Buying tickets for second act????

[Wickedmonkey332]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 6:42pm

This might sound stupid- but I am arriving in the city too late to see a show tonight. Is there any chance the box office would sell me a cheap ticket to see the second act of the show only??? If there are open seats?

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 6:44pm

You're right. That does sound stupid. The answer is obviously no.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 6:45pm

The problem with that is that most box offices only stays open for a short time after the shows start..so if you are too late for a show, you might be too late to catch the box office also.

I am also not sure if the computer will allow for a show sale after it starts. It's not like you pay money and they have tickets in a pile. Everything is computerized.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 6:51pm

No.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 7:13pm

Not that I am advocating this, but there is an ages old practice called Second Acting in which people have been known to walk right into theatres with the intermission crowd, blend in, and take a seat for Act Two, with no ticket at all. I think ushers are kind of onto this more these days, but if you're feeling peckish.......

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 7:46pm

I am also not sure if the computer will allow for a show sale after it starts. It's not like you pay money and they have tickets in a pile. Everything is computerized.

Exactly. Also, after every performance the box office and company manager have to "settle" on all sales and make sure everything balances. Settlement is usually a little bit of a process so they start it early into the first act. Once they begin adding numbers and computing the final revenue for that performance, nothing can be done with tickets anymore. This is why there is a stringent no refund/no exchange policy... So in short, the answer is no.

[tinysmagic]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 7:57pm

U say sneak in during intermission like we all did back in the day, and only scope out a seat if it's NOT sold out. Dress very nicely, it's easier.

[winston89]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 9:30pm

The issue with second acting is that it's much harder to do nowadays. Reason being is that the ushers ask for a ticket before reentering the the theatre.

[AntV]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 1:34am

I noticed at the Marquis that would be easy to do since the bathrooms are in the hotel lobby outside of the theater area and at least the times I went they didn't bother asking all those bathroom goers to see their ticket when they re-entered.

[Patash]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 8:52am

Interesting comment about the Marquis. That is the one theatre where I was stopped by an usher when I was returning from the restrooom at intermission and thought sure I didn't have my ticket with me -- I simply never thought about that being 'leaving the theatre'. There was NO way that guy was going to let me back in until I produced the ticket which I had stuck in my pocket.

[billis2]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 9:40am

It's not a stupid question.

I have never been brave enough to second act. One tricky thing is that a strong-selling show will have ushers check tickets, but with a low-selling show, there won't be as many people milling around outside at intermission and it would be more obvious that you weren't there before.

[jeffmiele]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 10:59am

As everyone said I am sure most box offices won't let this happen but I have bought a ticket before for the second act of a show... I had a friend go on for Frankie one day while my girlfriend and I were in the city, but we had something else going on... When we were done and looked at our watches we figured Jersey Boys would just be starting their intermission. We walked over to the theater and they sold us standing room for the second act. Shortly after the act started an usher tapped us on the shoulders and brought us over to two seats he had open.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:03am

So there really is no more sneaking in at intermission to plays you wish you could afford?

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:05am

^It's entirely possible that the box office pre-printed the standing room tickets and if you bought them with cash, that transaction probably did not have to be processed through the electronic ticketing system.

[morosco]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:17am

Perhaps you could find someone who doesn't want to stay for the second act leaving at intermission and you ask if you could use their ticket?

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:31am

If you are going to sneak in for a second act, don't do it fotr sold out shows, you stand out like a sore thumb.

Do if ros shows like Annie, Big Fish or Cinderella, stand at the back of the stalls, just before the second act commences, then nab an available seats.

The worst that could happen is that they'll throw you out if caught, so you have nothing to lose.