TKTS Booths

[Broadwayfanatic2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 2:07pm

Do both TKTS booth ( timesquare and SSS) sell the same tickets? Or are they worse at the SSS?

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 3:07pm

when's the new one opening? i'm getting tired of the windtunnel.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 3:38pm

They sell the same tickets, though you're better off downtown, since there's never a line, and you can buy the matinee tickets the day before.

[Piercemn]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 4:48pm

I've only been disappointed by TKTS twice and in both cases it worked out okay. I wanted to see the revival of Flower Drum Song, but the tickets were gone by the time I got to the front of the line, so I saw Dinner at Eight instead, which was good, and last Spring I wanted to see Confessions of a Mormon Boy, but that was gone when I got to the box office, so I saw 70, Girls, 70 instead, and that was oustanding.

[Broadwayfanatic2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 6:58pm

Thanks! How many hours before should I arrive there at the seaport booth?

[boatsintheghetto]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 11:19am

Where's the one in SSS?


And what are the prices at TKTS? Updated On: 3/7/07 at 11:19 AM

[cubanpab]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 11:27am

prices are usually about 50% off right? I remember years and YEARS ago we bought tickets to CHICAGO for about $40 each, and they were great. 8th row or so... pretty much in the center.

Thats the 1 and only time I have ever used TKTS because for everything else I have done either student rush, or won the lottery.

Next week I'm going to try TKTS again for "The Drowsy Chaperone". hope it all works out...

[madbrian]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 11:38am

The SSS booth is at the corner of John St & Front St. Most shows are discounted by 50%, but some are 25% or 35%. I think they then add a $3 service charge.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 11:42am

Most TKTS tix are 50% off and some are 25% off. All depending on what the producers want.

Seat locations can be anywhere. I have sat in the third row orchestra and I have sat in the rear mezz. That is part of the fun!

My understanding is that most of the TKTS tickets are now handled electronically, meaning the tickets are printed on the spot. Therefore, the Downtown Booth and the Times Square booth have the same tickets for most shows. But I do know that some companies still print up hard tickets and give them to the booth.

I recommend the Downtown booth. The lines are non existent and it is a quieter part of town. Plus the whole day before thing for Matinees is awesome!
Updated On: 3/7/07 at 11:42 AM

[billynj]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 3:29pm

I call it the TK TRASH booth ...they hardly ever have a ticket worth paying for, and the whole concept is to sucker the tourist into thinking the tickets are half price! if it was not for the TK TRASH booth tickets would be less expensive all the time! they start with a high price so when they half it, the dumby tourist think they are getting a deal.
Updated On: 3/8/07 at 03:29 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 3:50pm

"I call it the TK TRASH booth ...they hardly ever have a ticket worth paying for, and the whole concept is to sucker the tourist into thinking the tickets are half price! if it was not for the TK TRASH booth tickets would be less expensive all the time! they start with a high price so when they half it, the dumby tourist think they are getting a deal."

That is entirely ignorant, at the very least. TKTS has absolutely no bearing on ticket prices. In fact, there are some shows playing right now that would have closed were it not for TKTS selling half-price tickets, yet you don't see those shows lowering their ticket prices. I have gotten great seats from TKTS in the past.

[billynj]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 4:53pm

lol, your the ignorant one get a lexis -nexis account do a little research going back to the late 80's then come back and tell me your thoughts

[billynj]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 5:06pm

here is just one article talking about how shows figure in the tkts booth price into why they charge sooo much 20 years ago ..if i have time i will find the exact quote ...

CONFERENCE CONFRONTS THEATER'S TROUBLED TIMES
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By JEREMY GERARD
Published: November 11, 1986
The business half of show business convened 50 miles from Times Square last weekend for the first time to address fundamental problems confronting the industry both in New York and across the country.

The producers and their colleagues met because of a shared desire among the 170 participants to air problems and present a united front in dealing with them. But no one denied that the commercial theater is in a troubled state, a situation underscored in a recent industry survey, and everyone seems to be fighting on a different front. The three days of seminars and workshops at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel and Towers marked the first general membership conclave of the League of American Theaters and Producers.

In April 1985 the league replaced the words New York with American in its name to broaden its membership and reflect the growing importance of out-of-town producers. Among the members who conferred in Stamford were the novices and the elder statesmen of Broadway producers, as well as bookers of touring companies and executives of advertising and public relations firms.

In talks with participants in the meeting, many of whom spoke on the condition that they not be identified, these problems emerged as the most significant:

* The rise in the cost of production.

* The dwindling number of serious dramas on Broadway and of an audience to support them.

* The conflicting uses of the half-price TKTS booths. Poll Reveals Pessimism

'This was the first meeting of its type in our 56-year history,' said Harvey Sabinson, the group's executive director. He said interviews with Broadway theatergoers conducted by the league indicated that 'enthusiasm for the Broadway theater remains high' despite the 'erroneous perception' that 'it costs $50 to go to a Broadway show.' He added that there was a consensus that 'overproduction has gone on unchecked.'

That assessment was reflected in one of the most dramatic pieces of research presented, which indicated that most producers, general managers and other theater professionals are 'very pessimistic about the future of Broadway.' This was one conclusion of a survey conducted by Arts Data Associates, a research concern. Interviews were done with 55 producers, general managers and a group that included theater owner-operators and principal executives of press and advertising agencies. The Health of Broadway

Arts Data presented its findings at the request of the league, though the survey was commissioned by a group of private investors. A summary of the survey revealed that 92 percent of those questioned said that the problems confronting the Broadway theater were 'very serious to serious' and rated the health of the industry at 3.19 on a scale of 10. Sixty-five percent also felt it unlikely that effective changes would be made to improve the situation.

Several people at the meeting said the statistics were no surprise. 'We understood this to be a challenge,' one producer said, 'to come up with answers to these problems rather than an obituary for the industry.'

The problems of production and advertising costs, ticket prices and audience perceptions are not new to Broadway's most active producers. But communication among so disparate a group of people was. Some producers resented criticism by fledgling producers. 'I would hope that the meeting would reduce factionalism,' said Gerald Schoenfeld, chairman of the Shubert Organization, Broadway's largest theater owner and one of its most important producers. 'My objection is to people making recommendations for change based on perception or emotion, rather than on experience and knowledge.' Promoting Serious Plays

The question of producing serious plays on Broadway was one of the issues most passionately discussed. One young producer suggested that few serious plays were being done on Broadway not because plays aren't being written or that costs are too high but because there aren't enough committed producers to mount them.

At a panel on Saturday night, Mr. Sabinson said, Robert Whitehead, a longtime producer, exhorted his colleagues not to 'wait around for 'that play from England,' ' and that Broadway needed to present more serious dramas, even if not all of them were first rate.

Mr. Barr proposed a plan to produce dramas in the six so-called 'endangered theaters' - the Cort, Belasco, Lyceum, Nederlander, Biltmore and Ritz - with ticket prices limited to a top of $25 on Saturday night, $22.50 at other times. The plan would include a $6 ticket for balcony seats at all times, 'the same as a movie,' Mr. Barr said. 'Everybody would work at minimum, and investors would get a percentage of the gross in profitable weeks,' he said, adding that the plan would require no union concessions and no special arrangements other than overcoming 'the resistance to price.' Ticket Prices

The question of ticket prices was also the subject in a panel discussion of the TKTS booths, which sell half-price tickets to shows on the day of performance. Some producers feel that the booths, created to help ailing shows, now are considered when ticket prices are set, and that too many successful shows sell tickets there, thus unfairly competing with shows that need to develop an audience. Some also felt it was a mistake to discount tickets by only 50 percent. 'In London,' one producer said, 'there is a whole scale of discounts. But you have to go to the box office to buy your ticket, which means you have to want to see that particular show,' a circumstance the producer envied.

'It clearly was a mandate of the meeting to revamp how the booth will be used,' said Arthur Rubin, general manager of the Nederlander Organization, another major theater owner.

If no specific plan was hammered out to resolve the problems confronting the producers, that was not the objective. 'It cemented the resolve of the Broadway and road producers to work together,' Mr. Sabinson said.

[purpleprince101]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 5:10pm

tkts is amazing

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 5:21pm

The South Street one is better--just make sure you count your change--

Don't be afraid to ask them what they have--don't feel pressured to just pick something and get out. I've never been disappointed with my TKTS purchases. Though often you can buy the tix from broadwaybox.com and get close to the same price.

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 5:26pm

If not for TKTS and similar places (like chicago's Hot Tix) theatre would be much less accessible to every one (including those like me, who has little money but a strong passion for theatre) and, billynj, perhaps in your experiences with it you did not do enough reaserch to get the tickets you wanted... I i can say is, THANK GOD FOR HALF PRICE TICKETS!!!

[boatsintheghetto]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 5:28pm

If i were to try to rush or lotto for a show, but not get it, would I have time to dgo to the SS one to get a ticket?

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 5:35pm

Prob not--that's a schlep and you'd only have an hour to get there and back. You gotta remember it's all the way at the end of Manhattan

[boatsintheghetto]

Posted: 3/8/07 at 6:08pm

What time do TKTS tickets go on sale for a tuesday night show and wednesday matinee? and abouthow long does it take to get to the SS one? and can you take the Subway?

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/9/07 at 12:23pm

It's about a 15-40-minute (yes, it varies that much) train ride between trimes square and South Street Seaport.

[boatsintheghetto]

Posted: 3/12/07 at 8:36pm

What time can we get the tickets before the show? what time do they open for tickets availability

Has hairspray been on the boards lately? Updated On: 3/12/07 at 08:36 PM