Posted: 1/13/18 at 10:47pm
Scott Rosson said: "Hi all, wanted to give my experience today because it was slightly different from what you usually see in this thread. I got in the cancellation line around 2:10 today. I was second and the guy in front of me arrived 30 mins prior. We waited in line for about an hour and a third person joined us. She waits for about 10 minutes and decides to go talk to the box office. She walks out with two tickets for the January 10th evening performance. I decided to check the box office and they sold me an orchestra seat for the January 10th Matinee for $229. I had no idea this was an option. I guess the moral of the story is check with the box office if your schedule is flexible!"
Thank you so much for posting this information, I didn't know it was a possibility either. You inspired me to try the same thing! I went the Richard Rodgers theater yesterday (Friday) around noon and there was no one in the cancellation line. I walked into the box office and asked if there were any tickets available for this upcoming week. The guy working at the ticket window told me there was availability on Tuesday and Wednesday because of cancellations, so I ended up buying a ticket for the Wed matinee show at face value ($229). I'm sure it helped that I was only looking for a single ticket. My seat is in the left orchestra, and the guy told me it's a good seat. I'm excited and shocked and grateful I was able to just walk in and buy a ticket!
I think your experience can vary based on who is working that day, so it might be worth it to try more than once and at different times of the day. My friends and I had tried to walk into the box office earlier this month one late weekday afternoon (there were a few people in the cancellation line at that point) and a guy working there rushed up before we could even open the door. We were looking for information on ticket availability, etc. He essentially shooed us away, not wanting to give much info, just "wait in the cancellation line and you might get a ticket." I'm sure he was busy or something so I don't really blame him. Then last week I tried calling the box office one afternoon to ask for info and had a similar experience--the woman who answered seemed to be having a bad day or was also super busy or something, because she was very short with me, used a tone like I was a dumbass to even ask about tickets, and rushed me off the phone. But then Friday when I walked into the box office both employees were super polite and pleasant. The employee who greeted me when I first entered was chill, didn't rush up to shoo me away. She wished me luck and directed me to talk with the guy at the ticket window, who happily sold me a ticket for Wednesday. It was an awesome experience. Just wanted to share all this in case it can help someone. I'm very thankful to everyone else who shared info on this forum--it helped me!