How do you guys afford to see all of these shows? — Page 2

Pssh - TKTS is too expensive for me!

One weekend I was bored and added up all the ticket prices for the shows I'd seen in the last three years. When I did the math I discovered that I had spent an average of $25 a ticket.

Course I'm not a student anymore but now when I travel to New York I try to bring a student with me.

Updated On: 6/5/08 at 03:42 AM

Ummm...I have a job and get paid. THAT'S how I am able to see shows.

I used to live in Bath, a ten minute walk away from the Theatre Royal, which is a SUPERB theatre. Many of the pre- or post-West End tours go through there, they originate their own stuff which quite often ends up in the West End, and there's a whole lot of other fun stuff besides. If I turned up on the day of the performance at noon, I could get a stand-by seat for £5 ($10). So I saw 'The Deep Blue Sea', 'Visiting Mr. Green', 'The Vortex', 'Legal Fictions', 'The Importance Of Being Earnest', 'Pygmalion', 'The Last Confession', 'Kean', and 'Amy's View' months before they made it to the West End and for a fraction of the cost. GodDAMN I miss Bath. XP

As for the West End, I buy the cheapest seats where possible, hunt down discounts through BroawayBox.com and LastMinute.com when available, and really take advantage of things like the National's Travelex season (tickets for £10! ). And sometimes - and I'm not as ashamed of this as I'm sure I should be - I'll coerce my mother into going to see a show with me, because so far she seems more than happy to pay.

(I'm also immeasurably smug at getting to see the Donmar Warehouse's 'Othello' for a mere £7.50. Okay, I had to get up EARLY and it was only a standing ticket, but when I think about people paying hundreds and hundreds of pounds for tickets on eBay, I get SUCH a warm glow. :3)

Also I can't afford to buy anything BUT theatre tickets. O_O But it's a price I'm willing to pay for my addiction. ^_^

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Updated On: 6/5/08 at 07:42 AM

well for the most part lottos and student (or regular) rush. But also a lot of the shows I like tend to have discounts at the box office for same day purchases and I'm lucky enough to live in NYC and be able to do that. I've used TKTS once, but will probably use it a few more times esp. for plays because that line is so unbelievably short it is hard to resist.

And also my Dad's job gets something called Plum Benefits, which has incredibly seats for very reasonable prices so we'll use that when i go to theater w/ family or something.

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I make very little money as a teacher, so I always use:

broadwaybox.com
playbill.com
schooltix.com

One of those three.

I dont ever do rush or lotto because I'm a planner and I dont like the uncertainty of it. And those seats are usually in the front row and that's too close. I usually pay between $50 to $66 per ticket.

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I'm one of the out-of-towners, so I also have to budget in hotel & train, which has made me a firm believer in discount codes, TKTS and the cheap seats. I used to use TKTS almost all the time, but the price difference between them and most the discount codes has become so minimal I use the latter more...and since I'm on my own most of the time (by choice), I can usually score better seats as a single.

Plus, I'll skimp on hotels and food. A small single at the Herald Square Hotel and pizza suit me just fine.

As for seeing shows multiple times, I'm addicted to Xanadu and have been onstage all four times. The first time it was for budget reasons, the last three because it's just so much damn fun. Have also seen "Avenue Q" and "Altar Boyz" four times, but that was from seeing it first myself and then bringing others for return visits.

There are a few shows I've seen more than once but I always feel as if I've seen different shows because I've never seen the exact same cast twice.

"befriend a theatre reviewer. They normally get a pair of comps for a show and sometimes cannot find anyone to use the 2nd seat: Sad but true."

Think Riedel needs new friends?

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Thanks, msf3, for asking the ?
Since I still don't have tickets for SP yet, so this has given me a few options that I did not know :]

I see most of my shows while they are touring, not Broadway, since I don't live in NYC. I also budget for these, and do without other unnecessities (I try to keep food in my realm of things "necessary").
However, I'm sure that after getting a "taste" on my upcoming vacation, I will try hard to see my favorites in Broadway, if at all possible.
Nothing like Broadway!

bwaybabe2 ~ Sadly, there really haven't been any discounts out there for South Pacific since it's been virtually sold out. That will end up being a full-price ticket...if you can even get one.

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It's on my want to see list...but I haven't found a time I can see it and there are tickets yet.

Good luck.

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I've never seen a Broadway show. I would really love to see one though!

A comp ticket is when someone either in the cast or crew gives you a free ticket.

I have a really good paying job and I also buy partial view and upper mezz seats.

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