Question about "cancellation lines"

Posted: 8/6/07 at 8:33pm

So this may be a dumb question, but I've seen "cancellation lines" while waiting to go inside for Wicked and The Color Purple, so I was wondering...under what circumstances do a "cancellation line" occur?

I thought all sales were final and non-refundable. Does that mean that sometimes people can return this tickets? If so, then for what reasons?

I really hope this question doesn't sound too naive....

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 8:48pm

- house seats that have gone unsold
- house seats cancellations
- 'premium' seats that have gone unsold at the premium price
- 'all sales final and nonrefundable' exchanges/returns (yes, it might say it on your ticket, but I've both sold tix back to the box office to get my money back, and also exchanged tix for another date, for shows)

Posted: 8/6/07 at 8:51pm

So does that mean that you can return/exchange your tickets under any and all circumstances?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/6/07 at 9:26pm

This ONLY applies to show's that are sold-out and where there is a high demand for ANY tickets, even horrible ones -- hence the 'cancellation lines'. WICKED is always sold-out so those people in line will take anything that becomes available.

A box office won't take tickets back for a show that isn't sold-out, etc.

The rest of the crowds in 'cancellation lines' for none-high-in-the-demand shows are waiting for the 'house seats'/premium seats releases. That's where you usually find me and why I never sit in horrible seats. Yes, I pay top price BUT I get excellent last-minute tickets for shows I didn't plan on seeing in advance.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 4:02am

When do those unsold premium tickets go on sale at the normal price? Is it when the box office opens?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:17am

"Usually this means that they will be sold minutes before showtime."

I believe the Times had an article on premium seats a while ago and for the most part half of the unsold premium seats are released a week before at reg. prices. Then the day before, another half of the premium seats remaining are sold at reg. price. Then on the day of the show the remaining seats are released to the cancellation line (assuming the show is popular).
I think this was just a basic example, obviously it depends on how many seats are available at premium prices to begin with and how many are actually left.

Also, that the more popular the show, the less likely the premium seats will be unsold (or there will be very few to sell).

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:22am

This could sound really chintzy, but can you use playbill discounts in cancellation lines? sorry. I'm poor.

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:32am

This could sound really chintzy, but can you use playbill discounts in cancellation lines? sorry. I'm poor.

I believe no, but don't quote me on that. (Don't Playbill discounts only apply to certain seats/certain sections of seats? I don't think house seats, even released to the public house seats, would fall in those sections?)


So does that mean that you can return/exchange your tickets under any and all circumstances?

There may be some shows/theatres that are stricter about this than others and not let you do so, all I know is that the times that I have needed to do so, I have been able to do so.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 11:49am

Nope. No discounts are applicable for 'cancellation' tickets.

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:07pm

MY word of advice- PLEASE be nice to boxoffice personnel. I remember scoring beautiful seats to Lion King at the height of it's frenzy because I was pleasant to the BO people. There were probably 40 people there demanding, screaming, bitching- yelling that if they didn't get tickets they would sue, etc. etc. I felt bad for them and said so. We got seats.

[Anakela]

Posted: 8/7/07 at 12:30pm

Oh yeah, I'm always nice to box office people- never mess with people who have access to your food, or people who have access to your tickets. :)

Another piece of advice for the cancellation line: be prepared to split up. If you're a party of three, and you're at the front of the cancellation line, and three single seats have just been made available, there should be no need to 'discuss'- take them!! (Unless that means you'd be sending in a five year old to sit alone or something, of course.) And discuss that before you get to the front of the cancellation line, so you're not holding the line up when it's 7:55pm and the box office is trying to get cancellation line folks in before the 8pm curtain.