The Frugal TheaterGoer Guide to Discount Tickets
Give
a man a discount code, you have found him a discount for today. Teach a man to
find a discount code and you have found him discounts for a lifetime. Author
unknown
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UPDATES
The New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend is
January 7-10, 2009.
The New
York Times and NY
Daily News both recently published articles about frugal theatergoing
options.
There will be new Season of Savings. Sign up for their mailing list now.
New York Theater Workshop has several
discount programs, including CheapTix
Sundays. All tickets for all Sunday
evening performances at 7:00 PM are $20 (Limit 4 per customer and subject to
availability). Tickets are available in advance but must be purchased at the
NYTW box office on a cash-only basis. Student tickets ($20) are still available
for these performances.
Signature Theater Company
is offering tickets to its entire season for $20.
Also according to Time Out New York, a pay
service called Club Free Time offers
detailed listings of free movies, concerts and plays. You can browse the list (without details) for free.
The next Kids Night on Broadway is
Tuesday February 2, Wednesday February 3, and Sunday February 27. Kids attend participating shows for free
when accompanied by an adult with a full price ticket. Tickets go on sale at noon Monday November
9.
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Check out the theater clubs on the
following sites for discounts that you can obtain in advance:
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For a very comprehensive listing
of available discounts, check out BroadwayBox.com.
Some of the codes are unique to the site; some of them are from other sites.
Other sites that compile offers are Theater-Offers.com
and NYC Show
Discounts. (Note that, in some
cases, you cannot use printouts of the codes from these sites at the box office
– you can only use them if you purchase tickets on the phone or over the
internet.)
In some
cases, you need to join the site’s club/mailing list in order to see the
listing of discounts. These clubs are free to join. Most of the sites have
similar discounts. NYTheatre.com has some off-Broadway discounts that are not
available at other sites. Playbill.com
has City Opera discounts.
Playbill has a site called PlaybillArts. You can sign up
for discount ticket offers for classical music, opera, dance, and jazz events.
Check out Goldstar Events for discounts on
theater and other events in several U.S. cities. Discount tickets are purchased
directly from Goldstar.
Roundabout Theatre Company
offers $10 tickets to 100 audience members for the first preview of each
production this season. Tickets go very quickly. (Note that recently the tickets have been available for the first
few previews.)
Rush Tickets: For information on rush and SRO policies check out the discussion board
on Talkin' Broadway.
The Telecharge web site lists Rush policies under the “Getting Tickets” section
of each show. Check out the links below under subscription programs and other
Off-Broadway theaters for more specific information.
The Metropolitan
Opera has initiated a new rush policy. The new Agnes Varis and Karl
Leichtman Rush Tickets program offers 200 orchestra-level seats—regularly
priced at $100 each—at $20 each for most performances Monday through Thursday
this season. Tickets will be made available at the box office beginning two
hours before curtain on the day of the performance and are limited to two per
person. There are no refunds, exchanges, or adjustments to previous orders.
Casts are subject to change.
Students/Seniors: TDF's
website has an extensive listing of student discounts and student rush. Teens
should also check out the High 5 Tickets to the Arts web site for
information on $5 tickets for students aged 13 through 18. New
York City Opera has special arrangements for students. Librarians,
teachers, students and their families can pick up vouchers for 30 to 50% off at
the School Theater Ticket Program. Check out the information on Carnegie
Hall and their student and senior citizen discounts, as well as a $10
ticket program. The Metropolitan
Opera has $25 discounted tickets for students, $35 on weekends.
Students can also join
Lincoln Center Theater's StudenTix program for
free and purchase $20 tickets in advance.
BAM has student rush for $7 movies
(Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays) and $10 theater, music, dance,
and opera. Student ID and proof of age (25 and under) required at box office
day of show. Tickets subject to availability.
City Center has a Peer to Peer
P2P program.
35 and Younger: If you are young and like opera, check out
the Big Deal Program
available at City Opera. Carnegie Hall has the Club 57th
& 7th program. Roundabout has the HipTix program.
Mailing Lists: Yahoo
Groups has a mailing list for discount codes. To learn more about the theater codes
group, please visit Yahoo
Groups. Once you have joined the group, you can start sending messages to
members of this group by simply send email to theatercodes@yahoogroups.com. Google
has a similar group, but there has been almost no activity on the group.
If the show you want to see has a website, join the mailing list. Some
shows e-mail discounts to their mailing list. There is a list of Broadway web
sites below.
You can join both the Tele-charge
and Ticketmaster
e-mail service and get periodic mailings with discounts. You can order tickets
using discount codes through this Telecharge site, but not all of the
Telecharge codes can be used at this site. You can sign up for the Telecharge
list here.
Check out the NY Times Ticket Watch. You can have
discounts mailed directly to your e-mail account.
For information on smaller OB and OOB theaters, check out SmartTix.
They have a mailing list which frequently sends out discount offers.
Check out the Village Voice
site. You can get a Village Voice card and get a weekly mailing that includes
theater discounts.
I recently heard about two different sites,
but have not used either one. Givenik is
a site that offers discount theater tickets and will contribute 5% of your
purchase to the charity of your choice. The second is NYTix, a site with discounts for theater,
television tickets, and guides to New York City. And they will pay you a $25
reward if you are the first person to find a discount better than the one they
offer.
TKTS: To get a general idea of what is available at TKTS,
check Entertainment Link. If you join the site, you can get more
up-to-date TKTS information. In addition to Broadway and Off-Broadway, TKTS
also sells tickets to NYC Opera and City Center. You can also get information
at the TDF site.
Lincoln Center Theater: Lincoln Center is
no longer accepting memberships,
but check the site to see if they open again. It’s a great bargain. Pay $40 to
join and you can get tickets to their shows for $40 in previews and $50 during
the run. If you go once a year, the membership pays for itself.
Public Theater: The Public Theater has a Quik Tix Program,
where a limited number of discounted rush tickets are made available to the
general public beginning one half-hour before curtain to any non-sold-out
Public Theater performance. Quik Tix are $15, cash only, with a limit of two
per person.
New York Theatre Workshop: New York
Theater Workshop offers Cheap Tix.
Check out their site for details.
Playwrights Horizons:
Playwrights Horizons has changed its policy of offering the first preview as
Pay What You Can. They now offer a lottery.
Free Ticket / Papering Organizations: There are several programs that offer almost-free tickets to
subscribers. Check out Audience Extras, Play by Play, the Theatermania Gold Program and Theater Extras.
Actors Equity: Members can get
discounts listed on the Actors
Equity website.
PBS: Members of PBS can get discounts detailed here.
New Jersey: For discounts on New
Jersey performing arts, check out the Hot Tickets page at NJTix.or.g
Dance: If you are a dance
fan, check out DanceLink.
You can get discounts if you buy tickets at participating venues. If you join
their mailing list, you can receive discount offers to dance events in New
York, including discounts to Joyce Theater and BAM.
Audience Rewards: The Audience Rewards program is a
frequent-flyer program for Broadway and Off-Broadway.
Other Discount Information:
For more information on discounts, check out Talkin' Broadway FAQ.
For more information on Off Off
Broadway, check out Off Off Online,
with reviews, listings, and theater profiles for Off Off Broadway show. Prices
are generally under $25.
For Contests, go to Time
Out New York. Most weeks, they have a contest where the winner gets free
show tickets. The magazine usually has discounts in its Theater section as well
as other sections of the magazine. And readers of this page have actually won
the contest.
You can also see if you are eligible to join TDF and get cheap tickets
through them. Take a look at Theater Development Fund to see if you are
eligible to join. Their site also has a listing of shows that are generally
available at TKTS. TDF also has on-line listings where you can buy tickets
using a credit card. (The on-line listing program is excellent.)
The Tourist Bureau across
from TKTS has discount coupons that used to be called two-fers. Ask at the
information booth to see the list of shows for which discounts are available.
Hit Show
Club now has a web site.
Call or Fax 212-820-9798 to become a member of the Hit Show Club and
receive regular free mailings of Hit Show Club discount offers and access to a
regularly updated information phone line. Email Info@HitShowClub.com to join
and receive weekly email updates of discount offers. Coupons are available around
the New York metropolitan area or at Hit Show Club offices located in the Times
Square area, 630 Ninth Avenue, 8th Floor, between 44th and 45th Streets, open 9
am - 4pm Monday to Friday. They are also available from NYC and Company
Convention and Visitors Center, 810 Seventh Avenue between 52nd and 53rd
Streets; call (212) 484-1200 for opening hours.
An organization
called SVM sends discounts to companies for distribution to employees. Contact
SVM at infor@svmcorp.com
for more information. Do a google search for “SVM Discount Entertainment Guide”
and the name of the current month and you should be able to come up with the
current month’s listing of available discounts. (Update: SVM is now called
Plum.)
Join the Time Out New York e-mail club and
receive a weekly email with offerings for theater, movie, and store discounts.
Check out the promotions available to Time Warner
Cable subscribers. (No promotions available at this time.)
Check out the Daily News’ User's guide to the city’s
cut-price cabaret.
Check out New York Magazine’s guide called That's the Ticket,
a guide to cheap theater, dance, opera and other amusements.
Dodger Theatricals has a web site.
Sign up for their Stage Door Club and receive e-mail discount offers.
You can volunteer usher at several different theater organizations.
Check out web sites of the different theater companies below, or look at the article
from New York
Magazine.
And completely unrelated to
theater - check to see if your name is listed with New York
State for some free money.
Want tickets to that show you want to see
(for a price):
Best
Seats in the House, a program that benefits The Actors Fund.
Caretix, a program that benefits Broadway Cares/Equity
Fights Aids.
Damon Runyon Foundation, a
program that supports cancer research
For a less benevolent attempt to
find those hard-to-get tickets, check out Inner Circle.
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Subscriptions: The following theater companies are among the more
popular subscription programs:
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Other Off-Broadway and Miscellaneous Listings:
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For a listing of more off-Broadway theater companies, check out OffBroadwayOnline.com.
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Shrek (until
January 3) |
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This Season
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All
About Me (February 19) |
Addams
Family (March 4) |
Behanding
in Spokane (March 2010) |
Collected
Stories (April 6) |
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Fences
(April 2010) |
Hughie
/ Krapp’s (April 12) |
La
Cage Aux Follles (April 6) |
Million
$r Quartet (March 13) |
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Miracle
Worker (February 12) |
Next
Fall (February 10) |
Present
Laughter (January 2) |
Promises,
Promises (Mar. 28) |
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Spider-Man
(Feb 25) |
Sondheim
on Sondheim (March 19) |
Time
Stands Still (January 5) |
View
From The Bridge (Dec. 28) |
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In the works
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Betty
Boop (2010-2011) |
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Brigadoon
(Postponed) |
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Dancin
(2010-2010) |
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Elf
(late 2010) |
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Enron
(April 2010) |
Enter
Laughing (2010) |
Fallen
Angels (2010) |
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Father of the Bride |
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Godspell
(Postponed) |
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Houdini
(2010) |
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Lone
Star Love (cancelled) |
Lombari
(Fall 2010) |
Love Never Dies
(November 2010) |
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Once
(2010-2011) |
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Picnic
(Fall 2010) |
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Pitmen
Painters (2010) |
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Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert (March 2011) |
Red
Rose Girls (2010/11) |
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Robin
and the 7 Hoods (2010/2011) |
Secondhand
Lions (2011) |
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Untitled
Mandela Project (2010) |
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Zorro |
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For shows with no website,
see the nytheatre.com links or PBOL
stories. Thanks also to BroadwayStars.
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Frugal
TheaterGoer makes the papers:
The article from the New
York Times and the sidebar
article have been moved the pay section of the site.
Check out the Newsday article on Cheap
Entertainment. There’s also a
sidebar article with sources for theater and other discounts.
The article in USA
Today is also still accessible.
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Comments or additions? Contact us at FrugalTheatergoer@nyc.rr.com.
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Boston:
London:
Los Angeles:
New Jersey:
Philadelphia:
San Diego:
Silicon Valley:
Washington DC:
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Updated November 24, 2009
Site is for information purposes
only.