Lottery Loser? How to get tickets?

[Lumiere2]

Posted: 1/11/24 at 11:38pm

Well...I'm embarrassed to say it, but I need help. The ticket prices for Merrily We Roll Along are outlandishly expensive, and I've now lost the lottery for day-of tickets more than 100 times. (I'm not kidding - I enter it religiously and it's almost pointless.)

The next cheapest ticket I can find is over $150 each, and they're often for partial-view seats. I'm quickly losing hope of ever winning this lottery, and as far as I can see there's no other rush policy, no standing room tickets, no cancellation line, no TDF, no age-based discounts, no promo codes - nothing.

It's either win the lottery or pay $150-500 for a seat, which is wildly out of my price range. There MUST be some other means of getting a ticket into the show. Any seat is better than none - and I'm not above sitting in a partial view ticket, but I'm not paying $150 for a partial view seat.

Can anyone help? Anything that genuinely costs $99 or less will work. Thanks in advance!

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 2:13am

If you're local to NYC, the best bet is just to book far in advance.  I think last I checked March still had <$99 full view seats, and of course if you can go to the box office in person, you don't have to pay the fees. I think the prices generally go up as the date gets closer, and sometimes the prices fluctuate literally overnight so keep checking (though they don't really change by more than $20 or so).  

If you can get 10+ people together, you can spring for group pricing but honestly I don't think it saves you that much and the calendar was fairly convoluted to look at https://groups.broadway.com/show/merrily-we-roll-along/calendar-pricing/

There was a TodayTix promo recently that covered the fees and also a little in addition to that but I think that's since ended.  They've apparently had seats on TDF Passport before, if you happen to know someone with access, and sometimes the Theatr app will have someone post a ticket for below face value (though those go VERY fast).

If you're okay with one of the main trio being out, tickets are cheaper on those days as well.  Daniel Radcliffe is out April 2-3 and May 30-June 2, while Jonathan Groff is out April 16-17.

I don't think partial view for this show is that bad, but if you do go that route I believe house left is better than house right.

[TarHeelAlan]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 7:47am

If you've entered the lottery over 100 times, then I have to assume you are NY-based and have flexibility on dates. If so, then chrishuyen hit it on the head, book far out. Wednesday matinees in May and June have $84 seats. Yes, they are last or next to last row balcony, but they meet your under-$99 requirement. In fact the calendars for May and June indicate that currently every performance has low-end tickets ranging from $84-$102.  So tickets are there in the price range you want, you just need to do a little digging on the calendar and the seating chart, and then grab something before the prices go up and/or the cheaper tickets get snapped up by others in your same situation.  

Updated On: 1/12/24 at 07:47 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 4:32pm

Just be sure to not buy tickets for Groff or Radcliffes planned absence days.  (They pop up when you click on any of those dates)

 

I bought front row balcony for 134 each (incl fees) for June, still seems to be the price.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 6:22pm

Lumiere2, please don't be embarrassed. You have no reason to be! It's the producers who should be cringeing in shame. Not being a member of the elite who can afford these outlandish prices is totally normal.

Updated On: 1/12/24 at 06:22 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 6:27pm

Also, it is a small theatre...you will be happily surprised as to how decent your seat is.

[yyys]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 7:00pm

I bought my 2nd to last row dress circle at the box office in October for a January show.  I saved about $30.  They were $159 each. I did not want to sit in the balcony. They will charge $150+ to some of those balcony seats closer to the show.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/12/24 at 10:40pm

I think it's silly to blame the producers for the high prices, if there is high demand, they will charge high prices, the people that pay for them are at fault if any. The producers are here to make money, not to give tickets away. And having a superstar like Radcliffe in Sondheim's best show is a lethal combination and it's breaking records. But let me remind you, that although now it's a hit, it was a flop and people wouldn't pay a penny to see it in the past. And to be honest, this production is not nearly as good as the production I saw with Collin Donnell, Lin Manuel Miranda, Betsy Wolfe, Celia Bolger and Elizabeth Stanley, a much stronger cast overall with a fabulous production and a huge orchestra. So, I recommend you to go see other shows that are fantastic such as Harmony. Not sure why all of a sudden everyone wants to see the same show. There is so much quality musical theater on Broadway, why focus so much on just one offer? With that being said, I don't think this production is worth even $99. But this is an example of star power at best. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 1:08am

Producers charge these rates because people are buying at those rates. If they are cheaper, then scalpers will quickly snap up those cheaper tickets and sell them in the resale market for a huge profit. Remember a ticket is only worth whatever price someone is willing to pay for it.

At least with buying directly from box office, the production will get the profits (and am guessing the cast will get a bonus if certain box office targets are made.)

As for affordable prices, buying them in advance helps. A friend bought a balcony seat for $72 four months in advance.

It's definitely star power that's causing the steep prices. I saw this production in Boston (that starred the London cast) back in 2017 for $25 side orchestra seats. It was a very easy ticket to get back then and I thought the show was great.  I actually prefer Damian Humbley over Daniel Radcliffe in the role of Charley Kringas.

Updated On: 1/13/24 at 01:08 AM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/13/24 at 4:38pm

I actually thought Radcliffe was great. Groff was too, Mendez was alright too. But my issues were the characters or Beth and mostly Gussie. Both absolutely miscast, and very inconsiderate from the casting person to think that those characters are not important and cast people that are not appropriate or not talented enough, with so many talented artists in NYC to choose from or why not cast Elizabeth Stanley again, who was perfect.