Fredd3 said: "My wife and i are planning on getting on line one Saturday in NYC soon (Not sure which one, we live in northern NJ so we'll play it by ear). We'll see either matinee or evening. What's the current news on the earliest we should get there ona Saturday this time of year to be pretty much guaranteed tickets at for either show (not premium or SRO)?"
I'd been checking this thread for the last few months before my visit this past weekend and got a lot of helpful tips, despite no one having any recommendations or info for the month prior to my actual visit. BUT! I can share my experience with the cancellation line which was this past Saturday, 4/14.
My mom and I were staying at a hotel at 48th and 8th so we were only a couple blocks up from the theater.We already had 6 tickets for other shows for Thursday - Sunday so we were really banking on getting tix for the matinee that day, since we couldn't try again. We had stopped by on Thursday to see if they happened to have any they could sell to us then, but they only had one so we passed and said we'd try the line. My mom asked something about the time to get there and she said when she gets in at 9:30 there's usually only about 5 people or so. BUT, NYC has had crazy-bad weather recently and this past Saturday was forecast to be the first warm day in months. We weren't risking it.
Saturday, we woke up at 6:30, got some coffee, and headed down to the theater just before 7. There were two line sitters ahead of us, but that was to be expected. Around 7:15 another woman showed up. By 8, there were another 5 or 6. There were probably about 16 by the time the box office actually opened, so I'm glad I trusted my instincts on timing for getting down there. So the BO was now open so we wait. And wait. And wait. A guy comes out confirming that we don't want premium tickets. People who don't know the drill ask him about those and one older couple actually bites and heads in with him around 11. They still haven't pulled anyone in for actual cancellation tickets by 11:15 and one old school line sitter tells the newbie line sitter that this is really unusual. This makes my mom and I a little nervous since it seems like most people wouldn't miss a weekend matinee on a nice day. Finally they come out offering a pair just after 11:30 and pull the first line sitter in. The other actually goes with him because they were actually trying to get 3 for the same clients and were able to work something out with the venue. The theater came out with a single at about 11:45, which most of the line passed on until it got to about the 14th girl in line who took it.
FINALLY, just before noon, the guy leans around the corner and crooks his finger at us. We go in and the lady confirms that we want two and tells us the price (the usual $229 each). Mom hands over her card and I ask her where the seats are and she says "second row, center orchestra". I started hearing circus music and told her she was my favorite. It was absolutely amazing. I saw it from the 6th row Orchestra Left in LA with the same Hamilton (Michael Luwoye, so GOOD) but was only able to get one ticket so my mom still hadn't seen it until now. She loved it and agreed that the 5 hours waiting was absolutely worth it for those seats.
The weather turned bad again right before we left the city, but I'd say there's going to be more and more people waiting early as the sun starts shining more. You're never gonna beat the line sitters (these two got there at midnight and 1:30am) but just bring a couple jackets (one to sit on, those steps are hard and cold) and just people-watch. There were two kids sat next to us on the end of the aisle who were also in the cancellation line, but I'm not sure exactly how far back because the middle section turned into less of a line than a group, but they were at least 10 people back and they got in.
Hope this excess of info helps! It kind of just boils down to: if you're willing to wait, it's gonna pay off. If you REALLY want to see it, don't risk it and just show up early. Good luck!