What a great article. I especially love what Ms. Bailey said about the Urban Fellowship. You will al

Broadway midtown madness 2 crack Bargains: Secrets of the TKTS Booth - NYTimes.com
Arts World U.S. N.Y. / Region Business Technology Science Health Sports Opinion Arts Art Design Books Dance Movies Music Television Theater Video Games Style Travel Jobs Real Estate Autos July 29, 2009, 6:01 am Broadway Bargains: Secrets of the TKTS Booth By ERIK PIEPENBURG Sara Krulwich/The New York Times A renovated TKTS booth opened last year in Duffy Square.
Some people like to plan their theatergoing well in advance; others, especially these days, are more interested in a bargain. The TKTS booth is often the first stop for those seeking reduced-price seats to a Broadway show. The booth in the theater district, at a newly refurbished location in Duffy Square , is a relatively quick and convenient place to score tickets. (An interactive feature on the new Times Square booth is here .)
Victoria Bailey, the executive director of the Theater Development Fund , the nonprofit performing arts service midtown madness 2 crack organization that operates the city's TKTS booths besides the one in Times Square, there are booths at South Street Seaport midtown madness 2 crack and in downtown Brooklyn midtown madness 2 crack has some answers.
The booths open at different midtown madness 2 crack times depending on the day of the week. The best time to go to the Times Square booth, in terms of evening performances — if you want the shortest wait — is probably 5:30 or 6 p.m. Really anytime after 5:30 there's never a line. Most people get there when we open so the lines are longest then. That's also when we tend to have the most shows available. midtown madness 2 crack There's also a play-only line at the Times Square booth. There are hardly any lines for that.
Weather is tricky. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon people want to hang out in Duffy Square so it will be crowded. When it snows there won't be a line. On a cold rainy day you won't have a line. Fall through spring, the weather can make a difference.
A show may not be at the booth when it opens, midtown madness 2 crack but tickets may still be sent over at 4:30 or 5. The theater may have house seats that they haven't used. If there's no traffic at the box office, tickets will go to the booth. Producers know that there are people at the booth who are going to buy tickets that day. You send a ticket there, chances are high that you will sell it. There are several shows that are never on the TKTS board, like "Wicked," "Jersey Boys" and "The Lion King." Why is that?
They can sell all their tickets at full price, or as many of them as they feel they need to. When the time comes and the market slows down for them, they will come to us. We're always there in the waning days of a show's life, which because of the booth can go on for years. midtown madness 2 crack It helps keep shows running at the point where they have other competition. "Cats" midtown madness 2 crack ran longer than it would have because of the booth.
Our mission midtown madness 2 crack is in large part to promote conversations about theater. You do that in person. The booth is kind of a town square. About 30 to 35 percent of people there are first-time Broadway attendees. There is anxiety about what to see. You hear those conversations within a few minutes of getting there.
It's hard to believe because the lines are moving so quickly midtown madness 2 crack but almost every transaction involves a series of questions: "I'm interested in ABC show, but which show has the best seats or the steepest discounts?" There is an urban fellowship about that experience.
[Still not sure how to get the most out of TKTS? TDF offers its own primer here .] Jack Manning/The New York Times The line at the TKTS booth in Duffy Square in 1981. ArtsBeat , featured , Theater , Theater Development Fund , TKTS , Victoria Bailey Related Posts From ArtsBeat Broadway Bargains: Answers to Your TKTS Questions, Part 3 Broadway Bargains: Answers to Your TKTS Questions, Part 2 Broadway Bargains: Answers to Your TKTS Questions TKTS Gets an iPhone App, and Some Extra Human Help, Too An iPhone App Has TKTS Information, but Not Its Endorsement Previous Post Louvre Online to Open Database midtown madness 2 crack in English Next Post Living With Music: A Playlist by Amy Koppelman From 1 to 25 of 119 Comments 1 2 3 ... 5 Next 1. July 29, 2009 8:17 am Link
Do all three ticket booths offer the same tickets? If tickets are made available midtown madness 2 crack later in the day, especially after 4:30, are they available at all three booths? midtown madness 2 crack Linda Miller 2. July 29, 2009 8:35 am Link
However, the bit about we don t do have an on-line option because we want to promote conversations is pure party-line propaganda! Every other half-price ticket booth in the United States (Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston etc.) has an on-line midtown madness 2 crack option, which is especially helpful for locals. I can think of several reasons that New York commercial producers would not want to go this route (it could hurt full price and other sales diminishes the attention getting line on Times Square) but lets not make up stories to justify a purely pragmatic decision.
Can you actually get good seats for plays from the tkts booth? Or will you end up sitting behind a pole or on the extreme ends of the theater with only half the stage in view? fluff 4. July 29, 2009 9:07 am Link
Some of the best seats I ve gotten to shows have been from the tkts booth. I sat six or eight rows back on the floor for Ave Q (and was able to move even closer at intermission). midtown madness 2 crack For Rock of Ages, I was 5th row back on the floor, albeit a bit to the side. There was only a couple of feet of the stage on my side that I couldn t see, though, and it was definitely worth the 50% discount. I also got great mezzanine seats for Next to Normal. Viva tkts! serenityfound 5. July 29, 2009 9:08 am Link
What a great article. I especially love what Ms. Bailey said about the Urban Fellowship. You will almost never meet a rude person in a tkts line. When you have a big group of people in line who all love theater, they are only too happy to help a newbie pick the right show. MD 7. July 29, 2009 9:34 am Link
In response to #2, yes you can. I got front row seats to the Wonderful Town revival thanks to TKTS, and on a night they were doing a Q A to boot. If I m not mistaken, they ll often release the director s/other production staff s seats if the director doesn t feel like seeing the show that night, and those are usually pretty good.
If people want to get discounted seats online, there are sites that do that. I use TheaterMania and I ve always gotten great seats in advance at a discount. I like that I know exactly where I ll be sitting.
Of course, TKTS is good for last minute decisions midtown madness 2 crack when you have the time to spend in line. You just don t know what your seats will be like until you get to the window. I ve had good and not so great seats (I can t tell you how many times I ve been stuck in a box seat) from TKTS. It s a roll of the dice. Steve Hikinski 11. July 29, 2009 10:32 am Link
I can answer at least one question: I have gotten tickets midtown madness 2 crack to many plays at TKTS over the years, and the seats have never been a problem. In fact, I saw The Goat by Edward Albee and I ended up in the front row. Usually plays are at smaller theaters and there really are no bad seats; generally I ve always felt I d be happy if I was in the back row but have always been pleasantly surprised that I wasn t. Jay 12. July 29, 2009 10:35 am Link
Shame that when they budgeted for the new booth, the gorgeous stairs behind it and all of the other bells and whistles, they couldn t find a few extra bucks to replace the burned-out LED display boards. TheatreGoer 13. July 29, 2009 10:36 am Link
But be careful midtown madness 2 crack if you have one of those conversations on the TKTS line. My dad got his pocket midtown madness 2 crack picked at the Times Square TKTS while talking to a very nice woman who, he later realized, was an accomplice. Howard 14. July 29, 2009 10:36 am Link
The best kept secret is TKTS booth in Brooklyn, it is right behind the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott, and there is never anyone there! And you can buy Saturday matinee tickets on Friday. Jane 15. July 29, 2009 10:37 am Link
I was just in NYC last week and saw two shows that I got tickets through TKTS. (I saw Altar Boyz and 9 to 5 both are AMAZING and HYSTERICAL!!) Our experience with TKTS was also stellar. The lines move fast (and I mean fast be ready to make a decision ASAP), the staff out on the street are helpful (ask those people first about what to see), and they keep everyone moving and organized. Our seats were perfect for both as well.
Whenever we come to NY from Atlanta, we always take one night to go TKTS and catch a show. The last time we were there, we were shocked to see tickets to In the Heights with only a 20% discount. We decided to go to the box office and take our chances. We got two obstructed view tickets for $75 each. We missed seeing a very small part of Act 2. So my advice is, if TKTS doesn t work for you, try the box office. You might get lucky like we did. ED 18. July 29, 2009 10:46 am Link
Couldn t they make the show board bigger and easier to read. The new booth is beautiful, but at the old booth the shows were listed right behind you, so that if your first choices weren t available you could turn around and pick something else. You can do so at South St. and Brooklyn. Maybe such a change would mke the line move faster. Carol Karasick 20. July 29, 2009 10:49 am Link
The replacement usher was much more empathetic midtown madness 2 crack than the first one. She d moved several people midtown madness 2 crack after some folks left at intermission. midtown madness 2 crack A nice woman the usher had moved to a better seat switched with me and went back to her original seat, which was better for her.
It wasn t the end of the world to be sold a ticket for an awful seat for a Broadway show, but there s a recession on and $52 is $52! BTW, outside of New York City, $52 is not a bargain for anything Anywhere in the U.S.A., unless midtown madness 2 crack one is wealthy to begin with. Funny Farha and funny strange. 21. July 29, 2009 10:51 am Link
For locals who are students, work at non-profits, or fall into certain other categories, there IS an online option it s called becoming a TDF member for $27 a year (at least when I signed up). You can buy tickets a fe