Hamilton Cancellation Line — Page 70

I just got out of "Shuffle Along" which was amazing and needed to pass the cancellation line, GOOD LUCK YOU TWO!!!!!

Mark_E said: "Well it depends on the day.

the two girls yesterday who arrived at 4am were willing to buy premium but didn't get in as only 1 premium got released.



"

Hey Mark...it's me, Andy!!

For everyone else, I was also waiting in the cancellation line for Monday's 7:00 PM performance. I'll try to give a detailed account of my experience. I was really tired throughout the day so can't really say I remember exact times and I may off on some of the timestamps, but the chronological order is definitely correct.

I hopped in line at around 01:15 AM Monday in preparation for Monday evening's 7:00 PM show.

01:15 AM - Arrive at Richard Rodgers theatre. There is a couple already set up (I later find out that they arrived around midnight). If any of you have been in/at the theatre, it's the door to the left of the main entrance, where people can walk out from the coat check. This couple (wisely) brought a thick duvet and huge fluffy pillows.



01:30 AM - I try and get myself comfortable. I brought two bottles of water, a bag of chips, backpack full of playbooks and Hillary Clinton's memoir (heh), and a pillow + medium thickness acrylic blanket. Realizing I don't have anything between me at the ground, I ask for a clean trashbag from the nearby Marriott and sleep on it to prevent getting too dirty, while trying to find a comfortable position with the minimal cushioning that my coat and the blanket gave.

05:00 AM - Wake up freezing to death, phone says temperatures are around 3 degrees Celsius. 5 other people have arrived:

1. Girl A - single regular ticket (arr. 3 AM)
2. Man A also willing to purchase Premium (arr. 3:30 AM)
3. Girls B - 2 girls wanting 2 and willing to get Premium (arr. 3:50 AM)
4. Man B - wanting 1 and willing to get Premium as well (arr. 5 AM) –– this is Mark!!

05:00 AM - Get to know each other in line, take bathroom breaks (the Marriott's free-to-access 8th floor lounge has clean and nice bathrooms), everyone is civil and friendly as we hold each other's places in line. Starbucks opens at 6 AM, and we all rush to get coffee and breakfast.

07:10 AM - Security guard arrives and asks us to move more to the left (where the mini-carpark doors are) so we won't block the theatre side door.

08:10 AM - Security guard tells us to move from that side of the building to the other (right) side, where the stairs are.

08:15 AM to 01:30 PM - The "Midnight-Morning" groups continues to socialize as we play Heads Up and stuff like that. Some more people show up at the end of the line, roughly 6-7.

02:00 PM - The first Premium ticket is offered to the line, and we give it to the man further back in line wanting 1 and willing to get Premium (arr. 5 AM) since the rest of us want pairs or regular price only.



02:00 PM to 06:45 PM - A period of restless waiting, eating lunch at nearby eateries, and us being asked to move back to the left side of the theatre.

06:50 PM - Box office girl comes out and gives out the first two regular price unclaimed tickets to the couple that arrived first!!

06:57 - Box office girl comes out and offers a pair –– the girl behind me (Girl A) and I pair up and we walk in crying tears of joy as we pay for each ticket separately at the cashier, make a mad dash for the coat check to check-in our coats and the bags carrying our pillows/blankets, and hurry to our seats. We're on the right aisle of the center orchestra section in row G, so these are pretty amazing seats.

07:00 - Woman rushes in and claims the one seat to the left of us, and it turns out that she was the one that was supposed to be with Man A. She took the orchestra seat, he took a standing room. The moment she sits down, opening scene begins.

As far as I know, I don't think the Girls B got in. That means although it was a Monday and not a single line-sitter was at the theatre, they only offered a surprising SINGLE Premium ticket ($477), 5 regular-price cancellation tickets ($177), and 1 standing room ticket ($40). Total of 7 tickets, which is pretty low considering how they usually have around 8-12 and a LOT more Premiums being offered.

Our tickets (me and Girl A) were AWESOME. Like, seriously, insanely good. We were center orchestra on the right aisle in row G. Perfect placement, perfect vision of everything, no uncomfortable head craning or anything. Also, allowed me to make a quick dash to the bathroom immediately after intermission started, then get a cup of coffee, and buy a window card.

Overall...pretty good experience for me! Cancellation line people are almost always nice to each other when there are no line sitters involved. We bond, we laugh, we make jokes, we play "Heads Up!", and we talk about our love for Broadway theatre. We held each other's places as we took turns taking bathroom breaks and coffee breaks or even "I need to go take a walk" breaks. This is a theatre community where we vouch for each other and I'm glad that I was able to participate in arguably the pinnacle of such an experience.

Oh and I saw Hamilton, that was pretty cool too. No wait it was F*CKING AMAZING. Lin-Manuel's a genius, though I do wish that some other shows get some of the spotlight at the Tonys, because Hamilton certainly does NOT need the sales boost. For example, I haven't seen it, but I've heard so many good things about Waitress, and everyone is talking about how Waitress is amazing, but that this season was the "wrong" season to debut, due to Hamilton. Oh well. Great shows, great experience, onwards to more shows in the future!

I wish I knew. (MyFavoriteBrunette) I would have liked to say hello. After reading all of your posts, I feel as though I know you... My son did the cancellation line for tonight's show and we (I was his plus one) got in!! Yay! (He tried last Monday, waited 14 hours and was the next in line to get tickets) I think he will give an update but there were no line sitters and everyone was super nice as usual.

Updated On: 5/17/16 at 11:01 PM

congratulations!! @bucky3

Updated On: 5/17/16 at 11:06 PM

Thanks Steins!! (I am the mom of the teenage boy who waited the night before you saw the show- not sure if you knew this.)

Also- just to correct my son's post (he is very tired) the three tickets were given out around 6ish, definitely after 5 pm. (not 4:30 which would have been before the hour that lottery winners have to claim their tix.)

Good luck to everyone attempting tix thru the cancellations line!!!

Thanks again Steins!

Tally for tonight: 1 premium, 3 lottery returns, 7 or 8 regular cancellation tix (I think, not completely sure what happened after we went in.)

okay so around 4:30pm we are moved to the other side of the theater and 3 people are given tickets (i am assuming lottery cancelations because what else is given at that time?) now i am numbe

Thanks for the info. I do have a question.

If someone wants 2 tickets and they are offered at around 5 p.m. (as above), can they get the 2 tickets if their plus one hasn't arrived yet? I know once it's time to enter the theater after 6:30 (or 7:30 for an 8 p.m. curtain), both parties must be there. But what about earlier in the day?

Second question. Let's say there are 2 couples at the head of the line. A single ticket is offered first and one person in the first couple tells his companion to take it. She goes in, and he is now alone with another couple behind him.

Now a pair of tickets is available. Does the remaining member of the first couple get one of those tickets? Or do they pass him over for the couple behind him?

Thanks.

Updated On: 5/18/16 at 12:20 AM

I promise to post while I am in line (yes IN line I am not from NY)

So glad im not the only one who says 'in' line! On line has never really made sense to me lol

Congrats @andynihao, @bucky3 and @chalklit. Thanks for your reports! :)

@emilyschan and @emscats2 you got this!

MISH2 said: "
okay so around 4:30pm we are moved to the other side of the theater and 3 people are given tickets (i am assuming lottery cancelations because what else is given at that time?) now i am numbe

Thanks for the info. I do have a question.

If someone wants 2 tickets and they are offered at around 5 p.m. (as above), can they get the 2 tickets if their plus one hasn't arrived yet? I know once it's time to enter the theater after 6:30 (or 7:30 for an 8 p.m. curtain), both parties must be there. But what about earlier in the day?"



so i made a typo, and the first 3 really werent given until 6pm...and since you have NO IDEA whats going to happen, your pair should really be there when they move us to the other side of the building (around 5pm)...i don't know what happens if you get one and your pair isnt there (im assuming you go right to the ticket holders line, but the bigger point here is that you have NO IDEA if they will start at 6, 6:30, 7 ect...so don't count on anything)

Second question. Let's say there are 2 couples at the head of the line. A single ticket is offered first and one person in the first couple tells his companion to take it. She goes in, and he is now alone with another couple behind him.

Now a pair of tickets is available. Does the remaining member of the first couple get one of those tickets? Or do they pass him over for the couple behind him?


each person can get 2 tickets (so they COULD get 4 between the two of them) but if a couple is waiting as one person, they generally wait for a pair to come out (in my experience), and more pairs come out anyway...so they COULD do what you are saying, but it would be odd since most couples go in as pairs


Thanks.



did this help?

MISH2 said: "
okay so around 4:30pm we are moved to the other side of the theater and 3 people are given tickets (i am assuming lottery cancelations because what else is given at that time?) now i am numbe

Thanks for the info. I do have a question.

If someone wants 2 tickets and they are offered at around 5 p.m. (as above), can they get the 2 tickets if their plus one hasn't arrived yet? I know once it's time to enter the theater after 6:30 (or 7:30 for an 8 p.m. curtain), both parties must be there. But what about earlier in the day?

Second question. Let's say there are 2 couples at the head of the line. A single ticket is offered first and one person in the first couple tells his companion to take it. She goes in, and he is now alone with another couple behind him.

Now a pair of tickets is available. Does the remaining member of the first couple get one of those tickets? Or do they pass him over for the couple behind him?

Thanks.



I don't the answer to your first question, but regarding your second, I think it may depend on the group you are with. For us, it was decided that my son would take a single if offered, and I would 'buddy up' with the person behind me (a single) and take a pair. The people with me were super nice and really wanted my son to get in. They were fine /encouraged this plan, which was basically 'go down the line to try to get tix for as many people waiting as possible.' I'm not sure if this is the usual policy, but this was our plan.

Updated On: 5/18/16 at 08:48 AM

BroadwayFan2 said: At 68 pages in, it is a lot and I refuse to read each page."



Thanks for clarifying that your time is more important than ours. It literally takes 5 seconds to google.

Any singles want to double up for the live lottery today?