Hey Cort Theater box office, what did I do wrong?

[April Saul]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 11:16am

Tried to rush Waiting for Godot yesterday at about 10:30 yesterday morning, figuring it'd be a slow theater day and was told not only that there were no rush tickets, but that the matinee was completely sold out. Then saw it up at TKTS booth for 50% off!

Does that constitute being "sold out"? Or is it just the case that after the great reviews, there won't be any more rush? Which would be understandable, too. Did not know how offended to be, if at all, but it did seem strange :-p

Thankfully, I was quite happy rushing Beautiful and Good Person of Szechuan at the Public instead...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 11:40am

I may be wrong, but I was under the belief that once a block of tickets is sent over to the TKTS booth they are essentially counted as sold by the box office computer, as the two systems don't link and they can't guarantee accidentally selling the same ticket twice. But again, that's just the impression I was under, and could be wrong, but it would explain why the box office said they were sold out.

[April Saul]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 12:47pm

That could well be the case; or it could be that they're eliminating rush completely because of the raves...hope it's not the latter!

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 2:39pm

It is also possible (indeed plausible considering that the shows just opened to glowing reviews) that there were sufficient people in line at 10 to sell all of the rush tickets. There is a block of tickets designated for rush. Tickets sent to TKTS are not from that block, so there is nothing inconsistent about having sold out the former and still having the latter on sale.

You were being told that the rush tickets were sold out, not that all tickets were. If there were tickets that had been sent to TKTS and then the show sold out, they can pull them back, but I am quite confident that was not the case. Most likely, the tickets at TKTS were obstructed view full price seats, offered at a discount at the booth.

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 3:05pm

With all due respect, I rushed GODOT yesterday and got there at 7:00am. By the time the box office opened, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell you were getting a rush seat. (Sidebar: Saw Hugh Jackman at intermission and it is possible I peed a little bit.)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 5:43pm

Are you saying that YOU got rush tix? Does that mean that by 10 the line was long and cleared out by the time April got there at 10:30?

[April Saul]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 6:42pm

Hey Quiz King, thanks! I started this thread looking for confirmation that they were still doing the rush, but I couldn't be certain...I was only hoping that yesterday I wouldn't have to be there so early because the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is such a good day to see shows and I live 90 miles out of NYC! But rave reviews will do that

Hoganshero, I'm pretty sure the box office said the performance was completely sold out, not just the rush tickets, which was confusing.

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 6:45pm

I was first online for Godot yesterday, but the line had grown to about 30-40 people by about 9:15, most for Godot.

NO MAN'S LAND still had rush seats for the evening after GODOT let out.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/28/13 at 10:16pm

"You were being told that the rush tickets were sold out, not that all tickets were."

Actually the original poster makes it sound like the matinee was sold out. If only rush tickets were sold out, the box office would've said "no rush" and leave it at that. But they followed up by saying the matinee was sold out.

In any case, I agree with AEA. The block of tickets sent to TKTS are linked to a different computer system than what is sold at the box office, so it may have been sold out on the Cort's end.