Tickets bought at box office question?

[jaystarr]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 9:21am

Believe it or not? I never bought any ticket(s) at the box office- I always buy it online or phone..

My question is IF I go to Winter Garden and buy Mamma Mia tickets with my broadwaybox discounts...Do I have to pay any extra? aside fromthe ticket price?
no service charge? theater restoration?

Since I go to NYC all the time.. it will probably save me $ just to buy it on the box office? ( bec. online will include almost $10.00 per ticket )

Thanks for any input...

J*
Updated On: 12/24/07 at 09:21 AM

[jbdc]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 10:05am

They genenerally will honor your discounts at the box office, but it depends on how sold the specific performance is. For example, if a show is at TKTS, then the people at the box office will probably give you whatever deal you ask for. (They've already released a block of tickets below cost, so they'll take whatever they can get.) If it's not available at TKTS, they likely won't honor any other discounts, because demand for tickets is greater than supply.

Always ask them what the best deal is, because they will tell you.

When I have friends in town, I tell them what shows have TDF discounts and to go to TKTS, see what's available, and then go to the theatre and ask for the TDF or TKTS price at the box office. They almost always get it, and they get better seats, too. I remember my friends getting something like $36 tickets at the box office for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

AND--ask about partial view or balcony seats that aren't advertised. Curtains has front row "partial view" seats (because the conductor pops up and says two lines or something)for half price.

[focusingonmoviesmatt]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 10:26am

never tell them you have a print out when you go up to the box office window always wait. give them the print out just before they tell you the full price. i used a discount for spring awakening the other night with no problems.

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 10:56am

I usually go directly to the box office with my print out. It will save you all those ticket master charges. You will still have to pay any restoration fees that the theater charges. It may just be me but I think I always get better seats going directly to the box office on the day of the show rather than getting them at TKTS booth. I have never had a show deny me the discounted rate (as long as the performance is not sold out that is) enjoy your show! Hope this helps

[myManCape]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 11:09am

1) If you have a code they have to honor it.
2) like focus said ask for the Best seat at what ever the normal price range is. After they offer you the best seat then mention the discount. like I said they have to honor it if it applies
3) Everyone pays the theater restoration fee
4) BO had access to every unsold seat in the house. TKTS TDF etc only have access to the unsold seats that the BO has released to them.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 12:07pm

Be careful if the code specifies that you have to take "this email" to the box office to get the discount. I once printed a BroadwayBox discount and when I showed it to the box office they would not accept it because it had not been sent to me in an email. All the other times I have been successful though, so it probably just depends on the box office staff.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 4:39pm

I don't believe they HAVE to honor it.

1. Most of the discount codes are NOT valid during Xmas week.
2. They only need to hold a predetermined NUMBER of tickets at the discounted price. Several times I have tried to use a code and been told no more tickets were available for that "special" The airlines do the same thing.

That being said: they want to sell the ticket, so it can't hurt to try.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 4:58pm

They are also sometimes for certain sections of the house (mezz, side orchestra, etc.) So if it says that on the email, they wouldn't have to give you the center orchestra seat they just found at the discount price that clearly says mezzanine (or side orchestra, etc.)

[senorvoce]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 10:51pm

Hiding a discount flyer from the box office until you wish to pay does no good. It wastes time, as the correct price info must then be keyed into the computer. As this happens, you risk losing your seats because the system will momentarily release the seat locations when the new info is entered into the computer.
This trivial act of deception will never help you get better locations, and will only serve to antagonize the box office. What's more, most of the time, you don't fool anyone. Do you really think you have invented a new trick? We can almost always tell when some lame twerp is trying to pull this idiot maneuver.
Not to cast any aspersions, of course.
Updated On: 12/24/07 at 10:51 PM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 12/25/07 at 1:35am

Getting seats with a discount usually gives you the same seats you would get minus the discount, unless the rules specify that certain areas of the theater are non-discounted. So, yeah, why hide the paper? It just wastes more time.


P.S. If you're all that concerned about having the discount printed as an email vs. on the actual webpage, then why not just email the code to yourself?

Updated On: 12/25/07 at 01:35 AM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 12/25/07 at 1:41am

"1. Most of the discount codes are NOT valid during Xmas week."

They specify blackout dates.

[winston89]

Posted: 12/25/07 at 4:44am

Waiting till the very last second to say you have a discount code is rude and dumb. It is rude because at the second that they are done with you you have to give them one other thing to do.

And, the box office searches for avaliable tickets via the computer system. If you give them the code in the beginning they add the code to thier search to halp find a seat and give it to you at a cheap price. But, if you give it to them at the very end your seat will get relased so they can enter in the code.

And, the very few times I went and used a broadwaybox code at the box office. They weren't picky about how I showed the code to them. They just wanted it written it down. You could have torn off a slip of paper from a Leagle pad and they would be okay with it.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 12/25/07 at 8:42am

Unless I'm convinced that a show is going to be pre-sold way in advance (then I bite the bullet and go for full-price), I always take the printout with me. (Actually, I take the printout for more than one show just to cover all bases). I ask the box office if there are any seats for the day of the performance (or, if applicable, a future performance) and, at the same time (before they's started to do whatever it is that they do when making a sale), ask if those tickets are good for any promo offer, showing the printout simultaneously. To save annoyance on BO staff's part, my first words are "I have two questions."