rush line: how about threepenney opera?

hi everyone! i'm visiting new york next week, and was just wondering what the rush lines were like for any of the shows listed below (i.e. what are my chances of getting tickets for those shows?). has anyone been trying to rush at any of those shows recently? any and all advice and info is totally appreciated, thank you!

jersey boys
avenue q
rent
light in the piazza
sweeney todd
color purple
doubt

Updated On: 6/13/06 at 12:17 PM

is avenue q still impossible?? last year, i went to the lottery every day for six days, while i was in ny, and finally got picked the last day i was here... i thought the hype would have died down by now, but i guess not.

thanks for the advice! anyone else know anything for the other shows? also wondering how much the rush lines will be affected by the tony's...

it's fine! any info, seriously, is appreciated - chances are, esp with the tony's, i'll have to have about 10 backups if i want to see a show.

When I went to see Rent (although it WAS a Sunday night a few months ago) everyone who played won lotto. It's probably a pretty safe bet.

This is part of what I wrote on another thread the other day about RUSH.

first off, are you a student? If so... bring your ID to every box office you're trying to get RUSH tickets for. it's an absolute must.

Color Purple - just camp out. If you get there around 8 (2 hours before the box office opens) you'll probably be 10th - 12th in line. I think they sell 20 rush tickets, maybe someone can confirm that though. So i'd suggest NO LATER than 8:30am to get to the box office for that.

Jersey Boys - for an 8pm show, they sell student tickets for $25 from 4:30-5:30 only. People get in line around 2:30/3:00ish for those. And they are basically gone about 5 minutes after they go on sale. So plan on getting in line no later than 2:30 for those and just waiting out the two hours. There's a starbucks right down the street so it's not so bad.

RENT - I'm i'm not mistaken, they do have student rush tickets certain days of the week. I think Monday, Tues, Thurs. Where if they are not sold out, they'll sell you two tickets per ID for a reduced price. I think $40 a ticket. I've done this before. I got right orch seats aisle K. But if not - go for the lottery. Bring people to help. You never know how that lottery will be. I've gone days where everyone wins, and days where there are so many people they can't all fit on the sidewalk. But really, its tourist time and so you'd better just assume it'll be packed. Don't ever assume anything is a sure thing.

light in the piazza - DEFINITELY sign up for lct student tickets program. you sign up online, and you can purchase (in advance) a single $20 student ticket. Now when you pick up the ticket you have to have your student ID, but its a sweet deal. For a while they weren't doing student tickets for Piazza, but they might have started it again now that sales are a bit low and it'll be closing soon. Here's the site... http://www.lct.org/studentix/

sweeney todd - if you go to the box office day of the show, they'll sell partial view tickets for half price. I don't remember if they asked me for my student ID or not. It's worth a shot, I don't think they sell out shows, and these seats are usually available.

doubt - 2 hours before curtain, 2 tickets per ID (despite what the talkinbroadway site says... i've done this twice already) and they're $26.25 or something like that.

If you have time, you should add into your itinerary Drowsy Chaperone. Or if you haven't seen it yet. HIGHLY recommend it. And they have a lottery an hour before curtain (get there an hour and a half before the show... tuesdays are 8pm, just fyi...) for $25 lotto tickets. Or if they're available rear mezz (still great seats) go for $25 as well. good luck!

This site is very informative too if you are curious about other shows rush policies.

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/boards/

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Getting student tix for The Wedding Singer is pretty easy too.

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yea, you can get rush for Wedding singer two minutes before ANY performance no problem. But If you want to sit in the front row, get there when box office opens.

yes, i'm a student -

PJ, have you tried getting rush tickets at light in the piazza recently? are they selling the rush tickets these days? again, when i went and visited NY a few months ago, they weren't selling them at all that week.

thanks for all the great advice! keep them coming if there's more to share...

The only one I can definitely answer is Rent. I've gone twice to get lottery tickets, and won (sort of) both times. This is the way it works: You have to get there 2.5 hours early to put your name & the number of tickets you want on a card. 2 hours prior to showtime cards are drawn. I've gone both times with 3 people, and both times one of our names were drawn, but if you ask people on line, the likelihood is that somebody put down two tickets on a card and only needs one. That's the way we've gotten our third ticket. Tickets are for the first two rows only, and are $20. In general, there hasn't been a large crowd, so your chances are good.

If you want to do rush for The Color Purple on the weekend, I would recommend that you get there before 8:00. I got there twice at about 8:15 and 8:30 and could not get tickets.