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Hilarious Moments on the TKTS Line

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#1

Hilarious Moments on the TKTS Line

Posted: 11/27/06 at 9:40am

I was seeing THE VERTICAL HOUR this past Saturday and I had a ticket to something that I wanted to get rid of so I was patrolling the TKTS line and seeing if anyone was interested.

This was possibly the best conversation of my life:

Me: Hi, are you here seeing what's offered or are you trying to get tickets to something in particular.
Random teenage girl: Yea we're trying to get WICKED.
Me: Oh, well they don't sell WICKED here.
Random teenage girl: Yes they do. They sell tickets to all shows here.
Me: Only shows that aren't sold out. WICKED is sold out into next year.
Random teenage girl: No, you must be mistaken.
Me: If you insist. Good luck.

I love when tourists wait on TKTS for the most in-demand shows. Good times.
"I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about." - Oscar Wilde

Updated On: 11/27/06 at 09:40 AM

#2

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 9:45am

Don't we have "Hilarious Comments Overheard By Tourists and Audience Members" for this?

That was funny though! re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh
"I'm tellin' you, the only times I really feel the presence of God are when I'm having sex and during a great Broadway musical." - Nathan Lane - Jeffrey
#3

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 9:58am

I think this should be its own separate thread because it's so specific to a location and a particular experience.

I was buying tickets to Slava's Snowshow at TKTS this past Wednesday, and the person next to me also couldn't understand why there were no Wicked tickets. Sigh...
#4

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 10:13am

It's because people think they are entitled to get half price tickets to anything they want, if they stand in that line.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#5

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 2:00pm

Honestly i still dont know why anyone would stand in that line when there is always NO LINE AT ALL at their other branch, pluss the other branch sells matanee tickets the day before, which is cool.
(Then again that was back in 2004, no clue if its still like that)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/ Phantom at the Royal Empire Theatre
#6

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 2:36pm

I remember when Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick went back to the Producers and some in back of me said "this is the only place to get tickets for the Producers and they're half off. Isn't that amazing!" I wanted to turn around and tell her there's no chance in hell she'll get a ticket.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
#7

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 3:36pm

"pluss the other branch sells matanee tickets the day before, which is cool.
(Then again that was back in 2004, no clue if its still like that) "

This is still true. Many people don't know about the Seaport TKTS, especially tourists. The tourists who do find out about it usually don't want to pay for a taxi and take that long of a ride down there. Thus- the Seaport TKTS is much better
Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck- most of all endurance.
#8

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 3:55pm


DAMNIT!!! There is ANOTHER TKTS LINE!!!

i spent an hour in the blistering cold last january for nothing!!!!!

.... grrrr ....


btw the wicked thing is funny ... hope thats NOT why they came to NYC.
#9

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 6:03pm

Some chinese tourist, who was obviously confused, went up and said "5 tickets to 'The Jersey Boys'" and the person working there burst out laughing.
#10

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 6:35pm

The Seaport TKTS is definitely less crowded, but it works slightly differently than the Times Square booth for matinees. I know from having messed up. The booth is open Monday - Saturday from 11-6 and Sunday from 11-3. You can only purchase tickets for Wednesday and Saturday matinees on Tuesday and Friday, respectively. Tickets for Sunday matinees are sold only Saturday from 11-4. On Sunday, you can only purchase tickets for Sunday evening shows.
Love is Love Love is Love Love is Love Love is Love Love is Love Love is Love
#11

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 7:19pm

So basically you have to either live in the city or be there fairly often b/c you have to purchase the tickets a day in advance? Where exactly is this booth? My sister lives by the seaport . . . maybe she should be getting our tickets there from now on!
"I wrote a book: "How to Be Popular". Now I've put together a top ten list of how to help you: -Elphie, everyday... shower. I mean, who knows? Maybe some of that green is gonna come off! -Deodorant Elphie. No body likes a stinky witch! -I think we've covered the hair, we'll get to that. -Clean underclothes. That's all I'm gonna say. -Look at your posture. That's no way to be popular! -Bed made, room straightened. We've done that. -Colors blended. Oookay. -But the most important thing to have, to make yourself popular, is to keep your beautiful smile." ~Kristin Chenoweth in her last performance of the song "Popular"
#12

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 8:04pm

A spoiled girl waiting on the TKTS last June likened the experience to "waiting for toilet paper in a tropical third world country." Not a traditional stupid tourist moment, but it made me chuckle when I heard it. Sometimes, especially on those hot and tourist-packed summer days, it isn't very far from the truth...
"If there is going to be a restoration fee, there should also be a Renaissance fee, a Middle Ages fee and a Dark Ages fee. Someone must have men in the back room making up names, euphemisms for profit." (Emanuel Azenberg)
#13

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 9:45pm

I just am continually amazed when there's a huge board that says what is on sale, yet they think the hottest shows on be there when they get to the window, like they know a special code or something.


"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
#14

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 9:55pm

What I want to know, is how they know TKTS even exists if they are so out of the theatre loop that they think they can get Wicked tickes super cheap and front row center?
#16

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 10:08pm

Everyone knows and refers to it as the two-fers. Why? 'Cause you can (usually) get two fer the price of one.
#17

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/27/06 at 10:10pm

I don't understand. I'm a New Yorker and I frequent TKTS but I have never once spent more than 10 or 15 minutes on line, at either location...
"We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in it's flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung, the dance when it's been danced? It's only we humans who want to own the future too." - Tom Stoppard, Shipwreck
#19

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/28/06 at 1:48am

A typical tourist might just be familiar with TKTS as getting half price tickets to any show and not notice the board with the prices on it - can it be missed? Also, not everyone knows Wicked and Jersey Boys are sold out shows, so I don't see anything that hilarious about someone asking for those hot-show tickets at TKTS.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#20

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/28/06 at 5:29am

Well, on first reading this thread, I also laughed and thought "My God, how stupid can people be". But thinking it over, I have to point out,that usually people on the tkts line are not as informed or passionate about Broadway like us, guys.
Because we care so much, we think that everyone else does, too. Very far from the truth !
Most visitors are told by all their friends "Oh, don't you dare go to NYC and not see a show, it's a lifetime experience". So they are doing theater, as part of the New York experience. It's natural that they are not informed how tkts works and ask for big shows they heard about, which are, of course, sold out.
And keep in mind that for uninformed people around the world, shows like Phantom and Chicago are still the big and difficult to get ones. So when they see these at the board, they naturally assume that everything is available there ! Trust me, only a handful of people here in Greece, and I suppose in many places around the world, have a clue about Wicked, Jersey Boys and Spamalot !
And then of course, there are the really stupid and rude ones...


Updated On: 11/28/06 at 05:29 AM

#21

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/28/06 at 5:39am

Actually Spamalot's a little easier to get since all the big names left for some reason.

"I'm tellin' you, the only times I really feel the presence of God are when I'm having sex and during a great Broadway musical." - Nathan Lane - Jeffrey
#23

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/28/06 at 1:36pm

Shhh!!!

Please don't spread the word about the Seaport TKTS location. When I visted New York (way back in 2002), this location was amazing with its short lines, next day matinee perfs. I would take the subway, taxis, tour bus line from Times Square and buy tickets for that night's show. Sometimes paid full price like Hairspray and Lion King, but got good deals on shows like Cabaret, 42nd Stret, Chicago (this was again in 2002).

But I agree with other comments above about the typical tourist, etc. I think it might be hard for some husbands/boyfriends to be dragged to a night on Broadway. I know my sister has her limits on musicals though she is a sport to go when she is forced to go.
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#24

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/28/06 at 1:43pm

Is it me, or have the lines at the Times Square TKTS been really short lately? I've bought tickets at the Seaport location many times, but I don't think the line there is any shorter than what I've seen in Times Square lately. Of course, getting the matinee tickets the day before at the Seaport is always a benefit, and I think they open earlier.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson
#25

re: Tourist Moments That Make You Laugh

Posted: 11/28/06 at 1:43pm

I despise TKTS. It's great for tourists and families, but if you're living in the city, there are tons of better, cheaper, more convenient alternatives.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

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