Hamilton Cancellation Line- Page 43

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 12:05pm

Emma MK said: "he ended up selling to the people at the back of the cancellation line, which really sucked. He didnt even ask people near the front."

I think the back is easier for him to "work" and get monies exchanged closer to the Marquis.  The front of the cancellation line would be tougher to exchange money plus the hopeful may not want to leave the line for a $177 ticket.  

I think the fans SHOULD work the ticket holders line and see if they strike gold.  You're gonna be sitting with the person who is selling it to you so you can give them money inside or maybe Chase Quick Pay them or something similar.  

[mbusani14]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 4:02pm

Does anyone know what times to show up for cancellation lines now that the Tonys are coming up? Is sleeping over night a necessity for ticket guarantees? 

[chuckydisc]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 4:58pm

mbusani14 said: "Does anyone know what times to show up for cancellation lines now that the Tonys are coming up? Is sleeping over night a necessity for ticket guarantees?"

 

Before all others, if you want to be #1.

Before the first person who doesn't end up getting tickets, if you don't need to be #1.

 

For all other answers consult an oracle.

 

[bergamotblack]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 5:52pm

Hello! I'm the girl who was standing in front of Alittlelessmiserable, then in front of Tuna2 after Alittlelessmiserable took the premium ticket. Also known as the girl all wrapped up in blankets and shivering miserably in the cold, haha.

I arrived on Sunday May 1 2016 at around 4pm and was 5th in line. As Alittlelessmiserable said, there were 4 line sitters ahead of me - 1 gentleman, 1 older lady, and 2 SOLD. The 1st two line sitters (the gentleman & the older lady) were hired by a family of 4 as we found out later, and they had arrived on Saturday night! 

I had just flown in from overseas and was woefully under prepared to spend the night. I had a large piece of paper to sit/lie on the floor and that was it (crazy, I know), whereas the SOLD guys had their tents, the lady had a reclining chair, and the 1st gentleman had a sleeping bag. The 1st gentleman was VERY KIND to me: he brought me a folding chair that someone else had left to sit in, worried about me not being warm enough (I come from a warm, tropical area and anything less than 60ºF is freezing to me), and when night fell and some sketchy people harassed me a little, found some cardboard pieces for me to lie down on and offered me a place to sleep between him and the older lady so I'll feel safer! He even offered me his sleeping bag as a blanket after he woke up. They took such good care of this broadway noob overnight and I cannot thank them enough <3

No one else joined the line from Sunday 4pm till Mon 3am, when Alittlelessmiserable came. I also realised I didn't have to come this early but well, the stories I read on the forums made me a little worried.

The 4th person in line (a SOLD guy who was there from Sunday 7am) told me my chances were pretty good and he was quite confident that I'll get tickets because there tend to be more cancellation on Mondays. And that the worst shows are Wed matinees as there the physical lottery means there won't be any uncollected lottery tickets to give out to the cancellation line. However, the old lady told me 5th in line was 50-50 so I tried not to get my hopes up too much. (thank you Shalann (sp?) for all your advice and for watching my spot when I caved and ran back to my lodging for more warm clothes on Sun night!)

Yeah so after Alittlelessmiserable scored the premium ticket, I struck up a deal with Tuna2 -- we had the 9th and 10th ticket in line, so let's go in together if they offered pair tickets. I wasn't sure if the RRT would be willing to break a pair ticket because then they ran the chance of not selling the remaining ticket.

And everything was as Tuna2 said! We got the tickets at 6.50pm and we entered the theatre at 6.55pm! It was an absolutely nail biting experience cutting it this close to showtime! Orch Centre, Row G, Seat 102! I was thrilled by how good our seats were!

The whole experience was tiring but ultimately a good one. People took care of each other and shared food and tips, and I would do it again in a heartbeat *(with warmer clothes this time). In fact, I'm returning to NYC next week and depending on the situation at the cancellation line, might go for it again  

Updated On: 5/4/16 at 05:52 PM

[mbusani14]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 7:03pm

chuckydisc said: "mbusani14 said: "Does anyone know what times to show up for cancellation lines now that the Tonys are coming up? Is sleeping over night a necessity for ticket guarantees?"

 

Before all others, if you want to be #1.

Before the first person who doesn't end up getting tickets, if you don't need to be #1.

 

For all other answers consult an oracle.

 

 

"

I was just seeing if anyone had any input based of past experiences of what to expect. No need to be salty lol. But if anyone goes please during this next week please keep me updated on your experiences! 

[Anakela]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 7:23pm

I was just seeing if anyone had any input based of past experiences of what to expect. No need to be salty lol. But if anyone goes please during this next week please keep me updated on your experiences! 

 

You mean like the post right above yours, which talks about the line experience three days ago? Or any of the other posts in this 44 page thread where people talk about their cancellation line experiences? Short of telling the future this thread is as current as you're going to get  

 

 

Posted: 5/4/16 at 8:01pm

Best day to go??

[mbusani14]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 9:34pm

Anakela said: "I was just seeing if anyone had any input based of past experiences of what to expect. No need to be salty lol. But if anyone goes please during this next week please keep me updated on your experiences! 

 

You mean like the post right above yours, which talks about the line experience three days ago? Or any of the other posts in this 44 page thread where people talk about their cancellation line experiences? Short of telling the future this thread is as current as you're going to get  

 

 

 

"

First of all...just stop being rude. It's not accomplishing anything.

Second, different times of year vary. These 44 pages represent experiences when the show was at different levels of popularity so experiences change. I'm not asking for someone to predict the future. I am just curious to see what previous experiences have been like, reminding people who say this who may have gone through the process that their input will be valued. I don't feel like I'm coming off as so irritating by asking question and using this to gain information (kind of it's purpose) and if that's something that annoys you so much then keep it to yourself. Either way, thank you for your help. I'll go back and read more pages before asking another question.

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 9:40pm

I started writing at page 17 and that was March, so you may start reading from there for current info.  Hope it helps!

[Hellob]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 10:11pm

So what's up with the sketchy people who bother people? What are they doing? Scary!

[steins]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 12:01am

@bergamotblack

me too flying in from a different state for a 2nd time next week

Going to arrive 6-7am(ish) then planned to do >24h wait this time.

 

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 2:41am

For anybody wondering what time to arrive, what the best day to go to the line--well we all hear Wednesdays are no good anymore because of the live lottery.  Saturdays are pretty insane, too because most people are off weekends.  It's very hard to pin point because it all varies and depends what are the ticket requests of the line holders and what the theater has available.  To show an example, This was my wait.  Hope the visual helps.

 

8PM SHOW  for  FRIDAY- MARCH 11, 2016

SPOT   PATRON          ARRIVED    TICKETED             HOURS ON LINE
1          S.O.L.D.           Thu 7pm       6:30pm PAIR        25 hours
2          S.O.L.D.           Thu 7pm       7:00pm SINGLE    25 hours
3          S.O.L.D.           Thu 7pm       7:30pm PAIR        25 hours
4          S.O.L.D.           Thu 7pm       8:00pm PAIR        25 hours
5         Mother/Father     Thu 10pm     8:00pm PAIR        23 hours
6         Son/Daughter      Thu 10pm    (parents gave tickets to them) 23 hours
7         Guy selling spot  Fri 12am      12:30 SINGLE (a man bought line spot for $25 at 12pm)
8         Sitter                  Fri 2am        no ticket            18 hours
9         ME                     Fri 3am        no ticket            17 hours
10       Lady                   Fri 4am        no ticket            16 hours
11       Guy                    Fri 9am        12:30 SINGLE
12       Guy                    Fri 9am        no ticket            11 hours

 

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 2:44am

APOLOGIES TO CELL PHONE USERS!  AS MY LIST DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT ON IT!

Looks correct on desktops and tablets.

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 3:16am

So with my visit a little less than 2 weeks away and exams in the meantime, I couldn't deal with the stress and uncertainty, so even after changing my flight (which at least was only $3, thank you JetBlue), I bit the bullet and just bought secondary market tickets. Row A, center, and since my younger brother is flying in to join me, it was double the cost -- in other terms, equivalent to what I pay for 6 months of rent. Please consider taking a moment of silence for my credit card statement. My God, in God we trust . . .

[Sunshine31]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 8:00am

mbusani14 said: "Second, different times of year vary. These 44 pages represent experiences when the show was at different levels of popularity so experiences change. I'm not asking for someone to predict the future. I am just curious to see what previous experiences have been like, reminding people who say this who may have gone through the process that their input will be valued. I don't feel like I'm coming off as so irritating by asking question and using this to gain information (kind of it's purpose) and if that's something that annoys you so much then keep it to yourself. Either way, thank you for your help. I'll go back and read more pages before asking another question."
 
I just went 2 weeks ago. Page 36, post 877. Hope this helps. If you have questions, message me! :) 

Updated On: 5/5/16 at 08:00 AM

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 10:57am

MinervaMoon said: "Please consider taking a moment of silence for my credit card statement. My God, in God we trust . . ."

Oh man, a shame you didn't wait until the morning of the show, incase they scalpers shaved the prices a bit.  Like I mentioned in my Monday post.  I looked at row A center (glad I didn't buy) they were 1100.00 Sunday night and Monday morning, were $900 then $700 and by noon when they were $658 they started selling.

Enjoy the show!  You will get showered when they sing and will see teeth fillings!  AMAZING!

 

Posted: 5/5/16 at 3:29pm

MyFavoriteBrunette said: "MinervaMoon said: "Please consider taking a moment of silence for my credit card statement. My God, in God we trust . . ."

Oh man, a shame you didn't wait until the morning of the show, incase they scalpers shaved the prices a bit.  Like I mentioned in my Monday post.  I looked at row A center (glad I didn't buy) they were 1100.00 Sunday night and Monday morning, were $900 then $700 and by noon when they were $658 they started selling.

Enjoy the show!  You will get showered when they sing and will see teeth fillings!  AMAZING!

 

Quick question not really line related.. I've heard you refer to fillings. What does that mean?:)

"

 

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 3:44pm

nrubanobroadway said: "Quick question not really line related.. I've heard you refer to fillings. What does that mean?:)"

nrubano --- I asked the same question a few posts ago. They're her teeth fillings. Normally the molars have fillings that have a metallic color. With all the lights and what not, she probably saw the reflection from the fillings.

Similar to what other posters have mentioned, it's probably best to ask what time to get to the theater a month from now when you actually go.

So I saw the show yesterday and while I was on line to enter the theater, two ladies in front of me had an extra ticket since one of their husbands couldn't go since he was sick. I advised them to go to the cancellation line and one of them managed to sell the ticket! I agree to the poster who mentioned asking the ticketed patrons whether any of them have extra tickets. Be prepared to pay at least face value in cash. They may ask for a higher price and for a face value ticket of $167, I'd personally pay $200 for the ticket, or at most $250 (but your budget may be different.)

Good luck!

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 3:49pm

nrubanobroadway said: "Quick question not really line related.. I've heard you refer to fillings. What does that mean?:)"

LOL!  It's what dentists call when they fill a cavity in your teeth.  Teeth fillings.   You're young--maybe you haven't had the pleasure of getting one!  LOL!  I was mesmerized watching Renee sing and that I was so close I could see inside her mouth and her dental work!  

 

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 4:01pm

Wick3 said: "With all the lights and what not, she probably saw the reflection from the fillings."

No!  Not reflection!  Inside her upper row if teeth! Lol!  When Renee sang, she opened her mouth during "The Schuyler Sisters"  probably when she sings "Eliza!" and saw her upper right molar fillings!  I was delirious at seeing such human details so close!  Also appreciating the fabric of their dresses.  And Daveed as Jefferson's velvety attire.  Ugh!  I wish I could afford to see it so close again!

 

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 4:11pm

Wick3 said: "With all the lights and what not, she probably saw the reflection from the fillings."
 

No!  Not reflections!  Inside her actual upper right molars!  LOL!  It was when they were singing "The Schuyler Sisters".  To see those details so close, I was delirious!  And also thought "wow!  my dentist changed my fillings to white composite!"  It was so wonderful to be able to see the fabric quality of their costumes up-close.  I wish I could afford to see it this close again.  I wish I could sell my Tuesday tickets for an upgrade!   

So nice of you to advise the ticket holders to sell their spare ticket to the cancellation line.  So many people waiting and wanting to see the show, it's the best place to sell to.  

 

ATTENTION ALL TICKET HOLDERS

PLEASE DON'T SELL TO THE SCALPER.

SELL TO THE FANS DYING TO SEE THE SHOW!

Thank you in advance for your gesture =)

Posted: 5/5/16 at 9:42pm

I promised myself that I would share my experience, and I didn't read all the previous posts before me, so apologies for the repeat information.

I was there last Friday/Saturday to see Hamilton and after reading the boards, I had no idea what to expect. And honestly, I think that's the right expectation to have when going to the cancellation line. There is really no way to tell how many people will be there, and even more, how many tickets will be released.

Friday, they had 8 tickets, which I believe someone already mentioned. There was a family of 4 there, the entire day waiting for tickets and it was their second time trying to see the show. The little girl, probably middle school, really wanted to see it. But they ended up being next in line, and there were no more tickets left. She burst into tears the moment they made that announcement. There was a scalper offering 2 tickets for $400 each, and the dad said no. I can understand that, it's a lot to pay and there was 4 of them. They also passed up on premium tickets earlier in the evening. Apparently one of the scalpers had offered the dad $200 to get the tickets for $300 each so the girl could see the show, and he said no. Again, still I can understand that, since I don't think the parents wanted to send in the two kids by themselves to see the show (the boy was younger). Someone ended up picking up the tickets, I believe, and went to get money before the show started. There were no tickets sold after curtain, so everyone went home from there. There was also a police officer who was, closer to the show starting, going around trolling people and telling them to go home because there is no way they were going to get tickets (which I thought was unnecessary, since it was a person's choice to stay and wait just in case, and they weren't causing a ruckus... also it's a guessing game. Apparently the Friday before, EVERYONE in the cancellation line got tickets because they had like 8 pairs and 6 singles -- or something like that; people were assuming that an entire group canceled their tickets).  Afterwards, it was raining outside a little bit, they made the announcement at the stage door that not everyone would be coming out the stage door. Leslie, Daveed, Rory, and later on Renee came out.

By 4pm Friday, there was already a Saturday line for both 2pm and 8pm (which were one line, as mentioned in the past). They were all line sitters, or scalpers, not looking to see the show themselves. I think there were 3 guys from SOLD and then the rest were scalpers. I spoke to both people in the box office before the Friday show and after the show to try and get a better understanding of how things go. I had a general idea from the boards, but I wanted to get their perspective as well. One of the guys who worked for Hamilton stated that if you came by 10AM on Saturday you would be likely to get a ticket for the 8pm show, but I'm guessing now it is less likely because a lot of people get there before 7:30AM just to be safe.

I can't remember how many tickets were actually given, but there was at least 8 tickets for the matinee, but probably more than that. I sat Orchestra F, which was perfect and there ended up being 4 tickets where I was sitting. Saturday is interesting because you have SOLD line sitters for both the 2pm and 8pm show, and so it looked like a lot more people than I had initially thought. I was the first single ticket in line, and figured that I would likely get into at least one of the shows. The SOLD staff were not as forthcoming initially about what show they were waiting for, I think because they don't want the lines to separate and people to end up claiming tickets for another show after the fact. (So someone goes to the 2pm line, then claims to be in front of someone in the 8pm line after they don't get tickets). The lines don't end up separating anyway, so it didn't make much of a difference. I think the next single ticket behind me came at 6am for their ticket, and it was her second time trying the cancellation line. There were a couple of people in line from Friday night too, and by the time 2pm rolled around (even before then) there were at least 20 people in line. I honestly didn't count, so sorry if that's not completely true.

A couple of things I would personally recommend:

• Bring a chair. I brought a picnic blanket but thankfully one of the guys in front of me had an old chair he wasn't using so he let me use it. I think I would have had trouble otherwise. You can sit on the steps, but on Saturday we went from the stage door area (where there were steps) to under the Marquee (closer to the Marriott) then across the street because the workers wanted to wash the sidewalks at the same time. Then we ended up back under the marquee until the show started. So it was a lot of movement in the morning.
   
• I know it's been mentioned, but there is a bathroom on the 8th floor of the hotel. This is a huge advance, since it's difficult to find a place in NYC where you can go to the bathroom for free. There is a couple of outlets on that floor too, and some tables where you can sit. There is also a starbucks to get tea/coffee if it gets cold (it was cold on Saturday, I had my winter jacket with me and a pair of soccer socks on) and also a pizza place across the street.
   
• Everyone is cordial, people know their place in line. The only person that seemed overly concerned was one of the non-SOLD sitters, she was afraid someone was going to take her spot, and I think not necessarily because of the official cancellation line tickets but for other scalpers/people who were trying to come and sell their ticket down the line before the show started.
   
• The SOLD people are very nice, and I don't blame them for what they are doing, There is a market, and I understand. From what I heard from them, there has only been 1 instance (since starting in the Hamilton line) where they haven't been successful in getting their client a ticket. Some of the SOLD guys in line were in line for at least 30 hours, probably longer for an 8pm ticket.
   
• There is also a couple, a man and his wife, who might be homeless and they don't do the line every night, but seem to make good money off of their tickets. The wife was stressed out because the first set of matinee tickets came out and her husband wasn't back and she didn't have money. When he came back, and they had called the next person in line (which was me), I was trying to tell the Hamilton staff that he was in front of me. But he wasn't ready and they didn't seem to mind because he was not watching the show himself. Also, there is another lady who apparently also does this for Shakespeare in the Park, and this was one of her first times doing the line sitting for Hamilton.  She was working with the couple, mentioned earlier, to get 8pm show tickets. I also kind of got the impression she was homeless.
   
• Speaking of the staff, they aren't a fan of the scalpers and line sitters. Obviously, they recognize them, and I think they are trying to find a way to ensure that there are no more line sitters, but it'll be difficult to control this. And I think someone has already spoken to that issue, but all the line sitters (SOLD and otherwise) were for 2 tickets. As previously mentioned, one ticket is easier. And if a pair comes out before a single and you are next in line, you can just get a single ticket (which is what I did... they asked who was next in line, and when I asked how many tickets it was for, they just said to tell the box office how many I needed). You can also pair up with a single person behind you, which I'm sure they would be willing to do too.
   
• A lady came before I got my ticket trying to sell her single ticket for what she paid, I think she said $369. Someone behind me picked it up quickly and went to the ATM to get cash.
   
• As it gets closer to the show, 10 minutes before maybe, the Hamilton staff come out and tell you to put all the chairs away (so it looks cleaner) and we stand waiting for them to call us. It gets a little chaotic because there is the cancellation line and then the "people who already have tickets" line and they are right next to each other. But it works out okay.

I'm not sure what was released for 8pm, I left after the show was over, but everyone was still in line. I think I got my tickets 5 minutes before the show, so I had enough time to hyperventilate and be excited with the person next to me (a cancellation line sitter, her second time there, and we were both very excited to be seeing the show). It was an understudy day; I knew about Javier but I was a little disappointed that Leslie was out too. But overall, it was a great experience, both with the SOLD guys and the other people in line really wanting to get into the show. 

I'm sure I'm missing stuff I meant to add, so if you have any questions that I might be able to answer, feel free to ask! (I also didn't proof this so.. bear that in mind too)

Updated On: 5/5/16 at 09:42 PM

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 10:27pm

There's also a bathroom on the 2nd floor of the Marquis Theater where "On Your Feet" plays.  It where I went to warm my hands washing them in their oh-so-warm faucets!  When you go right through the breezeway where the slooooow revolving doors are, go right up the escalator and bam!  Ladies and men's room =)

[Em6]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 10:59pm

korenglish said:

• The SOLD people are very nice, and I don't blame them for what they are doing, There is a market, and I understand. From what I heard from them, there has only been 1 instance (since starting in the Hamilton line) where they haven't been successful in getting their client a ticket.

-----> YUP!  I believe that was us last Friday night.  Our SOLD guy was already next in line when they ran out of tickets, as I mentioned in a previous post.  It's all good.  We hired another line seater and got in for the Saturday evening show.

 I am so glad you also got in and enjoyed the show.  I believe that the Hamilton carries itself, and it's amazing regardless of who is performing!

[MinervaMoon]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 7:41am

MyFavoriteBrunette said: "Oh man, a shame you didn't wait until the morning of the show, incase they scalpers shaved the prices a bit.  Like I mentioned in my Monday post.  I looked at row A center (glad I didn't buy) they were 1100.00 Sunday night and Monday morning, were $900 then $700 and by noon when they were $658 they started selling.

 


I know they might have been cheaper if I had waited, but I didn't want to run the risk of them being gone, which would have been dreadful. At the exact time I was looking at them, they went unavailable for a few minutes (so it seemed like someone had bought them) and then came back with a slightly higher price. In the interim, thinking that I'd missed out, I was like "wow, #regret". And since there were only a few and there's a lot of Tonys hype, who knows what would have happened. Waiting until too close to the date was just getting too stressful. Lin-Manuel also always comments on the energy from the first few rows, so I was just like "okay, so we're doin' this."

 


What I actually need to do now is start advertising my services as a line-sitter that day to recoup some of the cost of this shame.