Love watching Broadway musicals but have never been to more than a handful because of the ridiculously inflated prices? Because, realistically, who has the budget to splurge on a Sunday matinee when there’s a grocery list in your pocket that’s about a mile long? Don’t worry. We got you. These 4 tried and tested hacks by college students guarantee that you’ll be able to catch every last show tune before these shows end their run in New York.
- broadway week
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For one special week every fall, Broadway Week commences. Between the 6th and 25th of September this year, millions flocked to New York to purchase 2-for-1 tickets for Broadway’s latest and greatest hits, ranging from the all-time classics such as Wicked, to the innovative historical reinterpretation, Six. You can head down to the TKTS booth in Times Square to personally purchase your tickets, or if you’re feeling lazy, simply log onto ticketmasters.com. However, beware the $7 processing fee and $4.50 handling fee when taking the online route.
- broadway lottery
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If you’re going solo or like me, you can’t squeeze all your musicals into 7 days during Broadway Week, try your luck with digital lotteries! Simply open your laptop and go onto lottery.broadwaydirect.com and choose which musical you want to watch. Next, check the Current Lotteries and enter your email and some non-invasive information to sign up for discounted tickets. These range from 20-50% off, depending on how fortunate you are.
Pro tip: Use different emails to increase your chances!
- box office
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If you’ve tried your luck at the lottery but to no avail, you could always go down to the box office and purchase a same-day ticket at a fraction of the original price, subject to availability. If I were you, the best days of the week to pull this are Mondays to Thursdays, but do note that some musicals take a break on specific days. Your favorite musical protagonists are human after all!
- standing room tickets
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If you want something even cheaper, wait just a few more hours for the standing room only (SRO) tickets to open up at the box office. These are great for those who don’t mind standing just behind the last row of the orchestra during the 2 hours of run time. These tickets are of course, incredibly limited, so be advised to call box offices ahead of time to enquire about the availability.
- off-broadway week
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Get your fill of some fantastic off-broadway numbers, many of which are arguably better than their Broadway counterparts, at the same fantastic 2-for-1 discount!