast is there at present, but the offer expires on March 20.)</p>

3

<p>I would suggest as a student your son purchase a memebership to the theatre development fund (tdf) Teachers can also get memeberships to TDF. I think the membership is around $20 and he will get advanced notice on discount tickets. In addition, if you have friends in NYC ask them about picking up 2-fers coupons for you (they are given out alot to schools/colleges where your can get 2 tickets for the price of 1.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.tdf.org/index_default.html[/url]”>http://www.tdf.org/index_default.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>From the Theatre development fund on STUDENT DISCOUNTS</p>

<p>WHAT ARE RUSH TICKETS AND HOW DO I GET THEM?</p>

<p>WHAT: Theatres sell unsold tickets at a discount on the day of the performance, even at the last minute. Some rush tickets are only for students.</p>

<p>WHEN: Broadway rush tickets often go on sale on the day of the show, when the box office opens, as early as 10 am. Some shows wait until a half-hour or an hour before show time. If possible, call theatre to find out when to show up.</p>

<p>HOW MUCH : Broadway, usually $20 to $25. Off Broadway and smaller shows can range from $7 to $25. </p>

<p>HOW TO PURCHASE: At box office. Cash only.</p>

<p>AVAILABILITY: For some shows, you’ll need to wait in line for hours. For others, you can walk up at the last minute. When possible, call the theatre to find out whether they expect rush tickets to be available, and what time to arrive.</p>

<p>TIPS :
Read the Play by Play listing carefully.
Call in advance. For information about student discounts and rush tickets, call the theatre or ticket service. Telecharge or Ticketmaster are the major ticket services. Telecharge will give you info on rush tickets. Ticket-master might be able to give you the phone number of the box office.
Bring your Student ID. Some rush tickets are only for students.
Go when the crowds aren’t going. It’s easier to get rush tickets on weeknights and Sundays than on Friday and Saturday nights. More rush tickets are available in January and February than in December.</p>

<p>CAN I BUY CHEAP TICKETS IN ADVANCE?
YES. Unless they’re rush tickets, you can buy student tickets in advance at many theatres. Read the Play by Play listings carefully. You can also call the information number to determine how and when to get tickets.</p>

<p>WHAT IS HIGH5 AND HOW DO I GET TICKETS? </p>

<p>WHAT: Discounted tickets to teens for a variety of theatre, dance, music and museums.
When Visit <a href=“http://www.high5tix.org%5B/url%5D”>www.high5tix.org</a> for their calendar, or call their hotline at (212) Hi5-TKTS.</p>

<p>HOW MUCH: $5 each, Fri.-Sun. Two for $5, Mon.-Thurs.</p>

<p>HOW TO PURCHASE: If you have access to a credit card (ask your parents), you can purchase tickets online. You can purchase High 5 tickets with cash at Ticketmaster outlets, which you can find in the phone book or at <a href=“http://www.high5tix.org%5B/url%5D”>www.high5tix.org</a> Tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance.</p>

<p>AVAILABILITY: Theatres offer a small number of tickets, and only on certain dates. These often sell out. Act quickly to take advantage of High 5 offers.</p>

<p>TIPS:
The Web site <a href=“http://www.high5tix.org%5B/url%5D”>www.high5tix.org</a> is the best way to find out how to get High 5 tickets. The Web site tells you exactly which shows are playing when and which are sold out. If you buy your tickets online with a credit card, your tickets will be waiting for you at the box office.</p>

<p>Don’t call Ticketmaster for information about High 5. Go in person to the Ticketmaster outlet with your student ID. Tell the agent “I’m looking for a High 5 event” (or they won’t know what you’re talking about). Give the agent the name of the performance and the name of the theatre, exactly as listed in High 5.</p>

<p>Bring your Student ID to the theatre, along with your High 5 ticket, a half-hour before show time.</p>

<p>Be flexible. Events sell out quickly, so you may not get your first choice.</p>

<p>Get on the High 5 mailing list to receive their printed
calendar.</p>

4

<p>We simply went into the box office the day of the performance and saw Beauty and the Beast this past Saturday night. Good seats, a bit of a discount and no time wasted as TKTS.</p>

5

<p>Perhaps what you could do is line up one or two “must see” musicals in advance, and then leave the others open. I was on the TKTS line the day after Christmas this year and was told by the line regulars not to expect “Wicked” (my top choice) on the board at all this year. I believe they said the same about “Lion King.” But we got great seats for our family of four to the matinee for “Pacific Overtures” at half price. People start lining up at least an hour before the tickets go on sale and I recommend this. It’s actually a lot of fun as the line regulars love to talk and give advice and the list is quickly communicated once it is up. </p>

<p>You must have cash for all the tickets - no credit cards!</p>

<p>We stayed at a hotel just a half block from the TKTS booth to facilitate doing this.</p>

<p>Lovely idea for a graduation gift! Enjoy!</p>

6

<p>My daughter and I thought Cookin’ was really unexpectedly good–we saw it over the Christmas holiday (tickets at 1/2-price booth). Wicked never was on the board; they have a system of selling the tickets in front of their theater at some specific time, so do not even go through half-price booth–call the ticket office for more details on that.</p>

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<p>Try entertainment-link.com. Up to 35% off I believe, book on line.</p>

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<p>you can go to some of the box offices at 5 p.m and sign up for last minute tickets the same evening for half price. I think they allow each person to purchase only 2 tickets which they begin selling at about 6:30 from the 5 p.m. list. Cash only, no credit cards.</p>

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<p>strick, do you know approximately when you’ll be going? If there are one or two shows which you definitely want to see, then I’d recommend ordering tickets ahead of time. There’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get them once you arrive in the city and if it’s a special trip like this, you don’t want to be disappointed. I echo the advice about playbill.com. It’s a great site for theatre information and it will keep you informed about what is, and what will be, playing throughout the year. You can join, for free, and get the discounts, but as has already been said, the offers are usually just a month or two in advance. It’s a good way to order tickets, though, we’ve used it many times with no problems and have been able to get good seats. </p>

<p>My D has often used TKTS in Times Square and you can often get excellent seats if you aren’t picky about what you want to see. There is almost always a good variety of shows available but not ones like Wicked. Not at the moment anyway, that may change by summer, who knows. Someone else has posted a link to the tdf website so I won’t repeat it but there’s a spot on there which will show you on a weekly basis what shows have been on the boards. The lines at TKTS often will discourage people from trying but they really move fairly quickly once the windows open. Also, if you check late, like at 7 or 7:30 you can often get the best seats then, from house seats which have just been released. Sometimes you can get a real bargain that late!</p>

<p>A few shows you might want to consider that we, or my D, have seen and would recommend: (one or more of us has seen pretty much everything on and off-Broadway so these are just a few recommendations)</p>

<p>Avenue Q
Hairspray
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Spamalot
Fiddler on the Roof
Rent
Little Women
Chicago</p>

<p>She would advise skipping these: :)</p>

<p>Brooklyn
Good Vibrations
Mamma Mia</p>

<p>There will also be several excellent straight plays on this summer.</p>

<p>Glengarry Glen Ross
On Golden Pond
The Pillowman
Steel Magnolias
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?</p>

<p>The rush policies are also listed on playbill.com. It was first started by the producers of Rent but most shows do it now. They sell discounted tickets two hours prior to the show. Some do it by lining up, some by lottery. The description will be listed on playbill’s page for it. Some are only for students, others are for anyone. The cost varies but is usually around $20 and they are often front row seats. You must pay with cash and have an I.D. available. If I can answer any other questions, let me know. We have visited the city three or four times a year since our kids were little, and now with a D going to school in the city, she keeps me up to date on the theatre scene. :)</p>

<p>dmd, it’s not due to having a rush policy that Wicked doesn’t submit tickets to TKTS. It’s because they sell out every show. When they stop selling out, they’ll use TKTS like other shows do. Most Broadway shows have rush policies in place now and these are not influenced by how well the show is selling. They are a permanent feature. :)</p>

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<p>The box office told us that we got $100 tickets for $70, so I guess this was rush-like. (Hey I’m more of a jazz dude.) Not too bad for a Saturday night performance. Great show, my wife thought best she had ever seen. Her sister works in a regional musical theater so we were fortunate to sit in on a few auditions this past weekend.</p>

<p>Beware the beastly elevators at the Marriott Marquis…</p>

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<p>For another great show, small scale and wonderful ensemble work a la Avenue Q, consider “The 25th Avenue Putnam County Spelling Bee.” It’s currently off-Broadway, but barely (43rd St. between 8th & 9th avenues) and will probably be moving to Broadway. Also, if you hate those monstrous hotels with the interminable elevator waits, try the Broadway Inn at 46th St. and 8th Ave. We’ve stayed there many times. It’s small, friendly, clean…kind of like a little Parisian hotel…and couldn’t be better located.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the suggestions, folks, it’s a big help.</p>

<p>alwaysamom, tell your D that my wife and I loved “Momma Mia” and I went in expecting to hate it. ;)</p>

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<p>My mom is taking me on the same sort of trip for graduation. We already have tickets to Wicked, and other than that, we’re planning on hitting up TKTS while we’re there. </p>

<p>Even though you’re already seeing Wicked, if you can get tickets in New York, see it twice. It’ll be worth it, I promise.</p>

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<p>You can call The Westchester in White Plains and they have a place that sells guaranteed seats to perfomances–you pay a premium but can get seats for certain days, and they will send the gift certificates. That is if price is not an object and you want the kid to have flexibility on the dates and the shows. You can pick the show, seats and dates and just order the tickets at face value. Or you can just print out an array of what is available, maybe some reviews and just put cash in an envelope, enough to buy the tickets at face value, or if they want to do the TKTS. they’ll have the extra cash for dinner out or something. I’ve done all three at different times under different situations.</p>

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<p>Wicked was absolutely phenomenal on Broadway. My entire family felt that it was the best show we’ve ever seen. Worth every penny!</p>

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<p>Agreed, Twinmom. I saw it for the first time with my son’s school. They ran a bus there, and the tickets were only $50 for dinner, desert, bus and show. It was right before the show really took off. I immediately booked excellent seats for the entire family way in advance, and it was wonderful. The little ones loved it and watched “The Wizard of Oz” the next day and played the Wicked CD constantly. </p>

<p>We gave tickets to my brother and bride but since we did not know what they had seen, what they wanted, when they could best see it, we opted for those open tickets with the most flexibility even though they cost a premium. When H and I go to see a show, we have to book it in advance and can’t have any timing issue. I ordered “On Golden Pond” for May already, as I do need to plan for us to do this. Got a little rebate on the Am Ex as I booked through their program. But if I am just in the city with time, I’ll stand in line and see what’s up. Saw Le Miz, Cabaret, Chicago, Follies that way. and love them just as much. Saw “Moving Out” at a great price, and ate at a phenomonal little Italian place on that street that was reasonable. The kids often just try their luck with student ids or those special price mini flyers that the school’s performing arts center distributes.</p>

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<p>I saw Aida last year and loved it.
Felt Beauty and the Beast was okay but not amazing.
Seem to be the only one who wasnt in love with Phantom of the Opera (I really wanted to see the chandelier crashand it just slid down the line. anticlimactic to me…shrugs.)
Am going to see Wicked in march as an 18th bday present and am sooo psyched…all who have seen said it was awesome.
Saw rent on a national tour and loved it, would love to go see on Broadway.</p>

<p>So I would try for Wicked and if thats sold out go for Rent or Aida, based on what I’ve seen.</p>

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<p>alita, I agree that AIDA is a fun show but sadly, it closed last fall. :)</p>

<p>strick, I also enjoyed Mamma Mia but it doesn’t seem to have the same appeal to the younger set, especially a drama major. :slight_smile: It’s fun fluff which everyone needs every now and then.</p>

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<p>Sybbie has given you some great sources of tix. Also check out <a href=“http://www.hitshowclub.com%5B/url%5D”>www.hitshowclub.com</a> and <a href=“http://www.theatermania.com%5B/url%5D”>www.theatermania.com</a>. Takes a few secs to join online, and they’re both free. </p>

<p>I know quite a few people who have participated in the lottery for “Wicked” tix and seen the show for 25 bucks:<br>
A day-of-performance lottery for $25
front-row seats will be held daily for WICKED
at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre
(222 W. 51st St.). </p>

<p>Each day, 2½ hours prior to show time
(11:30 AM for 2 PM matinees; 12:30 PM for
3 PM matinees; 4:30 PM for 7 PM performances; 5:30 PM for 8 PM performances), people who present themselves at the Gershwin Theatre box office will have their names placed in a hat. 30 minutes later, names will be drawn for 28 front-row seats at $25 each. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person, cash only. Photo-ID required. </p>

<p>If you’re flexible, worth a try. Don’t be afraid to go to the old favorites; people still love Lion King. </p>

<p>I’m afraid Little Women was a big disappointment to our family. </p>

<p>For comments on what’s coming, what’s likely to stick around, and what’s good or bad, go to Talkin’ Broadway <a href=“http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/[/url]”>http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Have a great time!</p>

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<p>“strick, I also enjoyed Mamma Mia but it doesn’t seem to have the same appeal to the younger set, especially a drama major. It’s fun fluff which everyone needs every now and then.”</p>

<p>In our case, the touring company’s entire performance was spectacular. The best overall performance in a season with 5 other well known shows I expected to like better. Some times great performances and a fun show are more important than the meaningfulness of the book or the music.</p>

<p>I understand about “Wicked”. What’s not clear is that I spent a considerable sum of money on tickets to the Summer Musicals specifically so my wife can see the show. And “The Producers”. We’d have never gone to New York for ourselves, after all. That money’s not entirely wasted, but…:(</p>