Which Musicals are Easier to get Rush or Lottery tickets

[mmFan]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 12:56pm

We're coming to New York end of June.  I love Broadway musicals and will pre-purchase tickets for one musical (Something Rotten).  

What musicals have a better chance of obtaining Rush tickets or lottery tickets?  We're arriving on a Saturday and leaving on a Tuesday so I know we are limited in even trying for Rush or shows those nights/afternoons.  (Something Rotten will be for the Monday night)  So, I don't want to spend hours in line , and even more so if it's unlikely we'll even get tickets.

 

PS - I see that School of Rock has an online lottery?  That's a good way to not spend time standing in line.  How hard are these to get?

Updated On: 3/3/16 at 12:56 PM

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 1:18pm

It's a bit hard to say now because many of the shows you might want to see haven't opened yet, so neither do we know the policy nor how crazy it'll be. Since you're coming after the Tonys, whatever shows win big or wowed with their performance during the telecast will generally harder to get.

Many people will probably clamor to see the new shows from this season, so the ones that have been around for a while might get easier. So, Beautiful, Jersey Boys, Chicago, Les Mis.. Of the new ones right now I would say Fiddler, Disaster, Bright Star are on the easy side, but it would change with reviews and Tonys... Those all have rushes btw.

The "problem" with online lotteries is that you won't find out until 3 or 4 pm, and if you don't win I'd say it's unlikely you would still be able to get rush tickets for another show. Unless something is doing terrible at the BO after the Tonys and about to close... But if there's 2 of you, just have both enter every online lottery there is, and I'd say your odds to win something will be pretty decent. And if not, maybe consider buying something at TKTS or with a discount code at the BO?

[Hairspray0901]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 1:27pm

When in June depends a lot on your likelihood of getting tickets. If you're going when schools are out, on a weekend, it will likely be very difficult to obtain rush without getting there very early. Same goes for lottery - schools out mean bigger crowds. 

[mmFan]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 8:30pm

Thanks for the replies.  We'd re coming the weekend of June 25th so universities would be out.  And good point about the Tony awards...guess it's 2 weeks later.

Possible Rush /lottery tickets would be Finding Neverland, Disaster, School of Rock, Bok of Mormon, Wicked

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 9:36pm

I think Wicked is still really hard every day, with several hundred people entering the in person lottery for the 25 or something tickets.

I think BoM is still really hard as well.

Neverland had a very long rush line over the Holidays, I assume is will be similar in the summer although I'm not sure how much of a draw Matt Morrison was.

SoR has long rush lines on the weekend, from what I heard but not sure how that will develop into the summer with more new shows opening...

Disaster is easy so far but it's still in previews. It might get harder with good reviews and depending on how the Tonys look at it. There are some great performances in the show, but I could see them snubbing it entirely. It could go either way, really, so check back in 2 months when the nominations are announced.

 

There are typically topics for rush lottery reports for every show on this forum, so if you just check back occasionally and search for those topics, that will probably be the easiest way to get a feel what the situation is with the news shows. Nobody's really talking about Wicked and BoM as they continue to sell out and it's hard to win those lotteries.

[pickles2]

Posted: 3/3/16 at 10:10pm

Don't forget Book of Mormon has a Twitter lottery too! So if you don't win the Twitter lottery you can always try the in person lottery for the same show. It only took me 2 tries to win the Twitter lotto, and I won the in person lotto the first time I did it.

 

I also won the Matilda online lotto the first time I entered.

 

Most box offices open by 10am, except on Sundays, so if you get there early enough you have a good chance to get tickets to any show. They sell rush tickets as soon as the box office opens skyou'll have them in the morning and the rest of your day will be free for sight seeing. It's things like the cancellation line for Hamilton where the tickets become available last minute and you have to wait all day.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 11:27am

Neverland had a very long rush line over the Holidays, I assume is will be similar in the summer although I'm not sure how much of a draw Matt Morrison was.

 

I was able to get a rush ticket less than an hour before the show shortly after Morrison left. Yes, it was a weeknight in February, but I was never able to get a rush ticket on any day before while Morrison was in it. Sadly, I think he was a big draw and the show is not nearly as popular now, particularly with young people (i.e., people who usually do rush). Who knows, it will likely pick up in the summer from tourist business, though.

[mmFan]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 8:16pm

Thanks for the replies.  I've seen Wicked many times but I do love it.  But sounds like it's not worth trying it.

Also, DH and I saw the original cast of BoM.  Also loved it, but I suppose we could never beat Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad.

Matilda we saw in August (loved it) and am taking my DD back when it comes to our city in the summer, but wouldn't do that one.

So thanks...Disaster is possible depending how it does, and Finding Neverland.  I can see Mathew Morrison being a big magnet for that one.

But I thought for rush, you go first thing in the morning.  The comment below says 'less than an hour before the show'.  Can you try anytime for rush?

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 3/4/16 at 8:48pm

Wicked actually just announced an online lottery on top of the in-person one for the spring, so if that's still going in June that would be easy enough to try I guess.

 

Rush tickets are being sold STARTING when the BO opens (so 10am, Sun 12pm). Most shows have a certain amount of tickets allocated for rush, and they will sell them until they are sold out. For shows where few people try to get them you can therefore still get them later in the day. We got rush tickets for Disaster around 6pm 2 weeks ago, for example, and I've rushed shows in the morning when there was only maybe 3 people in line, so they will likely continue to sell rush through the day. But that usually only works for shows in early previews, or when they are not doing well, and it gets easier for almost all shows on weekdays this time of year, because it's the slowest season in terms of sales. It gets much harder in the summer, and on weekends.

 

If you've already seen Wicked and BoM, why don't you look into some other shows? For a good overview of what's playing and what their rush/lottery policy is, just have a look at broadwayforbrokepeople.com shortly before you come here and make a list of things that would interest you, and then just enter all the online lotteries and try some rushes. If you don't want to wait in line to make sure you see a specific show, just be open and try a few different things. Almost anything will be great, especially considering you'll spend under $40 for the tickets.