TKTS in Times Square

[PERSonalTime]

Has anyone ever used TKTS in Times Square to purchase play tickets? If so, how did that work? Did you get good seats and were the prices and seats a good deal?

 

[savory]

Good seats. Good price. Still expensive

 

[cathy63]

Has anyone ever used TKTS in Times Square to purchase play tickets? If so, how did that work? Did you get good seats and were the prices and seats a good deal?

Yes, I've used them several times. The prices are definitely a good deal compared to going to the box office and paying full price. Some shows are discounted more deeply than others. Seats are whatever hasn't already been sold by the day of the show, so you're not going to find tix for Hamilton or anything else that sells out every night.

Last time I used them I was on a business trip and found myself unexpectedly alone in NYC on a Friday night in August. It was after 6:00 PM, but I thought I'd go see if there was anything still available for that night. A lot of shows were sold out, but I'd say about half or more were still available even that late. I wound up at Beautiful (the Carole King musical), in the 10th row center for 40% of the ticket's face value. It was a great show, and I definitely felt like I got a great deal. Now, I only needed one seat and it was an hour before the show time, so they may have discounted that ticket multiple times and I might not have gotten quite as good a deal if I'd been a party of four buying tickets first thing in the morning.

 

[PERSonalTime]

Yes, I've used them several times. The prices are definitely a good deal compared to going to the box office and paying full price. Some shows are discounted more deeply than others. Seats are whatever hasn't already been sold by the day of the show, so you're not going to find tix for Hamilton or anything else that sells out every night.



Last time I used them I was on a business trip and found myself unexpectedly alone in NYC on a Friday night in August. It was after 6:00 PM, but I thought I'd go see if there was anything still available for that night. A lot of shows were sold out, but I'd say about half or more were still available even that late. I wound up at Beautiful (the Carole King musical), in the 10th row center for 40% of the ticket's face value. It was a great show, and I definitely felt like I got a great deal. Now, I only needed one seat and it was an hour before the show time, so they may have discounted that ticket multiple times and I might not have gotten quite as good a deal if I'd been a party of four buying tickets first thing in the morning.

Cathy63,
Thanks for your response. Why would it have cost less if you bought the tickets in the morning? Btw, I believe you've been retired for about a year, right? How have you liked it?
Great I bet. [emoji6]

 

[braumeister]

Why would it have cost less if you bought the tickets in the morning?

It's like a yard sale. They keep dropping the price until the tickets sell.

 

[Montecfo]

Have used them yes, there in Times Square and at South Street Seaport. It works really well. Usually when we go for say a weekend, we get advance tickets to a show we know we want to see but that will sell out. Then we add shows using TKTS.

Lots of good shows.

 

[savory]

Yes, I've used them several times. The prices are definitely a good deal compared to going to the box office and paying full price. Some shows are discounted more deeply than others. Seats are whatever hasn't already been sold by the day of the show, so you're not going to find tix for Hamilton or anything else that sells out every night.

Last time I used them I was on a business trip and found myself unexpectedly alone in NYC on a Friday night in August. It was after 6:00 PM, but I thought I'd go see if there was anything still available for that night. A lot of shows were sold out, but I'd say about half or more were still available even that late. I wound up at Beautiful (the Carole King musical), in the 10th row center for 40% of the ticket's face value. It was a great show, and I definitely felt like I got a great deal. Now, I only needed one seat and it was an hour before the show time, so they may have discounted that ticket multiple times and I might not have gotten quite as good a deal if I'd been a party of four buying tickets first thing in the morning.

We had the same luck for the Carole King musical in terms of seat location. I can't remember discount % but I was pleased with the price value for this play. It was a great play.

We also just saw Kinky Boots with a promo code that you can find online. It was the first time we went to a play with many empty seats. We sat in the most crowded section at the back of the balcony as we opted for the least expensive price. I have found that the the theaters are fairly small and even the seats that are not near the front are still fairly good. Also very enjoyable.

We (DW &DD) use this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.TDF.AndroidTdf&hl=en

 

[cathy63]

Cathy63,
Thanks for your response. Why would it have cost less if you bought the tickets in the morning? Btw, I believe you've been retired for about a year, right? How have you liked it?
Great I bet. [emoji6]

Actually, I think it would have cost more if I'd gotten there first thing in the morning. I am guessing that they cut the prices more and more throughout the day.

I left my job last July 31, then spent the next 5 weeks on jury duty, so I really feel like retirement started on Labor Day weekend 2016. So far I'm loving it.

 

[broadway]

Actually, I think it would have cost more if I'd gotten there first thing in the morning.

No, that is not how it works. The discount is posted on the electronic signs usually 50% off but can be less.

What may happen is that as curtain time draws near the theater releases more seats to TKTS.

I generally try to avoid standing in the line at TKTS. I don't like that I cannot choose my seat location.

I take a promo code to the theater box office and buy my ticket there.

 

[TallTim]

Has anyone ever used TKTS in Times Square to purchase play tickets? If so, how did that work? Did you get good seats and were the prices and seats a good deal?

Yes, many, many times. We are in NYC 4-5x per year for various things and always make a point of seeing shows and using TKTS to get most of them. As someone noted earlier, good to buy tix to your first night show ahead of time and then use TKTS for the rest of them.

Three insider tips:

(1) The South Street location opens a couple hours earlier during the week -- so for the price of a subway ride or taxi, you can get a head start on the shows for the day.

(2) If you buy TKTS seats for any show, using your ticket stub at the line the next day allows you to skip the line and go direct to the ticket windows -- this saves LOTS of time standing in line.

(3) When you get to the window, know what show you want to see and tell the clerk you want the best seats available. If you're unsure about the seats, ask them - the know all the theater seating layouts (most by heart) and can often give you a candid (if blunt NYC style) assessment of the value in relation to the seat.

Have fun!

 

[nash031]

Used it several times in NYC... those insider tips from Tim are good to know!

We always check availability via their website or app first thing in the morning, then head down if we see something we like. Phantom, RC Xmas show, both for 50% off, definitely worth the relatively short wait. Xmas show was a walkup, Phantom was a 30 minute wait, saved well over $100, so do the math. As others have said on this forum, if you put a price on your time, say $50/hr, TKTS will almost always come out "worth it".

In our cases, we didn't ask about best available seating, so not sure what the norm is there. I've gotten lucky with box offices on Sunday matinees, finding center, row 5 for South Pacific at a discount about four hours before curtain, so that's another option.

 

[Charlotte]

I used it in London last time I was there and it was fun and easy. As long as you're flexible and open to the choices of the day, then you should be okay. I saved 50% for our tickets to Kinky Boots. Nice seats and a fun show.

 

[scrabbler1]

Back in the mid-1980s, I was an usher at a Broadway theater and learned a little about how TKTS worked, at least back then. This was before the Internet, of course. I also used TKTS to buy tickets for a show (not the one I ushered at) once.


The price for TKTS was 50% of the regular price. The orchestra seats released to TKTS began in the middle of the seating area, maybe 9 or 10 rows up. This made for some odd seating patterns in the auditorium, with a few people scattered in the first ~8 rows then several full or nearly full rows starting at the TKTS-ticketed row.


The show I ushered at had shows 7 days a week, while many theaters were dark on Monday nights. This meant that the box office released fewer tickets to TKTS on Monday nights because the show had lesser competition on that night.


Another small item I learned, unrelated to TKTS, was that the box office won't usually release their front row orchestra seats to anyone else to sell because they want to see personally who they put in the front row because it can have an effect on the actors onstage. One time, I went to the box office a few days before the night of the show (again, not the one I ushered at) and bought 2 orchestra tickets. The seller asked me if font-row-center was okay. I thought it was a trick question but I answered yes anyway. (This theater was near the one I worked at years earlier, and the box office man there explained it to me.)


The night of the show, right up until showtime, the rest of the front row was nearly empty until some last-minute people arrived. This was, presumably, because those people bought their tickets minutes before showtime, not like me who bought (front-row) orchestra seats 3 days before the show.