Broadway weekend - advice on plan?

Hi all--
My 12 year old son and I are visiting NYC for the first time and are planning a joint birthday Broadway weekend. We have a plan of attack, but I have no idea if it makes any practical sense or not and would love some advice.

Goal - Matilda is our must with Phantom and Newsies being next in line. We want to do rush and lotteries and keep our options open and prices down and just treat the whole thing as a really cool adventure. We've seen touring companies of Wicked and BOM (questionable parenting decision #8752, but we both loved it), so those aren't top considerations, but Cinderella, Cripple of Inishmaan (funny), Pippin (acrobats!), Les Miz, and Chicago (classics) are all possibilities. Kiddo is petitioning for Avenue Q, and he's pretty mature for his age, but while some of the saltier lyrics of Hasa Diga Eebowai zoomed right past him, I'm pretty sure he'll hear My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada just fine. So, probably not.

Anyway, here's what I'm thinking:
JULY 4
Arrive, check out South Street Seaport TKTS for matinee, hang and watch fireworks.
JULY 5
If we don't get matinee tix the day before, try Aladdin lottery. Failing that, Times Square TKTS for matinee tix. Matilda at 7pm (Debating about getting tix from home or just visiting the box office once we get there. We are staying at RowNYC, so close to Shubert. Even considered doing lottery as Rush Report says 70% success rate - or is that nuts to risk on our top show?)
JULY 6
Try Aladdin lottery for 1pm show. Failing that, TKTS for today's matinee. Hoping we can also pick up Phantom at TKTS for 7pm show. Failing that, buy Phantom at box office.
JULY 7
Try Newsies rush, failing that TKTS, failing that box office.
JULY 8
7am flight

A couple of other questions:
* Can kiddo put his name in for rush or must he be a certain age?
* Some of the shows we'd be interested in (Phantom, Les Miz, etc.) have special pricing going on. Will TKTS have good deals or will I do better at the box office?

The archives have already been very helpful in figuring out rush and lottery policies, what shows are on and when during the holiday weekend, and even what to prepare for in terms of the audience (tuna fish? really?). But I'm sure there are things that I'm not thinking of, so I'm grateful for any suggestions or advice.

A

Matilda is an easy lotto, but do not risk it. The lotto seats are partial view and you won't be as happy as you will be with full view seats. The show is the best thing on Broadway currently IMO, and is worth the price of a full ticket.

Also, look into the app called "TodayTix." It's an amazing app that gathers all the discounts for current shows, allows you to easily buy them, and then they deliver them to you at the theater 30 mins before the show starts! Could be useful with Newsies, Phantom, and even Matilda. Rush for Newsies shouldn't be hard.

As for the Southstreet Seaport TKTS...still expect to wait an hour. The line moves very slow. I would try and get there as early as possible.

Dame - good advice. Aladdin is not even really high on my list, but I think we'd have fun doing the lottery thing. Maybe we'll pick a different show with a little better success rate. And good point about Chicago. Clearly I'm on the fence. :)

Vote Peron - I have Today Tix! I was afraid to use it, but I'll definitely try it out for a show or two. Thank you! Thanks for the heads up on South Street Seaport TKTS, too - we don't check in until 4, which might make it tight. Just heard tropical storm Arthur might make an appearance, too. Since we fly into JFK, maybe we try to the Brooklyn TKTS before heading to the hotel? I hear it doesn't have the lines.

Good plan but don't risk it with Matilda. The show is one of the best shows ever on Broadway. Newsies is going to be tough without buying tickets. Good show but the cast of late is lacking

Ok, I'm taking everyone's advice on Matilda and buying tickets. Can't wait. Looking at Saturday night, there are a ton of seats suddenly, but I have my eye on Center Row H, which I could swear earlier in the week were Premium seats...

Premium seats become regular priced after a certain date if no one bought them... and sometimes they return to premium, so go for it!

As for lottos, I'm not sure if there's an age restriction, but there is a requirement to have a photo ID typically, so be sure to bring that.

Ok, Row H Seats 107 and 108 for Saturday night. Cannot wait! :)

Hi all,

Just wanted to give you a quick report. Thanks so much for the advice. We've had a fabulous time and are already planning a return trip.

We rushed Cripple and had front row seats of a very high stage about 10 feet from most of Daniel Radcliff's scenes. Loved the show - fabulous ensemble. We did the stage door on a whim and Sarah Greene was lovely. Told my son she'd seen him in the first row and asked if she'd got him with the eggs. :)

Matilda was fabulous, as expected. We had the understudy for Trunchbull and he was ok. It was just such a great show and such fabulous seats that enjoyed every moment of it. Started noticing the audience's clothing choices, though and was pretty appalled. I get that many don't dress for the theatre anymore, but letting your kids come to the show in bikini swimsuit tops with t-shirts with sides cut out is gross. You couldn't manage to wrangle them into actual shirts? Oh, and a dad sat on the stage during intermission. Another dad thought it would be a good idea to send his 6 or 7 year old to the bathroom by herself just before intermission and she got in the way of a Trunchbull exit. Poor thing was almost trampled. Yeesh.

We tried for Gentlemen's Guide Sunday morning at the TKTS both, but they only had one seat by the time we got to the window. Pippin was out backup, but kiddo was really disappointing so we left to regroup. Saw it come back up on my phone, and we practically ran from 44th street back to the TKTS booth, with stern instructions to kiddo not to get his hopes up. Sure enough, it came off the board just as we picked a spot in line for a booth. I decided to ask at the window anyway and lo and behold, they'd just been sent a handful more! Great show, and both Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham chatted with kiddo at the stage door. Sighting of two guys in the audience wearing wife beaters and what appeared to be swim trunks. Seriously, did I miss a pool around here?

Got cheap seats at the box office for Phantom. I was a little afraid to wait since it was or only option for Sunday night. Getting in was a cluster. There was a problem on the stage and they let everyone in the doors but didn't open the theatre until almost 10 minutes before curtain. So we all crowded around on the stairs after the downstairs line filled up. Seats were way up but fine. Lots of chatters up there, but I think it was because there were families with young kids that could follow the story. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first time around (23 years ago in LA), but kiddo loved it. He waited around by the stage door for Norm Lewis, who came out wearing a Guitar Hero tshirt and was utterly charming.

As I type this we're in the rush line for Newsies, our last show. We're about 15 people back, so fingers crossed! Thanks again for the help and advice, not only in this thread but on the board overall. It has been a trip to remember!