When you take a trip to New York, one of the top things on your list might be to head to a Broadway Play. There are lots to choose from and they can get pricey. So I thought I would share some tips to see your next Broadway play at a discount!
On our most recent trip to NYC, me and the hubby went to see Newsies on Broadway. TKTS had seats 40% off! Considering full price tickets were around $120, saving 40% made a big dent in our budget. (By the way, Newsies was amazing!! And I would definitely recommend seeing it!)
Once you get to New York, you can head to the TKTS Ticket Booth area in Times Square to get discounted Broadway tickets up to 40% off! These tickets go on sale right when they open in the morning for the Midday shows and then at 3pm, you will have access to any unsold tickets for the evening showings.
Because the tickets are discounted because they are unsold, you never know what kind of discount you are going to get, or how many seats (if any) they will have left. So it is really important to make sure you get to TKTS right when it opens for Afternoon or Evening showings.
Once you get to the ticket counter, you can tell them which show you would like to see. If multiple parts of the theater are available, you can pick your seats. Because tickets can be limited, I would recommend having a few shows picked and ready to go. That way if you don’t get your first pick, you will have a few shows to fall back on. You don’t want to have to re-group and get back in line again!
IMPORTANT TIP: One thing to note is that The Lion King and Wicked DO NOT participate in discounted ticket sales. These plays are two you will want to purchase ahead of time so you can get the best seats available at the best price. If not, you will pay full price in NYC as a last minute ticket buyer. The shows are great, but you still want to get the best deal on your seats!
DON’T GET FOOLED: The one thing I do want to make sure I point out is that you shouldn’t purchase tickets to any Broadway play from any unauthorized dealers or street sellers. They are known for selling invalid tickets and you won’t be able to get your money back if the tickets are fake. However, TKTS is a solid place to go and you will definitely want to head there to purchase your Broadway tickets.
TIME SAVING TIP: Once you get to the TKTS Ticket Area in Times Square, they will have red signs showing a list of plays. The plays listed are shows that still have tickets available. If your show isn’t listed, there are no seats for that showing and you will want to come back for the next round of ticket sales. Remember, when they first open up, they are selling tickets for the afternoon showings. And they will open up evening tickets at 3pm.
Another way to save money on Broadway Tickets in NYC is to make sure you are getting the Travelzoo Top 20 Newsletter. I’ve talked about this before when sharing Travel tips. But at the bottom of each email Newsletter, they will have attraction discounts. I’ve seen discounted Broadway plays a number of times.
Since these discount emails come out each Wednesday morning, I would jump on anything Broadway related and book it immediately. That way, you can skip the whole “TKTS standing in line, hoping to get tickets” thing and have a less stressful time knowing you are going to the show you want to see!
For those of you who have gone to Broadway in NYC, if you have other awesome money-saving tips, please share them in the comment section. Or if you have a Broadway play recommendation, share those too! I know that I would personally LOVE to know what shows you have liked and which were not worth the money!
**If you want to keep this post for future reference, you can re-pin it on Pinterest here. ENJOY!
Michelle
I’ve had fun at New York shows the past few years – I would definitely recommend Cinderella and Matilda! Cinderella for the magical costumes changes, Matilda for the set (I never got into the story in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised at the fun – and at times LOUD – show). Wicked is great if you’ve never been, and Newsies was fine, too. This year will be the first time I will try the TKTS booth, so thanks for the heads up!
Meredith
We were in NYC last week, and since it was our first kid-free trip in a loooong time, sleeping in every day was a must. Therefore we never made it to TKTS before there was a huge line, so we bought tickets straight from the box office for Jersey Boys. We got great seats in the center orchestra section for about $40 per ticket cheaper than anything I could find online, and didn’t have to pay any service fees. When we got there the guy just said “I can give you a discount.” The show was fantastic!
Kathy
My hubby and I are going for the first time this month, and we wanted to see The Lion King. We researched a TON and found that for our particular timeframe, https://www.stubhub.com/ had the cheapest tickets. The thing we loved about this site was there are NO hidden fees at checkout like we found with a bunch of others. We were hoping to find tickets around $100 and we did!
Amanda Collins
Thanks for the heads up! We are going there in June and would love to see a Broadway show for the first time!
Amy
We just went there for a convention in February and saw a show every night, thanks to TKTS! Great way to buy tickets. Another good way for less popular shows or shows that are older and often playing (like Phantom, even Matilda had them) is the check the box office 2 1/2 (I can’t remember if it’s exactly 2 hours or 2 1/2, so go at 2 1/2 just to be sure) hours prior to show time for the night. If there are any dignitary seats (front row and can range up to $600) left you can put your name into a raffle for them. If your name is drawn you are offered 2 tickets for a discounted rate (I’ve heard $20 a ticket). We didn’t ever make it in time for the raffle, but all the box office people knew what we were talking about and said it just closed. A great way to save even more money and get GREAT seats. Also, we waited to go to TKTS until after these raffles each night and still got tickets there (since they are more there than the raffle would be). LOVED Broadway! Definitely one of the best offerings New York has and a must-see! Enjoy!
Ruth D
TKTS has 3 locations each with slightly different policies so choose your TKTS booth accordingly. The one in Times Square that Melea is talking about, one at the South Street Seaport (same day evening or next day matinee tickets), and one in Brooklyn on Jay Street near the Myrtle Ave promenade about 15 minutes walk from the Brooklyn Bridge and 20 minutes from the Barclay Center (same day evening or next day matinee tickets as well as Brooklyn arts events). They all offer tickets up to 50% off. They each have different day and hours that they sell tickets so make sure you check in advance.
Times Square has a Play Express window so if you’re not interested in musicals, use that line as it moves a lot faster. Download the TKTS app before you go to have everything at your fingertips including various ways to get to each location.
If you have a student ID, you can get super cheap or free tickets to performances with your student ID by going to the box office a little before the performance. Note that it’s one ticket per student ID.
Broadwaybox.com is a great site to get discounts and codes up to 50% also and there are no membership fees.
There are soooo many great shows, I can’t list them all. You can’t go wrong with whatever you choose.
Bree
when i went to ny a few years ago my friend and i were able to get front row seats to wicked for only $25 each! you have to enter the ticket lottery. there are instructions on this website: https://www.wayneschulz.com/2010/08/how-to-win-the-wicked-ticket-lottery-nyc/ he only mentions the lottery being for the evening show, but we won our tickets to the matinee. it was incredible!!!
Melissa
Find out which shows offer “lottery tickets”. You can enter your name in a drawing and if your name is picked, you get to purchase tickets at a very discounted rate.
Emlyn
Spider Man is a lot of fun and though it closed in NYC, it looks like it’s coming to Vegas: https://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com
Z Rudd
I lost my student ID and am heading out to NYC and won’t have time to get a new one. But I have one on my phone. If I print and laminate it, do you think I can still get the discounts for the shows? I mean, how official does the student ID have to be? I just don’t wanna miss this opportunity!