A NYC Quest To See Lots Of Broadway Shows Without Going Broke – What You Need To Do Pre-Trip And Why Visiting Box Offices Is Worth It
Plan a trip to New York City for a theater kid who only wants to see as many Broadway musicals as possible in a 5 day span while also spending the least amount of money?
Challenge accepted.
Welcome to my Spring Break trip planning challenge that turned out to be a smashing success- 5 Broadway Musicals in 5 days for under $300. It did involve some research pre-trip but it really worked out so well and took only a little bit of legwork once we got to New York. I’ll give you the complete details of what I did and exactly how our trip went.
The Step By Step Process
I’ll give you the basic steps we did, the lingo you need to know, the best websites for finding all the information you need, and what I would do differently next time.
Step 1: Pre- Trip Research
I spent a couple of hours doing some internet research before our trip to find out what musicals were playing and what kind of ticket deals they had. There are several websites that were extremely handy for this and a lot that turned out to be useless. (I’ll l
We ranked the shows in order of how much we wanted to see them and wrote down when their online lotteries took place, if they offered rush tickets (digital and/or general), and when their box offices opened.
If some of those previous words left you mystified, don’t worry, I will cover all the lingo you need to below.
Step 2: Playing The Lottery Online
We entered every online ticket lottery we could, usually those happened a day or two before the performance (but one was a week before and I missed it- read the fine print people!)
ONLINE LOTTERIES ARE THE EASIEST WAY TO GET CHEAP TICKETS FOR BROADWAY!!! All you have to do is enter your email and cross your fingers.
Step 3: Legwork In New York City
If we didn’t win an online ticket lottery for that day, then we set aside an hour in the morning to visit box offices in person for last minute ticket deals. We usually only had to visit 1 or 2 theatres before we scored good deals. We still had plenty of time to do touristy things in New York like walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, taking a tour of Rockefeller Center, wandering through the MoMA, etc.
Visiting box offices is also a great way to find the best seats on the day of the show– some box office people can be quite chatty and helpful– for instance, telling you that there are two single seats in front of each other for super cheap. Plus, you don’t have to pay any ticketing fees at the box office which makes it competitive with large discount ticket sellers.
Why Not Just Go To The TKTS Booth?
If you think that sounds like a lot of effort to walk around the theatres when you could just go to the discount TKTS office in Times Square, I will tell you that our way was much faster. The line at TKTS was never less than 200 people every morning when we walked by at 9 or 10 am (and this was March!) And the same people were still in line when we walked back by them after buying our tickets directly at the box office.
Plus, while the TKTS booth offers discounts of up to 50% off, if those seats were $300 to begin with, then you are still paying $150. And you have to pay a $7 fee. (It does go to the good work that the Theater Development Fund does).
If you still would rather just go the one-stop shopping convenience that TKTS has to offer, then I would go to the office in Lincoln Center instead of the one on Time Square- same shows, way less line. Download the TKTS free app to see what shows they have tickets for each day.
If you have no idea what the TKTS Booth is, keep reading and I will talk about all the terminology in the next section.
Terms You Need To Know When Buying Tickets For Broadway Shows
Before you start this process, familiarize yourself with these terms. I was a complete newbie so it took me a minute to figure out all the lingo while I was researching the best ways to get tickets for cheap.
Ticket Offers
This refers to all the cheap ways to get tickets for a show, e.g. ticket lotteries, general rushes, and other giveaways. Look for this tab or heading on many websites to find out what kind of cheap tickets the show is offering. Every show has different offers; some will do digital lotteries but not general rush, for others it will be the opposite.
Digital Lotteries
Most shows reserve a certain percentage of seats (it’s a low number so don’t get too excited) to give away for a nominal price, usually between $30- $50. You enter your name online through an app or website usually the day before the show (sometimes it is a week or more though). Then they will email you if you have won.
A few shows do in person lotteries right before showtime but digital lotteries are far more common now. These are almost always the cheapest way to get tickets so it is worth figuring out how to do.
General Rush
Some shows will reserve tickets to sell for a cheap price (again like $40- $50) for shows that same day. You have to buy these in person at the box office so they are different from digital rushes which are online. It is often only 10 or 20 tickets though and lines start early for popular shows, especially in summer or on weekends.
So if the box office opens at 10 am, you will want to be there by 830 am or 9 am for these popular shows. Even on a weekend in March it can be busy. We got there only 15 minutes before the box office opened for one show and missed rush tickets by about 5 people. If we had been 20 minutes earlier, we probably would have gotten them.
Besides the lotteries, general rush tickets are your best bet for cheap tickets though, so it can be worth getting there early and waiting for a show you really want to see.
Digital Rushes
Same idea as the general rush tickets but online. You enter an online drawing similar to the lottery tickets, but digital rush tickets are more last minute, usually opening for entries the morning of the show.
I didn’t find digital rushes to be common though, with most shows saving the last- minute rush seats for buying in person at the box office.
Ticket Limits
All of the lotteries and rushes I found had a limit of up to 2 tickets per winner so if you have a party of 3 or more, you have some decisions to make. And they don’t 100% guarantee that the 2 seats will be together, although I haven’t had them split me up yet.
Singles
Means exactly what you think- a single seat. These are your best chance of seeing a show for cheap and also getting a good seat. The chattier box office people can often find you singles near each other so be friendly.
Partial View
This means seats that don’t have a complete view of the stage. Often you are at the end of the row at the edge of the theater so you can’t see too much upstage on your side.
For many shows it doesn’t really matter for a partial view seat as they try to keep all the action front and center, and some theaters are worse than others. You just have to decide if the cheaper price is worth maybe not seeing the complete stage.
Again, chat with box office people and also the people in line. We got great tips about shows from people who were doing exactly what we were. They told us which shows were fine for partial seats and which it meant you missed part of the action.
In Previews
This means the show hasn’t officially opened on Broadway yet. It may mean ticket prices are cheaper as there aren’t reviews yet and so no buzz.
Standing room only (SRO)
Another term that means exactly what you think. You will probably be behind the last row of the orchestra level, leaning on the railing behind the last row of seats, trying not to breathe too hard on the people seated in front of you. You cannot sit on the floor at any time as it is a fire hazard and the ushers will enforce this strenuously.
Be sure to carefully consider the length of the show (and your footwear!) before committing to SRO tickets.
Broadway
The term for the 41 theaters in NYC that have more than 500 seats and are located in the Theatre District, which is along Broadway near Times Square (where Broadway crosses 7th Ave). Basically, you will find theaters from 52nd street all the way down to 41st street, all within a block east or west of Broadway.
Lincoln Center, located in the Upper West Side, is the exception as it is not near Broadway but is considered a Broadway theater because of its size.
Off- Broadway
Any theater in NYC seating more than 100 but less than 500 people. Some are only a couple of blocks from Broadway but they can be anywhere. in the city. Prices are often better for these shows but not always because of the small number of seats available. If the show has a lot of buzz, it will sell out fast in these smaller theatres.
Off-off-Broadway refers to theaters that seat less than 100 people and are usually avant-garde.
TKTS Booths
There are 2 TKTS booths in NYC – one in Times Square and another at Lincoln Center. Run by the TDF (Theater Development Fund), shows are up to 50% discounted and you pay a $7 surcharge per ticket for TDF to support their work.
These booths sell discounted tickets for same day shows and next-day matinees. It has an app that was useful for seeing what tickets were available on the board but you have to buy in person.
You have a large selection of shows to choose from in one place which is great but there are often incredibly long lines. The booth at Lincoln Center is better because of shorter lines and you can wait inside.
Rush.telecharge.com
Rush.telecharge.com is the website that handles digital lottery and digital rush tickets for all the Schubert Theaters (17 of the Broadway theaters and 6 off- Broadway theaters). Annoyingly, you have to create an account with Social Toaster using Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Broadway Direct
Broadway Direct is the digital lottery site for a number of Broadway shows. Does not do digital rush tickets. Does not require you to set up an account; you only enter your email and birthday info (YAY!).
Lucky Seat
Lucky Seat is another digital lottery site for Broadway shows. Does not do digital rush tickets. It does require you to set up an account with an email and password. I ended up with a Google doc to keep track of
TodayTix
TodayTix is an app for discounted tickets for lots of Broadway shows, more plays than musicals I feel like. You can get some really good last-minute deals occasionally. Does handle digital lotteries for some shows as well.
The Real Life Details Of Our Plan
The plan worked really well – hence the “5 shows in 5 days for $300” tagline (my nephew was only on the trip for 4 days so he saw 4 shows in 4 days for less than $250).
We accomplished this through a mix of luck (we won 1 lottery), a lot of walking (we visited a few box offices), and some compromising (we did standing room for “Phantom of the Opera” and partial view seats for “SIX”). It was a decent amount of work ahead of time but well worth it in the end when you look at the money we saved.
Pre-Trip Planning
I started with Broadway on a Budget to look at all the shows playing over the 5 days in mid-March that we were in NYC. I began a list of shows we wanted to see for sure- “Phantom”, “Wicked”, “Sweeney Todd”, etc and also shows that sounded interesting that I hadn’t heard of before.
Luckily, my theater kid was not picky about what shows we saw, just that they were musicals. So my list of Broadway shows we wanted to see was pretty long actually. It meant there would be a lot of lottery entries in my future.
And we were fine splitting up into single seats if that meant we could get cheaper seats. My nephew is almost 14 years old though so this might not be an option for all kids. And he was old enough to see all the shows although if you have younger kids, you might want to check the age recommendations.
Wine glass in hand one Sunday evening, I started with googling each show to begin my deep dive. I quickly realized that you will get sent to a bunch of different general ticketing websites doing that. It took me awhile to find some good websites with actual information. And many times, all of the information I needed was scattered across a couple of websites so I ended up with a system.
Cheap Broadway Tickets Research And Planning System (patent pending):
I started by Googling each show’s official page, then I checked the blogs Broadway Rush, Lottery, and Standing Room Only Policies and Broadway on a Budget for the theater name that the show was at, box office times, and lottery/rush information for each show. Sometimes the websites had conflicting information so it was good to check more than one.
Many of the theaters were owned by the same group or used the same website for lottery and rush tickets so I started making a note of that, i.e. I wrote down whether they used Lucky Seat or were a Schubert Group theater because they all used rush.telecharge.com.
The Schubert Group had a handy webpage listing of all of their theaters with links to show descriptions, box office times, ticket offers, etc. Once I found that website, it made my life much easier.
You should call each box office to confirm the information for the shows you really care about, such as what their ticket offers are and the exact box office hours. Exact hours matter a lot for general rush tickets when showing up 20 min late can mean you are the 11th person in line for 10 available tickets.
*I didn’t actually call box offices before for this trip but I am writing it here because I wish I had. In some cases, the box office told me something different than what was online. So I wished I had taken the time to call for our most wanted shows and confirm info. Depending on how the box office person feels, they might also give you some very helpful info like how many tickets they usually have for rush or lotteries and what time people start lining up. Some box office people were more chatty than others.
I made sure I had accounts for the major lottery/rush websites like Lucky Seat and rush.telecharge.com. I downloaded the TodayTix and the TKTS apps on my phone. Broadway Direct does not require you to make an account to use it (bless you Broadway Direct).
I wrote all my needed information down on a Google Doc – show times, theatre name, box office times, whether they had digital lotteries or general rush day of the performance, what website they used for their lotteries, etc.
I then grouped by day, ie Monday – enter online lotteries for x,y,z shows, walk to x,y,z theatres for general rush tickets. This may seem like a lot but it really didn’t take long and made things go very smoothly on the trip.
Friday (a week before we left for NYC)- try to enter our first Broadway show lottery
*The trip is Friday – Tues, March 10- 14.
No luck on Hamilton lottery tickets because of user error
I opened up the Hamilton app to enter the lottery for the next Friday since they do their lottery a week in advance. I realized I misread the website because the lottery closed yesterday (Thursday) for that whole week of shows.
My error took Hamilton out of the running for lottery tickets for the whole trip which I hated because they have one of the best lotteries- $10 tickets. Moral of the story? Read the fine print!
Wednesday (two days before we leave for NYC)- enter two digital lotteries for Broadway shows
“Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Play That Goes Wrong” both had digital lotteries that took place 2 days before the show so I entered both of those this morning but no joy.
Thursday (the day before we left for New York)- enter lots of Broadway show lotteries for the next day
Hurray! We won cheap lottery tickets for 2 Broadway shows!
Since most shows do their online lotteries the day before a performance, I entered a lot of lotteries on Lucky Seat, Broadway Direct, and rush.telecharge.com.
I started at 9am, even though many of them don’t close the lottery until the afternoon. I found it easier to do everything at once in the morning before the day got too busy and I forgot. Some of the lotteries choose winners at 10 am, some chose at 10 am and 3 pm, and some only at 3 pm or later. I just entered everything I could at 9 am to make it easier for myself.
We won $45 “Kimberly Akimbo” tickets in the digital lottery that morning.
I got an email from rush.telecharge at 10:17 am on Thursday morning that I won 2 tickets in their digital lottery for the Friday night 8pm show of “Kimberly Akimbo.” I had 5 hours to purchase (until 3 pm) or the tickets would be released for the 3 pm lottery. Whoo hoo!
We purchased our 2 tickets for $40 each plus a $5 service charge each. The tickets were fantastic, located front and center of the theater – literally we could not be any closer to the stage without being a part of the cast.
We won $35 Aladdin tickets later that night.
At 3:01 pm, just after I completed my purchase of “Kimberly Akimbo” tickets, I got an email from Broadway Direct that I was on the stand-by list for “Aladdin” tickets. At 8 pm that night, I learned I won 2 tickets for the Friday night, 8 pm show of “Aladdin” off of the waitlist. Yay??!!! There is unfortunately no way to de-enter yourself from the lotteries once you have entered.
I was bummed because we had already bought the “Kimberly Akimbo” tickets so we had to pass on these, but I was excited that I had already won twice before we even left on the trip. I thought it boded very well.
(Spoiler alert- this would be the only 2 times we won the digital lotteries on our whole trip so my optimism was misplaced. But at least we won and it was so easy to do. I would 100% do all of the lotteries again.)
Friday (we fly to NYC)- enter more lotteries for Saturday’s Broadway shows
Saw our first Broadway show- “Kimberly Akimbo” after winning lottery tickets for $45.
We flew to NYC early in the morning and I entered most of the ticket lotteries for the next day while waiting at the airport before our flight boarded. Because I was already familiar with the steps, it was pretty easy to click through the available shows on each of the ticket platforms. (The four platforms I used were Lucky Seat, Broadway Direct, rush.telecharge, and the TodayTix app on my phone).
During our whole trip, it took me about 15- 20 minutes each morning to do the lottery entries and double check my list that entered all the ones we wanted.
We landed at 11 am at LaGuardia and took an Uber to our hotel in Long Island City, the Hyatt Place Long Island City. This is a great hotel if you are looking for something cheaper and quieter than being in Manhattan itself but still a 10 minute subway ride away from Times Square. Lots to do and see in this part of Queens and there is a large waterfront park, Gantry State Park, that has wonderful views across the East River to Manhattan.
We walked around Gantry State Park, and got some good food at JAXC & CO, a fun food hall, before we headed over to Broadway for our evening performance of “Kimberly Akimbo.” I had gotten notifications all afternoon that we had not won any lotteries for Saturday so we realized we would have to try for digital and general rush tickets tomorrow morning.
“Kimberly Akimbo” was fantastic, maybe my favorite show that we saw during the whole week and the fact that we paid $45 for our front row seats was just the icing on the cake.
Saturday (day 2 of our NYC trip)- Enter lotteries for Sunday’s performances, walk around box offices for rush tickets for today
Got SRO tickets for the matinee performance of “Phantom of the Opera” for $29 each
Over the complimentary breakfast at the Hyatt Place Express LIC, I did my usual round of lottery entering on my 3 main websites- Lucky Seat, Broadway Direct, and rush.telecharge. I also checked the TodayTix app on my phone to see what digital rush tickets they had available for today, which wasn’t much.
We talked about the musicals we wanted to see so we could come up with a plan. “Wicked” and “Phantom of the Opera” were 2 of our most wanted shows so we decided to go to those box offices first to see if we could get any single seats for cheap. Those 2 shows did not do rush tickets nor did they often appear on the TKTS board for discounted tickets.
“Phantom of the Opera” in particular was a hard one to get because it was going off Broadway in a month after being there for 35 years. So tickets were popular. We decided to go to that box office first, the Majestic Theater, and try our luck. Then we would go to the Gershwin Theatre where “Wicked” was playing if we didn’t get Phantom tickets.
We were at the box office for the Majestic Theatre at 1010 am just after it opened and there were 4 people ahead of us in line for “Phantom of the Opera” tickets. The cheapest seats were $225 apiece, which was way above our price limit.
They did have SRO for $29 (standing room only) for the matinee show so we decided to go for that. The box office made sure we realized that it was a 2.5 hour show and advised us to show up 5 minutes before curtain because there was “no reason to stand any longer than necessary” as they helpfully pointed out.
We spent the rest of our morning touring the awesome New York Public Library and Bryant Park. We sat and rested up our feet during a nice lunch at The Perfect Pint just off of Times Square. The Perfect Pint is a little touristy but had a lovely enclosed rooftop deck perfect for March weather and the prices weren’t bad. Then back to the Majestic for our 2 pm matinee performance of “Phantom of the Opera.”
The show was great and turned out standing for 2.5 hours went better than I thought it would. After the first 30 minutes, I thought for sure I wasn’t going to make it but by about an hour and a half, you got used to it.
A couple of tips if you decide to try for standing room only for a Broadway show:
- Comfy footwear is imperative.
- It is literally “Standing Room Only”- the ushers will admonish you if you try to sit on the floor even for a minute as it is a fire hazard for blocking aisle ways. You can leave and go to the lobby where there are chairs anytime you like though.
- I would not pay for seats in the last row of any theater that had SRO. We were leaning on a railing directly behind the people seated in the last row of the orchestra level of the Majestic. I tried not to lean too much as I would have been breathing right down their necks. Put it this way, if gum fell out of your mouth, it could be a real problem for somebody in that last row.
- It started out a little crowded but it was decidedly less so after intermission because a number of our fellow SRO people called it quits. It felt a little like one of those games where last man standing wins a free car. You definitely needed a bit of perverse determination to see your commitment through and stay for the whole show.
SRO was certainly a trade-off in exchange for the cheap price of our tickets but we felt it was worth it. If we had paid full price for Phantom tickets, it would have been the only show we got to see in New York. And Phantom was one of the shows I really wanted to see ON Broadway because of its intricate sets.
We were tired after the show though and just went out for an early dinner afterwards and then back to the hotel. I would not plan on doing much walking or touring around afterwards if you do a SRO ticket to a Broadway show.
I got emails throughout the day notifying me that we did not win any of the digital lotteries for Sunday 🙁 . So once again, we were planning on visiting box offices and doing digital and general rushes.
Sunday (day 3 of our NYC trip)- Only a couple of lottery entries for Monday tickets and more box office visits for rush tickets for today
We scored partial view seats for “SIX” at $79 each.
By this point in time of our NYC trip, we kinda had our routine down. We would get up at around 815 am, get dressed and ready, and head down to breakfast at the Hyatt Place Long Island City. While making the most of our included breakfast (my 14 year old nephew that is growing like a weed on steroids definitely got his money’s worth for sure), I would enter lotteries for the next day on my three favorite websites– Lucky Seat, Broadway Direct, and rush.telecharge.com.
TodayTix did not end being as helpful as those three mentioned above as it had more rush tickets for plays versus musicals and no lotteries. I checked it everyday just to see what was on offer though.
Since the next day was Monday, a traditional day off for most Broadway shows, the lottery entering didn’t take long on Sunday morning. Only “Chicago”, “SIX”, “Shucked”, and “Phantom of the Opera” were playing and we already saw Phantom so that left only 3 shows to enter.
It only took me about 10 minutes to do digital lotteries for those 3 shows for Monday and then check the digital rush websites to see what was available for today, which wasn’t much.
After breakfast, we took the subway to Times Square and began walking to box offices. The box offices open later on Sundays, usually 11 am or noon, rather than the 10 am on weekdays so we enjoyed a slower start today.
Today was the day we walked the most around Broadway- 4 box offices in total.
Since “Wicked” was high on my nephew’s list of shows he wanted to see, we started at that box office. They did not do rush tickets and they did not have any seats less than $100, our agreed upon price limit. They did do an in person, last minute lottery an hour before the show started. You had to be there to write your name down on a piece of paper which they put into an actual raffle drum with a crank. Since it was only noon, we decided to try some of the other box offices and come back to “Wicked” if we had no luck.
Wicked’s in person lottery was not mentioned anywhere on its website so we would have never known about it had we not gone to the theatre. Another reason to make sure visit the box offices in person of the shows you care most about seeing.
We walked to Westside Theater which is actually Off- Broadway to see if we could get tickets to “Little Shop of Horrors” which had great reviews and is one of my favorite musicals. I was hoping since it was Off-Broadway, we would have more luck but the small theater combined with great reviews meant there were no tickets available for any price, let alone cheap.
So we decided to walk over to the Ambassador Theater for “Chicago” tickets. The tickets for Sunday were a lot more than we wanted to pay but the nice ticket person did tell us that Monday’s performance had some good seats left because one of the big draws, Jinx Monsoon, was not performing. Sometimes the box office person is full of good information.
While waiting in line for “Little Shop of Horror” tickets, we met a nice couple from London who were spending their vacation doing the same as us. They told us that “SIX” was fantastic and was impossible to get tickets for in London so they saw it here.
Based off their recommendation, we decided to give it a try and walked over to the theatre where was “SIX” was showing. I was not hopeful because the box office had been open for a while and the line was still at least 10 people long but luck came through for us.
Success at Broadway box office #4- we got great seats for “SIX.”
We got partial view seats for $79 for 3 people for “SIX” for the evening performance. (My nephew’s Mom flew up to meet us for today and tomorrow so now we were a party of 3.) The lovely English couple we met had also told us that partial view was fine for “SIX” because the show takes place almost completely front and center so you won’t miss much not seeing the complete stage. We got 2 seats together and 1 just in front of them.
Finagling seats close together is another reason that buying tickets at the box office can be better because that would have been hard to do online. And you rarely have to pay extra fees at a box office, whereas at the TKTS booth where there is a $7 fee or even online where there is often a $5 surcharge.
“SIX” was utterly fantastic, just like the people said, and was easily my nephew’s favorite show. And it was the soundtrack I purchased when I got home. The songs were so catchy and witty. The whole show was awesome so thank you English couple for recommending it!
The moral of the story for Sunday — Talking to other people in line at box offices can be very helpful.
Monday (day 4 of our NYC trip)- More digital lottery entries and box office visits
Got $90 full view seats for Chicago.
We woke up at our hotel and started our daily routine- get up, get breakfast downstairs, enter lotteries for tickets for the next day performances, and come up with a plan for box offices we want to visit that day.
Since it was a Monday (when many Broadway shows are off), we only had a couple of shows to try for general rush tickets ( “rush” = set # of cheap tickets they sell day of). We also checked for digital rush tickets but there weren’t any offers for the shows we wanted to see. (Digital rush you can do through a website, general rush you actually have to go to the box office of that theatre.)
We decided to start with the box office for “Shucked,” which was still in previews at the time, but that we had heard from another person we met in a line that it was great. (I am telling you, talking to other people was so helpful as we were also were told which shows to skip or who never had extra tickets for rush.)
“Shucked” had $35 general rush tickets so we headed straight to the box office of the Nederlander Theater to try our luck. We were there just before 10 am which is when they open but there were already about 20 people in line. I should have realized that the demand would be high because there were so few shows playing on Monday. Anyway, they only had 20 rush tickets to sell and since people can buy up to 2 each, they ran out when we were about 5 people away from the window. So close! Regular tickets for the show were over $100 so we passed on “Shucked.”
We headed straight to “Chicago” to see if the tickets that the box office worker told us about yesterday were still available. They were and even though they were the most we paid for a show so far at $90, the seats were all together and full view, so we decided to go for it. Plus, it started pouring rain so we didn’t want to walk around any more ; ). We could have gotten the tickets for cheaper if we chose single seats but we decided to pay a little extra to sit together.
Like everything we saw on Broadway, “Chicago” was also great. The choreography was the most intricate out of all the shows so I am glad we saw it on Broadway because every cast member really knocked out it out of the park.
We never had much luck with digital rush tickets over the whole trip as only a few shows offered those. We found that the majority of shows offered online ticket lotteries the day before, general rush tickets (meaning you had to be there in person the day of), or released their extra tickets through the TKTS booths.
Tuesday (day 5 of our NYC trip)- No more digital lotteries, only rush tickets for today
$50 single seat for Bad Cinderella
Since it was my last day in New York, I did not have to worry about entering any digital lotteries for the next day. So breakfast was a bit more relaxing because I didn’t have to do anything besides read the news on my phone. I set out after breakfast to see what today’s box office visits brought me. My nephew and his Mom were leaving this morning so that left only me for tonight’s shows.
I started at the Imperial Theater that was showing “Bad Cinderella” which was still in previews. I had written down that they had general rush tickets but by the time I got there, those were gone. But they did have a single for $50 and it was a great seat– 5th row and near the center. So I decided to go for it since it was my last night in New York and complete the “5 for 5” bit — 5 Broadway shows in 5 days.
“Bad Cinderella” was a great show with a very cool set and costumes. Maybe not the most memorable of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals but worth $50. That is part of the reason I loved getting cheaper seats, because then I felt more adventurous and willing to give a show that I maybe hadn’t known about before a shot.
Helpful Tips If You Are A Broadway Newbie Like Me
Dress Code Is Casual
I was suprised that jeans and sweatshirts were so prevalent in all the Broadway shows we went to, matinees and evening. I guess I thought dressing up for the theatre was still a thing. We went dressy casual- no sweatshirts but no heels for me.
“Phantom of the Opera” had the most dressed up people out of all of the shows we saw even though it was a matinee. The fancy people were still outnumbered by people in jeans and fleeces though. I guess it was a bucket list item for some people so they dressed up but most everyone just went for comfort. Maybe it would be different on opening night?
Show up about 10- 15 min before curtain
Also, another tidbit I did not know ahead of time, there is really no reason to be early for these shows. They don’t open the doors until 30 minutes before showtime and it takes awhile for everyone to go through the metal detectors and have their bags checked. We got there 45 minutes before “Kimberly Akimbo” and stood in line in the rain for a while before we got in. After that, we never arrived at a show until 10 min before curtain.
The concessions in the theater are really expensive
I went to get a glass of wine in the theater and since my sister-in-law and I were sharing, I decided to splurge and get a triple serving. $52 dollars later, I realized I should have asked prices first before handing over my credit card. I wasn’t expecting cheap but that was a bit much. Most expensive room temperature sauvignon blanc out of a box I have ever had.
Uber prices will be super high after evening performances
Many of the shows on Broadway have similar performance times so many finish within an hour or so of each other. And the theatres are all right there next to each other. That meant trying to catch an Uber right after the show was uber expensive- like $90 for what cost us $20 at other times.
We popped into Junior’s Cheesecake to eat a late snack and wait for prices to return to semi- normal levels. We also took the subway back after some shows when it wasn’t absolutely bucketing rain.
Other Planning Information For A Trip To NYC
Where We Stayed
We spent the 4 nights in this hotel near 3 different subway stations in Long Island City. It was a great little hotel and only 20 minutes from Times Square on a direct line. And only 10 minutes to Greenpoint or Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The 2 queen room with pull out sofa was huge and easily had space for 3 people to sleep in separate beds and unpack all of their stuff, a rarity in New York. And the included breakfast meant we saved a little cash each day as well.
I moved here for my last night when I was solo in the city. The location was great, on 42nd street and super close to Times Square and many of the Broadway theaters. But despite being on the 35th floor, it was still louder than the Hyatt Place in Queens and I missed the ease of walking downstairs for breakfast without having to pay additional money. The room was nice though and a good size for a NYC hotel room.
Where We Ate
In Times Square and Downtown Brooklyn
With 2 locations near Times Square, Junior’s is a super popular place to go before and especially after the theater. I love the cheesecake but the food in general is pretty good and for decent prices (for New York). We ate on the one on 45th street (right next to the Booth Theater) after “Kimberly Akimbo” and my nephew still raves about his massive BLT and fries that he got to eat at 11 pm.
We stopped again at Junior’s after “Chicago” to get cheesecake slices to go from the location on 49th street and again, it did not disappoint. If you are looking for a large menu to satisfy different tastes, especially kids, or just some awesome cheesecake, Junior’s is a solid choice.
In Greenpoint, Brooklyn
We found this small restaurant in Greenpoint after we saw “Phantom of the Opera.” This area of Brooklyn is known as Little Poland and there were lots of Polish restaurants around but since pierogis are my jam, we picked this one. And it was amahzing! We ate so many pierogis we had to take an Uber home since I didn’t think I would make the stairs down to the subway. (Another plus to staying in Long Island City was that an Uber back from Greepoint was like 5 minutes and $10.) Definitely try the raspberry and cheese pierogi for dessert- so good!
In SoHo
If you like Mediterrean food or even just hummus, you must go to Shuka or its sister restaurant, Shukette. We went to Shuka before “SIX” and it was one of my favorite meals I have had all year. It is great to go with family because then you can order lots of small plates and share. We had several dips, several mezze, the crispy cauliflower plate, and a shrimp kebab and it was all so tasty. Again, another “I ate way too much to take the subway” moment for me. More expensive than pizza but I thought very reasonably priced for the quality of the food and service. I can’t wait to go back.
In West Village/ Greenwich Village
We wanted traditional New York style pizza and this restaurant has been slinging pies since 1929. The pizza was delicious, the ambiance was unfussy, and we got a whole carafe of wine for $36 (you have 2 choices- red or white and that kind of says it all about what the place is like). We got a traditional pepperoni pizza and a fancier white pizza and downed them both. 2 thumbs up for Johns of Bleeker Street.
In Long Island City in Queens
An upscale food court on Jackson Avenue in Queens, this nifty place was just up the street from the Hyatt Place hotel we were staying at. I really like it becuase you had a lot of choices in one place, from fried chicken to sushi as well as juice bar and a pastry counter. My nephew got a huge sushi variety box , I had tacos, and we watched sports on the TV.
We stopped here mostly because it was on our way to the theater to see “Phantom of the Opera” and I like a good Irish pub. This place was huge- several floors and a rooftop deck. There are 2 Irish pubs right next to each other here that both look nice, The Perfect Pint and Connolly’s, but Perfect Pint is the only one with a rooftop deck I believe. The food was tasty and not as pricey as I would have thought with the proximity of Times Square. We enjoyed the break off our feet watching sports on TV and the glass roof allowed us to feel like we were outside even on a cold March day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My theater nephew challenged me to see how many musicals we could see in New York in 5 days and his parents challenged me to not send them into debt to do it. My “Cheap Tickets For Broadway” plan worked out pretty well in my estimation, especially as the kid in question loved every minute of it.
Figuring out how to enter the digital lotteries for the shows you want to see is the best way to get cheap tickets for great seats. But it is definitely a gamble. Visiting box offices in person also ended up being one of the best things we did in NYC. Not only did we score great tickets for great prices but chatty box office people and other people in line gave very helpful info about other shows, seats, and ticket availability. Plus we got a nice walking tour of Broadway.
Happy Trails And Break A Leg! – Amanda
