How Do You Get Opening Night Tickets?

Currently tickets are on sale for the opening night of “The Minutes” on 4/17. You can buy them through Telecharge.

Broadway flea market normally auctions off opening night tickets plus cast party tix but that’s in September.

Some shows also offer contests - doesn’t hurt to enter if you see one pop up! I won opening night tickets to Ghost and it came with after party passes too!

Sometimes opening night tickets are available a few days prior to the date on either TicketMaster or Telecharge. However, these seats are almost always in the rear mezz

I saw the opening night of Waitress with the OBC. (2016?). I was on Ticketmaster that morning and saw they had tickets available.


playbills during opening week usually notate it inside on the page where it lists the show and everyone involved, but mine is from the ACTUAL opening night of the show that I attended. I did not walk the red carpet or anything-I was ushered along into the doors to the left of the theater, closer to Times Square.


Also went to the opening night of Bandstand. Nothing special happened there.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "If tickets are going to be on sale, that would usually happen within one week (or even less) of opening, and the seats would be at the way back of the mezz. Not every show does this, especially if they have a large cast and investor base. They'd be sold on Telecharge (or whatever the official sales channel is).

Opening Nights aren'tthatexciting, especially for plays. You'd probably have the most fun at the opening of a big splashy musical. It's a regular performance that will probably start late and can sometimes be a little sloppy. There is no dress code. (And shame on you if you "fan" someone or ask for pics in the lobby during the show.) Sometimes but not always, they will bring the swings and creative team on to take a bow, and someone might speak for about a minute after bows, but that all depends on the show. (Sometimes the creative team does not get up onstage –– especially nowadays if you're dealing with a mostly-white or male team.) Right before curtain call, photographers will be let in to run down the aisle and take photos of the curtain call and whatever happens after that.

Keep in mind if you are hoping to attend just for the OPENING NIGHT PLAYBILL with the sticker, that does not happen for every show. It's an added cost and some producers don't care about the sticker."

Just say you hate fun and save us the essay.

The only opening night I have been to was for Diana. Granted I was ushering the show but still. People who came in were all dressed up since it was (like some opening nights) invite only. I got to the party too. It was nice to hang out with co workers with good fancy catered food in an environment that wasn’t at the theatre. There were some ushers who hav worked longer than I and have done plenty of opening night shows. For them, their view point was “been there, done that.” But, it was my first one and I took full advantage of the festivities.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Dollypop said: "Wouldn't one EXPECT the OBC to perform on opening night or is there a new trend developing that I'm not aware of?"

Perhaps they were specifying the original 2016 production at the Atkinson and not the 2021 return engagement at the Barrymore..."

literally says 2016 though

veronicamae said: "I've been to several, and the experience can vary from "didn't even realize something special was happening" to "every third person who walks into the house has a Tony." They tend to fall somewhere in the middle, but it depends on the show. A play at a non-profit house won't draw as many A-list theater folks as the hot new big-budget musical. But with that, it becomes more unlikely that tickets will be available to the public due to the number of people involved in the show as they all get a certain number of tickets for friends and family. The tickets that do get put on sale to the public are priced normally. (I've never seen one priced grossly differently than a normal show, but it's probably happened at some point in history.)

As others have mentioned, the red carpet and the after-party are invitation-only, and it's considered poor form to "act like a fan" and approach a guest of the show for selfies or autographs because everyone who's there is part of the family. But I think that's a rather stuffy opinion. If Bernadette goes to an Opening Night, and she goes to MANY, she knows she's going to be photographed - it's the entire reason she was invited by the press agent for the show! And it's unlikely that you would be rejected so long as you're respectful (but during COVID times, you'd have to be prepared for a denial), I see no problem with it if you were so inclined.

So, it depends on your reasons for wanting to attend to determine which show to keep an eye out for with opening night tickets showing up for sale.

If you're just wanting to attend any opening night just to do it once, there are SO many shows opening the last two weeks of April. If you plan your trip then and don't overbook yourself with commitments you can't get out of, and check every show's available tickets every day, you stand a chance! Go, enjoy the atmosphere - it's fun to walk pass that press line and sit in the back row and watch Bernadette and Joel and others walk in and greet their friends, etc. Enjoy!"

That's cool you've been to several but may we ask how you were able to get opening night tickets?

Wick3 said: "veronicamae said: "I've been to several, and the experience can vary from "didn't even realize something special was happening" to "every third person who walks into the house has a Tony." They tend to fall somewhere in the middle, but it depends on the show. A play at a non-profit house won't draw as many A-list theater folks as the hot new big-budget musical. But with that, it becomes more unlikely that tickets will be available to the public due to the number of people involved in the show as they all get a certain number of tickets for friends and family. The tickets that do get put on sale to the public are priced normally. (I've never seen one priced grossly differently than a normal show, but it's probably happened at some point in history.)

As others have mentioned, the red carpet and the after-party are invitation-only, and it's considered poor form to "act like a fan" and approach a guest of the show for selfies or autographs because everyone who's there is part of the family. But I think that's a rather stuffy opinion. If Bernadette goes to an Opening Night, and she goes to MANY, she knows she's going to be photographed - it's the entire reason she was invited by the press agent for the show! And it's unlikely that you would be rejected so long as you're respectful (but during COVID times, you'd have to be prepared for a denial), I see no problem with it if you were so inclined.

So, it depends on your reasons for wanting to attend to determine which show to keep an eye out for with opening night tickets showing up for sale.

If you're just wanting to attend any opening night just to do it once, there are SO many shows opening the last two weeks of April. If you plan your trip then and don't overbook yourself with commitments you can't get out of, and check every show's available tickets every day, you stand a chance! Go, enjoy the atmosphere - it's fun to walk pass that press line and sit in the back row and watch Bernadette and Joel and others walk in and greet their friends, etc. Enjoy!"

That's cool you've been to several but may we ask how you were able to get opening night tickets?"

For me, it was honestly just looking on Ticketmaster or Telecharge once I knew the opening date and seeing if tickets were available! Obviously if the date isn’t there they aren’t available, but there’s no harm in checking if there’s a specific show you’re curious about! I was wondering about The Minutes pre-lockdown, and thank you to whomever told us when the opening night is because I was able to snag a ticket for that! :)

veronicamae said: "Wick3 said: "veronicamae said: "I've been to several,"

That's cool you've been to several but may we ask how you were able to get opening night tickets?"

Sure, I work in the industry and got invited. I'm not an actor or anything, just one of the thousands of people working behind the scenes."

Unrelated to opening night tickets, but whatever you do behind the scenes, thank you, I can’t imagine it’s been easy during this time. But thank you.

Bettyboy72 said: "Bang a producer."



I almost choked on my taco.