As you may have noticed, I’ve been seeing a lot of shows lately. How do I do it without breaking the bank? With time and flexibility in New York, I’ve learned how to play the game– and I’ll share it with you!
Hamilton App 
So many people enter the Hamilton lottery that now there’s an easier way to do it online. It sends me notifications to tell me I haven’t won and to try again,* and then lets me know when the lottery is open. Plus there are some other fun things on the app to play with.
broadwayforbrokepeople.com
This website tells you how to get cheap tickets for all the Broadway shows– which have digital lotteries, which have in person lotteries (where you show up to enter the lottery at the theatre shortly before the show) and how much the Rush tickets are.
Today Tix
This is another app to find cheap tickets (and it also works in other cities). Beware– there’s a $12 fee on top of the ticket price. I haven’t used this app to buy tickets, but I’ve been using it religiously to enter (and win!) lotteries and to digitally Rush some shows (The Prince of Broadway and The Portuguese Kid).
Most of these strategies are best served for those in New York for a while– like if you don’t see a show tonight, it’s okay. I mean, I’ve seen a lot of shows in the last few weeks. Of the 15 shows, only 3 were seen with tickets purchased in advance. If you want to plan ahead, Today Tix seems to have some pretty good deals. You order the tickets online and then pick them up from a person standing right outside the theatre– no need to wait in the Will Call line!
Rush Tickets
On the same day as the show, some theatres will sell whatever tickets haven’t been sold yet at a discounted price– these are Rush tickets. I rushed Bandstand and got a ticket with no problem. I’ve tried to get tickets to Come From Away (I’ve stood in line at the box office as early as two hours before it opened) 3 days and they’ve run out before I got to the front of the line. I’ve learned you have to be strategic and flexible with Rush tickets (they are based on availability and the popularity of the show). Last Wednesday I was in line for Come From Away at 8am. At 9:10 the lady from the box office arrived and told the crowd that there were only 10 tickets for the evening show, none for the matinee and standing room would go on sale at 3pm. I was the 10th person in line (each person in line can get up to 2 tickets) so I went to the box office for Beautiful– The Carol King Musical. There was a sign on the door that they only had standing room for the matinee (there was no evening show on Wednesdays). So I got in line for Waitress. While in line, I was trying to get Rush tickets for the Portuguese Kid for that evening on the Today Tix app. All the tickets were taken for the evening, but I got one for the matinee. Since Waitress also didn’t have an evening performance, I stepped out of line for that one (though it looked like I had a chance). I entered lotteries for an evening performance, but didn’t win any that day.
Free/Cheap Theatre
Amanda’s new job is at The New School. The masters students put on plays for free. There are lots of really cheap shows on Today Tix and I’m sure there are more free performances out there too.
So that’s my strategy! So far I haven’t paid more than $50 for a ticket!
*I wrote this post a few days ago. I go to Boston on Thursday to meet up with my mom and my aunt Wendy. Yesterday I’d played the Hamilton lottery for the last time. I figured I could enter for Thursday night and if I won I could take a bus to Boston on Friday morning rather than Thursday afternoon. But that wasn’t likely to happen. I’ve been playing the Hamilton Lottery for every show every day that I’ve been in New York and Philadelphia since I was here last fall. When I return to Sacramento I could play the lottery for tickets in San Francisco. This morning while I was waiting in line for the 4th morning to get Rush tickets to Come From Away (a musical I would spend more time standing in line for than the actual run time of the show), I started visualizing what it would be like to win the Hamilton Lottery. How would it feel? How would I react? What would it feel like in the theatre to see a show come to life that I had researched and read about and listened to for the last two years?
And then I got the notification. I won! I won the lottery for tickets to Hamilton the night before I leave New York!
I was smiling and shaking. I texted Amanda. She left for Delaware this morning and knew how obsessed I am with this show and had been entering the lottery daily so we could see the show together. “Come back! I won!” I texted her. I texted my mom. Wake up! I have something to tell you (she’s still asleep on the west coast)! I texted Carly in Qatar who introduced me to the musical as we drove to Crested Butte two Thanksgivings ago. I texted Emily and Josh who sat through my Hamilton Appreciation Class (it was taught in the car on another road trip). And then I posted on Facebook. So tomorrow night I will get to see the love letter to Hamilton and New York City in New York City. I just happen to be in the greatest city in the world. How lucky I am to be alive right now. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m pretty sure I’m going to cry the whole time.
Oh, and I got a standing room ticket for Come From Away for tonight too.