Ticketing/Seating

[proportionalquotient]

Ticketing/Seating#1

Posted: 1/19/11 at 8:42pm

Am I being naive, or is this a valid gripe:

I'm trying to get seats for a few shows in May, and Telecharge keeps dismissing me to the last few rows and sides of the theater. I don't get it...I know some seats get reserved as "premium", but since I'm ordering for May, wouldn't it be likely that there should be some decent center orchestra seats? Even row N onwards?

I wish more theaters used the "Select Your Own Seats" option. And wouldn't it be great if they took pictures of views from different areas of the theater? I love theaters that do that.

In any case, I expected ANYTHING GOES to be more difficult to land good seats, but still...three months in advance? I've read that sometimes more seats become available as a show approaches, but I don't understand that: are they just premiums that the owners have decided to make regular-price? I don't like leaving things to the last minute, since it's a trip I'm making for a few shows.

I'd be interested in any thoughts & experiences people have with ticketing, and suggestions about how/when to buy...

[thetinymagic2]

Ticketing/Seating#2

Posted: 1/19/11 at 11:15pm

In general, keep in mind:

1. It's ALL about the money.

2. For Anything Goes, notice that the AE logo is all over the Telecharge site - thus, right now, probably a huge amt of great seats are "reserved" for American Express. Again, it's ALL about the money. BIG money. It's not about B'way. It about show BUSINESS!

3. May - before the TONY AWARDS - most difficult time to get great seats. The "high" season on B'way.

4. Mon, Tues, Wed nights usually easier.
5. Fri, Sat Su, usually the most difficult.

6. Show producers usually don't sell forward more than 3 months. They want to FILL seats consecutively (each day), wk by wk, month by month.

5. Ticket "releases" (sell-thrus) are usually decided weekly by individual producers of individual shows. Weekly sales reports dictate how they sell tix forward thru Telecharge. The more popular and fast selling a show is, the faster the "sell-thru" date will move forward.

6. Out of Towners are usually screwed by those ridiculous service chgs, but 'ya can't control that.

7. You always have the option of calling Telecharge 24/7, speak to a C/S supervisor It's YOUR money, don't settle.....

8. I just checked a coupla dates in MAY for you, such as Tues, Wed night and came up with A center 101-102 orch, and mezz A center.
101-102.

9. Remember, literally THOUSANDS of int'l callers are using Telecharge 24/7 and the usual call duration is 10 minutes, so, TRY, TRY again, and often.

10. 3-4 am in the morning sometimes yields results.

11. They ALWAYS try to sell AE, Premium Tix when a show's BO opens, but sometimes they release a lot of those really good seats as times goes by. However, this ISN"T the case too much if a show is HIGHLY DESIRABLE. Supply and demand economics.

Hope this helps.
Updated On: 1/19/11 at 11:15 PM

[frogs_fan85]

Ticketing/Seating#2

Posted: 1/19/11 at 11:41pm

For that show I would imagine that a good chunk of the orchestra is being blocked off for Roundabout subscribers.

[thetinymagic2]

Ticketing/Seating#3

Posted: 1/19/11 at 11:44pm

Yes, frogs...I forgot that. BTW, how the hell ARE you??!!!!!!!!!!!
I DID however just find mezz 3rd row center 105-6 for May 3rd 7pm...so it IS possible. I really feel sorry for the tourists who have to plan their trips waaay in advance. They can't really "wing" last minute discounts. Bummer.

[millie_dillmount]

Ticketing/Seating#4

Posted: 1/20/11 at 10:50am

Just wait to buy tickets.

Shows release unsold premium/reserved/house seat tickets as little as a couple of days before or even day of show time.

I'm sure you'll find something better closer to show time. I doubt Anything Goes is going to be this huge sellout where it is difficult to find a decent seat. It really isn't as difficult as you think it is. It's all about timing. Keep looking.

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

[AtlantaRay]

Ticketing/Seating#5

Posted: 1/20/11 at 2:38pm

those American Express seats are not all they are cracked up about ...

I tried to get some seats for several different shows via the AmEx “priority seating” when I was planning a visit to NYC for Nov 2010 ("planning" took place in late summer 2010) ... AmEx will show you some choices, but nothing particularly “close”, “choice” or “aisle” ... These AmEx seats appears to be as randomly picked as ‘broadway box discounts’ appear to be...
I think the whole premium seating thing has got way out of hand as well... waaaaay out of hand.