Thoughts on Rush Lines Returning?

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 1:22pm

As someone who rushed shows often before the pandemic: I not only appreciated the low price, but the experience of meeting other passionate theatergoers who would stand or sit in the cold/rain/heat/etc. just to see a show they had their hearts set on. 

I'm so excited for theatre to return this fall. I can hardly wait. However, my back account can wait. I don't suspect there will be a need for rush tickets right away, but what do people think? How long until the initial demand of tickets dies down and there are some scraps left over?  

Side note: it's nice to hear TKTS is opening. That may be what I have to do for a while. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 1:27pm

I think rush and lotto will all be digital from this point forward, for many reasons. TKTS may be your only chance to talk to others while standing in a long line, honestly. 

I think demand will be high through the holiday season and then things will die down in January, like always. 

[raddersons]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 1:45pm

In-person lottery was already dying. I was frustrated by the dramatic shift from in-person to online lotteries as someone who works in midtown and used lotteries as a way to reliably bag a cheap weekday ticket every once in a while. The only people still doing in-person lottery tickets was Wicked and sometimes whatever was at Circle in the Square. The rest had already moved to digital. I don't see it going back.

Rush depends almost entirely on ticket demand, I think. I'm sure most plays will have rush tickets fairly quickly, as demand is almost always lower. But otherwise I'm not sure when it'll be back for musicals.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 1:52pm

Sutton Ross said: "I think rush and lotto will all be digital from this point forward."

God, I hope so.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 1:54pm

Haha. That is a very controversial issue around here. Some people want the experience of getting in a line at 3am and camping out, and some would like to skip that all together. Very interesting topic. 

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 2:16pm

Sutton Ross said: "Haha. That is a very controversial issue around here. Some people want the experience of getting in a line at 3am and camping out, and some would like to skip that all together. Very interesting topic."

I've only gone that far maybe 4 times for shows I felt I couldn't miss / couldn't afford. The tickets rarely ended up being great for those sorts of hits, but it was still an experience I don't regret doing. I think a virtual rush would be fine on Today Tix or something. 

[52889j]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 2:43pm

Rush as the only means of reasonable access is problematic, but I will be very upset if COVID safety is ever cited as a reason to get rid of in person rush. If it's safe to be indoors in the theater at 100% capacity, it is unquestionably safe to wait in a line outdoors.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 3:29pm

I predict that within a couple of weeks most fully vaccinated people (60% of Manhattanites now, 70% by then) will stop thinking about covid when outdoors at least. I think there are a lot of things that had started evolving pre-covid that will have accelerated when we come back (rush, stage door, conventional tickets, playbills, etc.) but I don't think it is cause and effect. 

[babykitty_00]

Posted: 5/19/21 at 3:32pm

I have been to probably more than 100 shows in the last 10 years and every single one has been the result of rushing for tickets. It was the only way I would have been able to afford to see every hot show that opened on Broadway. But besides the price, it was also about the experience of getting in line early and sitting there for a couple of hours chatting with other theater fans - hot, cold, rain, snow....you name it, I've sat in it on the cold sidewalk. TOTALLY WORTH IT.  Personally, I pray that regular rush policies return - in person.

Lotteries, on the other hand, are a different story. I prefer the in-person lotteries because obviously your chances are better when 200 people (ok 1000 for Hamilton) show up in person, rather than the thousands that can enter the online lottery. That is my personal preference, but I can't complain because I have won both in-person and digital lotteries in the past. Like most of you here, I am just grateful and ecstatic that Broadway is finally coming back, so I will be there no matter what. :)

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/19/21 at 3:40pm

@babykitty Unrelated to covid, there are a lot of things that some theatre fans have cherished for a long time that were on the way out before the pandemic and that are a part of the evolutionary process. I encourage you to manage your expectations about rush lines, physical tickets, physical playbills, stage doors, ads in a physical paper, etc etc etc.  

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/19/21 at 3:54pm

I also wonder about SRO. I've seen five shows sold out for their return show: Hamilton, Lion King, Wicked, Chicago and Come From Away. Three of these offer SRO. Wonder how the theaters that have it will offer it when they restart?

[babykitty_00]

Posted: 5/19/21 at 4:24pm

HogansHero said: "@babykitty Unrelated to covid, there are a lot of things that some theatre fans have cherished for a long time that were on the way out before the pandemic and that are a part of the evolutionary process. I encourage you to manage your expectations about rush lines, physical tickets, physical playbills, stage doors, ads in a physical paper, etc etc etc."

Thanks for the input! However I am only giving my 2 cents about in-person rush/lotteries...I have no expectations about physical tickets, physical playbills, stage doors, ads in a physical paper, etc etc etc." that need to be "managed" LOL.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/19/21 at 5:13pm

ACL2006 said: "I also wonder about SRO. I've seen five shows sold out for their return show: Hamilton, Lion King, Wicked, Chicago and Come From Away. Three of these offer SRO. Wonder how the theaters that have it will offer it when they restart?"

I don't know. I would assume that SRO will continue to be a thing but I also think that all of these things people have traditionally gone to the box office for (rush, SRO, comps, etc.) will be managed online (much in the nature of how lotteries have evolved for the ones that have an element of selectivity involved). Also, typically there is no SRO during previews because the creatives and producers like to retain access to that space and I think this might also be the case on reopenings.

@babykitty, I figured I would just address all of them; I did not think you were concerned about anything beyond rush. I think the two key things are that there should be some means of continuing the lower price options and that yes the thrilling thing is that we have something to look forward to.

[ccbway]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 1:10am

HogansHero said: "I don't know. I would assume that SRO will continue to be a thing but I also think that all of these things people have traditionally gone to the box office for (rush, SRO, comps, etc.) will be managed online (much in the nature of how lotteries have evolved for the ones that have an element of selectivityinvolved). Also, typically there is no SRO during previews because the creatives and producers like to retain access to that space and I think this might also be the case on reopenings.

@babykitty, I figured I would just address all of them; I did not think you were concerned aboutanything beyond rush. I think the two key things are that there should be some means of continuing the lower price options and that yes the thrilling thing is that we have something to look forward to."

I would think that if anything is going to be a casualty of post-COVID procedures, SRO would probably be the first thing to go. In-person rush could be handled in a responsible manner, but cramming extra bodies into the space for SRO seems like it would definitely be something they would get rid of.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 10:47am

I love digital rush and lottos and hope they all go this route, it beats wasting your time for no reason going to and being outside a theatre just to not get any tickets.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 10:59am

ccbway said: "I would think that if anything is going to be a casualty of post-COVID procedures, SRO would probably be the first thing to go. In-person rush could be handled in a responsible manner, but cramming extra bodies into the space for SRO seems like it would definitely be something they would get rid of."

A couple of observations. First, SRO does not involve "cramming." And second, I don't understand how you can put people into seats at extremely close distances and think there is an issue with SRO. The bottom line is that we are not going to have anyone in a theatre unless and until it is deemed safe to be there. The rush question is not about being responsible from a covid standpoint (it was a public safety issue long before anyone knew what covid was) and neither is SRO.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 11:46am

I think so far the only real digital rush we've seen on Broadway has been through TodayTix, but it seems like some theaters (mostly Shuberts but I assume other theaterowners as well) are still hesitant to fully embrace TodayTix as a primary ticket seller, so I wonder if say Telecharge would try to build out it's own digital rush, assuming that's the way they're going.

I do overall prefer in person rush for the same reasons people have mentioned, but also because digital rush often seems like a game of who has the fastest internet.

On a tangential note, I'm guessing stage door is probably one of the things that's actually over.

[ccbway2]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 2:20pm

HogansHero said: A couple of observations. First, SRO does not involve "cramming." And second, I don't understand how you can putpeople into seats at extremely close distances and think there is an issue with SRO. The bottom line is that we are not going to have anyone in a theatre unless and until it is deemed safe to be there. The rush question is not about being responsible from a covid standpoint (it was a public safety issue long before anyone knew what covid was)and neither is SRO."

I think you're nitpicking on the fact that I used the word "cramming" to somehow mean that I think that people are standing shoulder-to-shoulder in all of the empty space, when it's just a word.  Just from a perception standpoint, SRO implies adding audience beyond seated capacity - which will already be a sensitive topic in a post-COVID theatre world. There would seem to be little perceived benefit from a health/safety/comfort standpoint, (regardless of whether or not this actually contributes to anything) for theatres to provide SRO, in addition to mostly likely very little financial benefit for them to continue providing it.  Which is why I said that if anything was likely to be the victim of new post-COVID procedures, that SRO would likely be the first thing to go.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 2:48pm

ccbway2 said: "I think you're nitpicking on the fact that I used the word "cramming" to somehow mean that I think that people are standing shoulder-to-shoulder in all of the empty space, when it's just a word. Just from a perception standpoint, SRO implies adding audience beyond seated capacity - which will already be a sensitive topic in a post-COVID theatre world. There would seem to be little perceived benefit from a health/safety/comfort standpoint, (regardless of whether or not this actually contributes to anything) for theatres to provide SRO, in addition to mostly likely very little financial benefit for them to continue providing it. Which is why I said that if anything was likely to be the victim of new post-COVID procedures, that SRO would likely be the first thing to go."

I'm glad you didn't mean "cram" in the literal sense. That was what I thought you meant. On the other, we shall see. When the theatres reopen in the fall, they will be safe for the 1000 +/- people sitting in seats or they won't open. I don't see how they would be less safe for 1025. I agree the extra revenue is not huge (although seasoned producers are quick to remind that every dollar counts) but the real benefit of SRO is to audience members who would (for one reason or another) have no other way to see a show. As I said, we shall see. 

[veronicamae]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 2:51pm

HogansHero said: "@babykitty Unrelated to covid, there are a lot of things that some theatre fans have cherished for a long time that were on the way out before the pandemic and that are a part of the evolutionary process. I encourage you to manage your expectations about rush lines, physical tickets, physical playbills, stage doors, ads in a physical paper, etc etc etc."

But Hogan, you seemed so confident that I was wrong about ticketing being digital. Now you're warning others to prepare for digital ticketing?  

[darreyl102]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 3:02pm

chrishuyen said: "I think so far the only real digital rush we've seen on Broadway has been through TodayTix, but it seems like some theaters (mostly Shuberts but I assume other theaterowners as well) are still hesitant to fully embrace TodayTix as a primary ticket seller, so I wonder if say Telecharge would try to build out it's own digital rush, assuming that's the way they're going.

I do overall prefer in person rush for the same reasons people have mentioned, but also because digital rush often seems like a game of who has the fastest internet.

On a tangential note, I'm guessing stage door is probably one of the things that's actually over. "

The stage door probably won't be gone absolutely permanently, but it's going to be a long long time before it comes back.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 3:18pm

veronicamae said: "But Hogan, you seemed so confident that I was wrong about ticketing being digital. Now you're warning others to prepare for digital ticketing? "

Ticketing is already largely digital and has been for a while. I think what you said was that it would be exclusively digital (correct me if I am wrong; I didn't try to find our exchange) and for a variety of reasons I do not think it will be. What I do think (and I assume I said this before) is that we are at the end of the line for actual tickets (meaning the tickets printed on ticket stock that the box office dispensed and that some fans adore). I admit I was not clear enough in what you quoted when I said "paper tickets." BTW I also think that we will evolve beyond any non-digital ticketing in due course, because I think we will evolve away from cash currency and a digital device will be essential for everyone to transact. (As an aside, because I like to relate baseball to theatre as often as I can , at Citifield, all concessions are digital and anyone wanting to use cash must go to a reverse ATM.) 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/20/21 at 3:44pm

chrishuyen said: "I do overall prefer in person rush for the same reasons people have mentioned, but also because digital rush often seems like a game of who has the fastest internet.

On a tangential note, I'm guessing stage door is probably one of the things that's actually over."

Yup. I liked talking to people in rush lines and occasionally trying an in-person lottery if I was in the area. Except for a couple of shows, the rush lines were only ever an hour or two. I've never won a digital rush and I hope TodayTix is not going to have the monopoly on all shows but it looks like that's the direction things are headed in. 

Actors on Cameo and StageDoor are actually getting paid for their time now. Though it's still as cost-prohibitive as coming to New York and buying a ticket for a show for some fans (especially with what some people are charging). I think end to the stage door is likely for some time though I wonder how that will work at venues like 54 Below.

[Andrew Rosenblum2]

Posted: 5/24/21 at 10:00pm

"Some people want the experience of getting in a line at 3am and camping out, and some would like to skip that all together." You can't beat the experience of getting in line in the early am. One time I was #3 on line @ around 5am. #1 took the bus from DC. He arrived at 3am, figured it was stupid to pay for a hotel room, and went straight to the line. #2 was an Israeli student who had to lie to her father about the number of people on line, and how safe it was. Even though she was ex-military, she said, "I am still a girl." I love the line.

[babykitty_00]

Posted: 5/25/21 at 1:04pm

I love your anecdote here! I have never had anything but positive rush line experiences. I live in L.A. and usually take the red-eye to JFK. Lands at like 5 or 6 am and I take the subway to midtown and get right in a rush line! Usually by 7am. I have always gotten to see all the shows I want for under $50 and seats in the Orchestra - most of the time, front row. And I have met so many fun people in the rush line - and because we are in the rush line next to each other, we usually end up sitting next to each other at the show that night! I really really hope in-person rush continues after covid. I would miss it so much!