Tips forBroadway 1st timers

[mom2boys]

My friend and I want to see a Broadway show and need advice from selecting the show to purchasing the tickets to attending the performance. We aren't neophytes but we aren't New Yorkers. We are a couple of ladies in our fifties.
Any suggestions or advice?

 

[merlib]

Once you have seen a show you will want to see more There are several sites that sell tickets for some of the shows at a discount. The one I use most often is theatermania dot com. If you have your heart set on a specific show you should probably go directly to that shows website and buy from there. Most are affiliated with either ticketmaster of telecharge. If you want to take your chances, you can go to the TKTS booth in Time Square the day of and can often get tickets for as much as 40% off but you will never see tickets for such shows as Lion King, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen and the other hot shows at TKTS.

Do you have a certain type of show you like? Post back and maybe people can give you ideas. Also, check out the thread here on the Community Board called Broadway Shows (do a search for it). It has been going for a long time, so go to the end of the thread and read backwards. People post there about shows they have seen, so you might get ideas there.

Whatever you choose I'm sure you will enjoy!

 

[mjkacmom]

My tip is to head to the ladies room as soon as intermission starts. Otherwise, you will be stuck in a long line for the whole thing.

 

[lady_hlh]

Another website that shows you discounted tickets is broadwaybox.com, I have used them a bunch of times to find tickets. Also you can get decent discounts on an app called todaytix, they only offer the discounts a week ahead of time and they meet you out front of the theater with the tickets, I have bought from them a few times too. I went to TKS one time and the prices were no better than buying ahead with discounts plus you had to stand in line. All the broadway theaters are way smaller than the one that shows traveling performances up where we live so sitting in the mezzanines or balconies isn't far away at all. One time I sat in the very last row of the balcony for $20 on the closing night of Patty Lupone in Gypsy and it sill wasn't a bad seat/view. Don't plan to bring food in to the theater, some places go through your bags and take it away.

 

[jevs]

My tip is not to eat in Broadway. Go to Hell's kitchen to eat.

I've used broadway box ^ to buy tickets.

 

[dish rag]

My friend and I want to see a Broadway show and need advice from selecting the show to purchasing the tickets to attending the performance. We aren't neophytes but we aren't New Yorkers. We are a couple of ladies in our fifties.
Any suggestions or advice?

Go stand by the ticket place in Times Square before it opens. A young man with a clip board will ask you if he can help you. He will show you a list of shows that are available. He will take you a few blocks west and into a gift shop to the second floor. There you will make a cash deal with some nice gentlemen that have tickets available to many different events. Then you enjoy the show.

 

[klacey1]

Go stand by the ticket place in Times Square before it opens. A young man with a clip board will ask you if he can help you. He will show you a list of shows that are available. He will take you a few blocks west and into a gift shop to the second floor. There you will make a cash deal with some nice gentlemen that have tickets available to many different events. Then you enjoy the show.

Come on...

I've seen dozens of shows dozens of times. I always found the best discounts on BroadwayBox. As long as you have reasonable expectations--aka not expecting to get crazy discounts for popular shows--you can get good deals on good shows in advance. I've only bought day-of tickets a few times, and I had the luxury of time to enter lotteries. (Never TKTS.) Personally, being so Type A, I prefer to just determine my budget in advance and purchase my tickets in advance.

As far as selecting which show to see, just go to Broadway dot com, where you can see a list of all of the musicals and plays currently on Broadway. Just browse through and see what sounds most interesting to you! For attending the show--feel free to arrive at the theater about 20 minutes before showtime. That's plenty of time to get your tickets scanned, get drinks/snacks if interested and settle in your seats!

 

[katrina1122]

I've also done standby tickets for Lion King, Producers, Beauty and the Beast (long time ago) and others. Just go to the ticket booth for the show you want to see that morning and see if they have a standby line. If they do, you can get unsold house seats, but there's no guarantee you'll get them as when they sell out they sell out even if you are still in line. We've gotten amazing seats this way with no telecharge fees, but when we want a show for sure we pre-buy.