QueenAlice said: "The only city in the states that I've seen a national tour is Los Angeles, but frankly every time I have there have been tons of empty seats. Is it that way in Pittsburgh? I tend to be a last minute ticket buyer, I guess partly because I do want to know who is in the company when I see the show."
Shows play 8 performances in Pittsburgh, with a few exceptions. "The Bridges of Madison County" was about half-sold in Pittsburgh, whereas "The Sound of Music" is pretty much sold out, with the exception of Easter Sunday's performance this week. I also attend touring productions in Cleveland.
Most of the front orchestra seats in these cities go to season subscribers, so it's mostly extreme sides, rear orchestra, and balcony seats that end up on sale to the public. If I really care about seeing a particular production (or performer), and I want to secure a good seat, sometimes I need to make that purchase a few months in advance when they first go on sale. Purchasing tickets that far out is when casting can become an issue and gets frustrating.
Yes, the presenters tend to randomly release some seats closer to the actual performances, or on the day of a performance, and a lot of the time I do purchase during that timeframe, but that's a gamble I sometimes don't want to risk.
I check in on BroadwayWorld, etc daily. While my primary reason for going was to see Ashley Brown, I don't follow her social media accounts. And not all performers have them, so that's where a heads-up as far as casting would come in handy. And I know there are even exceptions to that (contract renewals aren't guaranteed, or health-related things come up). I was venting in the heat of the moment. 
"I'm seeing the LuPone in Key West later this week. I'm hoping for great vocals and some sort of insane breakdown..." - BenjaminNicholas2
