So if I arrive at around 9:30-10ish, for a Saturday mat, I have a good chance of getting cancellation tickets?
Understudy Joined: 8/27/04
Can anyone tell me where exactly I should line up? I'm going on Wednesday and trying cancellation line nice and early but I'm not sure where the line should start. If I'm in front of the theatre, looking at the front doors is the line to the left? I think that's what I remember from a while back (different show) but that could be completely wrong. Any help is much appreciated. :)
Anyone been to the cancellation line recently?
Some friends went last week, arrived at 3:30, were 9, 10, 11 in line. First two got tickets.
Featured Actor Joined: 12/31/69
mariel9 said: "Some friends went last week, arrived at 3:30, were 9, 10, 11 in line. First two got tickets.
Did the first two of your friends (9th and 10th in line) get tickets or only the first two people at the front of the line?
"
Just curious about cancellation lines in general. How does it work if you're the one canceling? Do you call the theatre? Do you get your money back? They always say the tickets are nonrefundable. There have been instances when I couldn't make it to a show, but I've never called. Is there only a cancellation line if the show is super popular like Hamilton?
Are the Hamilton cancellation tickets normal price or premium? Thanks so much for your help! Great to know...
nightcapriot said: "Are the Hamilton cancellation tickets normal price or premium? Thanks so much for your help! Great to know...
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When my friend did the cancellation line, she got a regular price tix for orch row D. But I read somewhere that it's random that sometimes premium seats appear as cancellation and they'll sell it as a premium price.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/6/11
From what I've seen on Instagram, it looks like most of the cancellation line tix are regular price though. Not sure about all, but most. Right now they're $167 but that's probably because when this current block went on sale they were that price. They'll probably raise to $177 when they get to that particular block.
Chorus Member Joined: 3/24/05
So Im guessing the best day to get cancellation tickets is Wednesday with a 2 show day? Also, If It is just me waiting in line, Can I get 2 cancellation tickets, or would my wife have to be with me to get 2 of them. Thanks in advance for the help!
Chorus Member Joined: 12/31/69
Does anyone know if the cancellation line is 1 ticket per person if tickets happen to become available or can you get more than 1 per person?
Stand-by Joined: 1/9/07
The cancellation line tickets go on sale for whatever price they were on sale for. As the guy who works at the theater says you could potentially get one of the $50 mezz tickets but "that is like catching a leprechaun". If the ticket cancelled is $177 that is what they charge, if is is Premium, that is what they charge.
If you are the first in line and ticket is premium but you don't want it, they will ask the next person in line, but you can stay in line in the hopes one of the $177 tickets become available.
They may not end up having any tickets and they have no control over when they are sold. I have stood in line a few times. Once I was the first person in line and they didn't have a ticket until 8:02 for an 8 pm show time. I was with a friend once and she was the only one to get a ticket, but once i did the line and like 10 people got to buy tickets. I would say Matinees or shows with Javier are the better bets.I say this because the day i did the cancellation line and they sold about 10 tickets it was for a Javier show and some people got upset once they were inside that Lin was not performing and made a stink so the box office facilitated the resale of the ticket. I think they missed out, but a bunch of people got to take advantage of this!
The accept cash or credit, unless in the circumstance above they could only take cash for those resale tickets so I was unable to get one of them because I only had a card.
As far as ticket quantities as long as you are in line you can get as many as want (according to the guy inside) so if you want 10 tickets you can wait for ten, but once you buy a ticket if you leave the line you are done. When you line up the guy tells people that only one person needs to stand in line. Which is great because then you can switch out, which makes also entering the lotto a possibility, but I would warn that they take the line business seriously. One of the times I did the cancellation line the person in front of me and her friend were hoping for two tickets. It was right at curtain time and a ticket became available so her friend that had been in the line bought it and went in. her friend stayed behind in her place and then another ticket became available and she was going to buy it but the guy wouldn't let her because she was not the one that had been waiting in line so he offered it to me (But it was one that needed cash so I couldn't). So if the friend who had been in line bought the first ticket and then stayed in line she could have bought the second ticket. So i think splitting up is not the best idea.
They do monitor the line and work hard to ensure no cutting goes on which I think is amazing, but make sure you are prepared!
tamra, thanks for your very detailed answer! So to follow up on what you said, if someone returns a ticket, it's a resale ticket, and only cash would be accepted for it?
Stand-by Joined: 1/9/07
in the case of the cash only tickets they had that day it was because the tickets had already been scanned in by the people and then they saw the slip in the playbill and made a stink. Because the ticket had already been scanned they weren't able to cancel the ticket in the system so it could be repurchased. The tickets that are cancelled for whatever reason and never scanned in they can process however.
I think if it were any show besides Hamilton where there was a very long cancellation line the people upset over Lin not being in would have been SOL but because they knew the could easily find a buyer they let them. I think Javier is wonderful as Hamilton and it really doesn't matter which one you see. I don't know if that is a regular occurrence on days with him, but it did happen a few times when i was there so I made note that if I ever wanted to do cancellation line again that a Javier performance might be my best chance! Of the times i waited in the cancellation line only one of those times was for a Javier performance so that experience could have been a fluke, not typical, but worth a shot!
I'm planning on trying for cancellation line next Saturday. If I got there at 9:00, would I have a good chance of getting tickets?
Go for earlier. I went on Friday (double show) and showed up at 9 and was 12th person in line. The folks ahead of me were offered $177 tickets for the "evening" show, they were also offering tickets for Sunday. It also depends on whether you are willing to pay for premium seats ($477), those tend to open up and then the people in front of you may decline them - that's how I got my 9th row center seat! :)
Swing Joined: 12/9/15
How early would I want to go for a Saturday performance? Any chance of me getting in if I show up at 9?
A.Ham2 said: "How early would I want to go for a Saturday performance? Any chance of me getting in if I show up at 9?"
There's an equal chance of you not getting in at all. Line position also means little, since people in front of you may pass up the $455 tickets, waiting for $165, etc. It's like rush, if you hear you're safe going at 9, someone will read that and show up at 8. Someone else will think someone might show up at 8, so I'll go at 7:40a.
Best bet: Have a backup plan to see another show at the same time.
Planning a trip to NYC and I am not to familiar cancellation lines. Do cancellation tickets go on sale as the box office opens?
They go on sale as it is confirmed they have any to sell.
dramamama611 said: "They go on sale as it is confirmed they have any to sell."
I won't have to wait in line all day, will I?
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/6/11
Possibly. I've heard from quite some people on instagram that they were offered their tickets at 8:00 exactly. But it all depends.
They can't sell something they don't have. Yes, you might wait quite some time.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
I would definitely expect to wait all day. You might get lucky but the majority of cancellation line tickets go on sale minutes before the show starts.
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