1. At TKTS in Times Square

The classic way to find deeply discounted tickets is to wait in line at the TKTS red staircase booth in Times Square (47th Street and Broadway) on the day of the show. All but the biggest Broadway hits can be purchased there, usually at a 50 percent discount. If you don't want to see a musical and instead want to see a theater performance or something similar, the Times Square booth has a "Play Express" window that will shorten your waiting time.

In addition to the Times Square flagship, TKTS operates three other stands in the city. The newest, in Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium (Broadway at 62nd Street), opened in 2016 and is the best option of all: It's just 15 blocks from the main stand, but it's much less crowded—and it's indoors, which is a big plus in bad weather. The others are in South Street Seaport (corner of Front and John Streets) or TKTS Downtown Brooklyn (One MetroTech Center on the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue, temporarily closed due to Covid until further notice). All non-Times Square locations sell matinee (afternoon show) tickets one day early.

As a rule, the earlier you get to TKTS the better, but blocks of good seats are sometimes released closer to curtain time. You can buy up to six tickets per person. There is a $5 - $6 fee per ticket, which is significantly lower than the fees on most ticket websites.

2. Online shopping

As great as TKTS is, it has limitations: you have to wait there in person, often for a long time, and you can only get tickets the day of the show (or the day before a matinee at some locations). Fortunately, the Internet offers alternatives. If you look at Broadway shows on our website, you can also get tickets for sporting events, concerts, etc.

3. Participate in the theater itself or in the lottery

Many productions offer special same-day tickets, which in some cases are the only way to get tickets to otherwise sold-out shows at a reasonable price. The so-called rush tickets for Broadway and Off Broadway shows sometimes sell for just $20 each. Go to the theater box office as soon as it opens on the day of the performance; that means 10 a.m. most days and 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. on Sundays. (If you don't mind being on your feet, consider general admission tickets, which also go on sale daily when the box office opens.)

A handful of productions, including Wicked, still offer cheap day tickets through an old-fashioned in-person lottery, with names that must be entered at the box office a few hours before curtain time. The most searched lottery is the Hamilton lottery (which offers 46 tickets for $10 a day), also the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child lottery, which takes place once a week on Friday. To find out which shows offer rush tickets and lotteries, check out Broadway for Broke People .

4. At the box office

If the show you want to see is a big hit, you probably won't be able to get a discounted ticket, but there are still ways to minimize the cost. If you purchase tickets directly at the box office, you can avoid inconvenient service fees, and you can sometimes find very good seats that have recently been added to the ticket offering but not yet picked up by sellers operating in the resale market (be nice to the cashiers). and they might give you some tips) If you're in the right place at the right time, you might get lucky.

5. Contact us

From time to time, promoters give us tickets to new shows to promote them. The strangest stories have happened to us, it has happened that a flight was canceled or a bus broke down on the way to NYC, then organizers ask for help so that they don't have empty seats at the performance. These are usually last minute tickets. You can just write us an email and maybe you'll get lucky. A contact form can be found on meintripnachnewyork.com .