Rush tickets right before a peformance?

Hi all!

I'm going to be in NYC for a week in July working remotely from the Bronx. I'd love to see some shows but would rather not pay crazy Broadway prices. Because I'm working I won't be able to leave before 5:30, so I wouldn't be able to get to Manhattan until around 6:30. Just wondering if anyone has any experiences recently rushing a show that late? Every time I've rushed a show before I've gotten there in the morning or early afternoon, so I'm not sure how likely this would be.

I'm assuming KA would be a hard ticket due to the Tony win, but luckily I've already seen it. Similarly, I've seen NYNY and you couldn't pay me to go see that again.

I would love to see Peter Pan Goes Wrong so if anyone has any experience with that let me know!

Updated On: 6/23/23 at 03:19 PM

I think maybe it would help if you kept an eye on certain shows and their availability maybe a day before you want to see it, bring up the seats on their website and see whats available. There's not a lot of rush that you can do that close to showtime, but sometimes shows like &Juliet, Funny Girl, I'm not sure about others, but they have standing room if the show is sold out. I think Six might also? Otherwise I think they would sell last minute full priced tickets, rush is usually the first part of the day or before you could get to the theaters.

Most rush are gone several hours before show time, unless it's a show that's not really in demand, like Grey House...

I snagged a rush ticket at the box office for Peter Pan goes wrong 30 minutes before showtime when Neil Patrick Harris was in. Also got Some like it hot about an hour before on a Saturday night. No success for shows that are selling well, and it’s more likely to work when I just need a single ticket.

Getting SRO for HAMILTON tonight was, shockingly, super easy. I got there early (like 3:15) because I'm no fool, but nobody else rolled up until they set the barricades at 5:45.

Granted, for $40, the stand is a bit hard (though I had a small camping stool that helped A LOT), but it was actually worth the money.

Also, it seems the cancellation line and standing room line are the same line. To assure a chance at SRO, make sure you KNOW the performance is sold out of regular, non-resale tickets on Ticketmaster ahead of time. (I inquired yesterday and they said that today had been sold out for a while)

Updated On: 6/23/23 at 11:54 PM

I actually have a report on this! This past Thursday I got standing room ($45) for Parade 10 minutes before curtain. A friend and I were in the city and I kept insisting on seeing it and we weren't sure between Parade or Chicago (I'd seen both, I just preferred Parade) and since our subway stop was closer to Parade, we got the tickets at that time. They had 4 left, and I had purchased 2, then the couple behind me got the last two. It's totally possible!

I do this all the time and it often works. If you have a half hour to play with you can even visit a few theaters and compare options. The one thing to be aware of is that lines get long in the 30m before curtain with the audience for that performance, so your options will be a bit more limited as box office staff will be focused on serving them.

Pashacar said: "I do this all the time and it often works. If you have a half hour to play with you can even visit a few theaters and compare options. The one thingto be aware of is that lines get long in the 30m before curtain with the audience for that performance, so your options will be a bit more limited as box office staff will be focused on serving them."

That's great to hear! I'm not picky about what I see, so I figure there must be one or two shows that have tickets left to sell.