Broadway Legend Joined: 6/26/16
If you qualify for TDF, you're absolutely right. For those of us who don't., $49.50 although high for a rush price is still the best shot at a cheap ticket. $49.50 for standing room is obscene. I was there the night dbird referenced above. When they announced it was all standing room for $49.50, I just walked away.
Swing Joined: 5/27/16
Any more recent data points, particularly for weekend matinees? My daughtèr and I tried back in January, but I messed up royally that time. I had checked BroadwayforBrokepeople for the time. Should have checked the official show site. We rounded the corner to the theater just as they began calling names. Ugh! We likely would have gotten them, too. Anyhow, she has forgiven me (we were trying for tickets for her birthday--gigantic mom fail!). We're ready to take our chances again, but I have a feeling we may not have as good of a chance this time. Thanks for any help.
I went in April on a Sunday, and everyone either won or got lotto looser
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/26/16
I was there 2 Saturdays ago for the matinee (May 12th). They had about 30 lottery tickets and some extra lottery loser tickets. Everyone there got in with one of those two. But I was there the prior Monday when I thought it would be slow and all they had for those who won the lottery were standing room. I've concluded what they have, how many they give out etc. follows absolutely no pattern and it's a crap shoot as to what they will have on any given day. regardless, just go. The worst that can happen is you don't win and can probably walk over to TKTS and score tickets for some extra $.
Swing Joined: 5/27/16
Funny you should mention TKTS, UncleCharlie. That was our backup plan that first attempt. We scooted on over to the booth, got in line......and it sold out while we were in line. Yep, it was a heck of a day. I need to have a plan C this time.
Swing Joined: 5/27/16
Back with a report, fwiw. They had twenty lottery tickets, which we didn’t win, but there were only about 33 people there for the matinee, and the rest of us got the loser tickets for $10 more. Row B by the water, which was the same row at least some of the winners got.
Swing Joined: 12/31/69
the "lotto losers" seems like just a bait and switch to get people to pay an extra 10 dollars. When I went last month they arbitrarily sold 10 tickets for $50 and then kept doing the lottery for another 20 tickets in about the same place for "lotto losers" (kind of weird you have to win a lotto to become a lotto loser) who paid $60. The few people who didn't win any of the 30 tickets were then told to hang around while the lotto manager "saw what she could do" and they ended up paying $60 also. And then, to my understanding, they continued having $60 tickets available until curtain. It sent me the impression the process is just a psychological trick to make people think they're getting a great deal. I think this type of lottery sets a bad precedent, both in regards to lotto tickets being $60 (granted that circle in the square doesn't have the obstructed views from the side that normal broadway houses have) and the fake lotto tiers. This is the first step to some producer having a lottery where the first 5 tickets cost X, and then the next 5 cost 5 dollars more, the next 10, 10 dollars more, etc
Chorus Member Joined: 8/20/16
I went the Tuesday after the Tonys. There were probably 50 people. They gave away 22 tickets that were standing room only. There were no “lottery loser”
tickets.
Chorus Member Joined: 5/30/18
I’m looking to try the lottery this week. Has anybody been recently? How crazy has it been post Tony’s win?
Featured Actor Joined: 6/15/16
Bump
Anyone tried it recently? How many people usually show up now?
I went a few mondays ago and there were at least 40 people. It's one of the few shows running Mondays so they only had 22 tickets total, all standing room, so only about 11-13 names got called for tickets. Not sure about other days.
Any recent reports? Thinking of trying this weekend.
I helped three friends with lotto on Sunday night. They all won and I didn't! There was also a lotto loser discount, but I don't know what the amount or percentage was.
I went last saturday to the matinee with a group of 4. There were plenty of entries, but I am pretty sure everyone who was there got tickets, and there were still quite a few empty seats for the show so they were upgrading people. They didn't bother with winners and losers that time, all of the tickets were $59.50.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/28/13
labellaragazza1 said: "I went last saturday to the matinee with a group of 4. There were plenty of entries, but I am pretty sure everyone who was there got tickets, and there were still quite a few empty seats for the show so they were upgrading people.They didn't bother with winners and losers that time, all of the tickets were $59.50."
a WINNING ticket cost $59.50???
Yeah, that's why I haven't gone back, though I really enjoyed the show.
The price is a little frustrating, but we ended up in row D or E I think, and those tickets normally are $170 ($180 with fees if you buy online). So only paying $60 for them felt pretty decent, especially since I really do love the show.
I'm going to enter the lottery for tomorrow's matinee. Would the amount of tickets left for the performance on Telecharge be an accurate indicator of the amount of lotto seats they might have available? I've entered the lotto twice in the past and won both times, I'm just trying to figure out if my best bet is the lotto, TKTS, or buying full price. I really wanna see Merle before she leaves. Tamyra was fine, but I would love to see Merle.
Stand-by Joined: 8/7/15
I can't answer the Telecharge/lotto question, but I did do this lotto last night (i.e., Tuesday, 8/14), and I think everyone there ended up getting lotto tickets. There were 50 available, still chosen lottery-style (calling out names), and yes, they were $59.50. We got row E in the 100s section. Merle was in, and she was amazing. Hope you get to see her!
Updated On: 8/15/18 at 01:09 AMSwing Joined: 9/13/17
Does anyone know what this lottery looks like for a Sunday matinee? I'll be in NYC late September (not the weekend of the BCEFA flea market, so hopefully less crowded). I'm trying to decide if I should try for OOTI tickets, seeing as they're about $60, or try my hand at Broadway Roulette, which will end up about $75. I would like to see OOTI, but I want to know if a ticket will be a sure thing before I try it. Do they still do the lotto losers?
Updated On: 8/25/18 at 09:41 AM
This update is far too late for this last commenter (sorry!) but for anyone else who's interested - I was there two Mondays ago, arrived at the 18:00 and the lottery was drawn at 18:30 for the evening performance at 20:00. There were 40 lottery tickets available for that night and everyone won a ticket except for only one guy but I think that he was offered some sort of discount. That being said, I met someone the next day who said that the crowd was larger and not everyone won a ticket, so I suppose it was fairly lucky!
The ticket cost $49.50 and my ticket seat was F 123. Amazing view and breathtaking show! It's funny that after following this board for a while now, I assumed the theatre wouldn't be so full, but the night I saw it, it was packed!
busylizzie238 said: "The ticket cost$49.50 and my ticket seat was F 123. Amazing view and breathtaking show! It's funny that after following this board for a while now, I assumed the theatre wouldn't be so full, but the night I saw it, it was packed!"
I've been to the show a few times and never had trouble winning the lotto, but the toughest time was a Monday just after the Tony's. There is a very limited number of shows that run on Mondays, so I believe theirs is pretty popular.
Do you think it's worth possibly passing up another show to do the lottery for this? I'll be in the city Wednesday and can see a matinee and evening, OOTI is my top choice for what I want to see but I can only afford the lottery.
Because it's in person I'm worried that I'll miss out on digital or lining up for something else only to lose this lottery and end up seeing nothing. Hoping someone has been recently and can give me a little advise on how high the risk is? Do you think there's a difference between trying for matinee and evening? I know it's a gamble no matter what but I'm hoping to make sense of what the best plan might be to see at least one show. Thanks in advance!
Stand-by Joined: 7/16/17
@rKrispyT there’s only a matinee for OOTI on this coming Wednesday 10/24. No evening performance.
Videos