If you want to see a show on Broadway, but you’re worried about expensive tickets, this article is for you.
I’ve been to dozens of shows. New York City is the best in the world at theater. Especially musical theater.
But some Broadway shows are awful. And many are expensive.
I’ll tell you how to get cheap tickets. I’ll also tell you my favorite shows to see.
Getting Cheap Tickets
First, if you’re purchasing Broadway tickets for the first time, I’d avoid online stores like Broadway.com. They are not affiliated with any Broadway theater. And they add on a lot of fees to your purchase.
The tickets are legitimate, but all they’re doing is buying them from the actual box office and keeping a 60% premium for your trouble.
Here are the legitimate cheap ways to get Broadway tickets instead.
The TKTS Booth
There are two TKTS Booths that sell cheaper same-day and next-day tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.
One is in Times Square, and you’ve probably heard of this one. But there’s a lesser-known outpost near Lincoln Center on 62nd Street.
Both have the same inventory of tickets, but the Lincoln Center booth usually has much less of a line.
I’d recommend getting to either booth as early as possible. Lincoln Center opens at 11am every day (closed on Sunday and Monday), Times Square opens at 11am on days that have matinee performances, 3pm otherwise, and is open 7 days a week.
If you don’t know what to see, ask someone in a red coat who works there. They’re very helpful and eager to recommend shows.
If you’re using TKTS more than once during your trip, hold on to your ticket stubs. If you bring the stubs back to the booth, they’ll let you skip the line. Ask for the “7 Day Fast Pass” and they’ll show you where to go.
Lottery Tickets
Some shows make affordable tickets available via an online lottery. They’re hard to get, but extremely cheap if you get lucky.
These tickets are typically $35 to $49, and you can get either 1 or 2 tickets. They can be anywhere in the theater, but are usually pretty great seats.
There are four places to check for lotteries: Telecharge, Broadway Direct, Lucky Seat, or TodayTix, depending on who owns the theater.
Not all shows do a lottery, and not all performances have enough tickets available for a lottery draw.
Lotteries typically open in the morning, and close in the afternoon to draw for the next day’s performances. Some lotteries draw 2 days out, some draw 7 days out.
The Hamilton lottery, famous for its $10 front-row tickets, draws a few weeks out so people out-of-state are able to coordinate travel and hotels.
TodayTix
TodayTix is a mobile app that offers cheaper tickets to Broadway shows. Their business model is the same as Broadway.com’s, but their fees are much more reasonable (sometimes $0).
They also frequently run ‘flash sales’ on advance tickets for shows that aren’t selling well, meaning you can get tickets for less than box office prices.
I personally use TodayTix a lot because it is so convenient. The pricing isn’t necessarily great or even amazing, but it works, it is easy, and I can do it all from my phone at the hotel.
Rush Tickets
A few theaters sell same day ‘rush tickets,’ which are basically cheap same-day tickets. If you’re willing to show up early and wait in line, this is a good option.
Some theaters have a dedicated pool of tickets set aside for this purpose. But often they’re just discounting expensive tickets that haven’t sold yet, so the house is packed.
Rush tickets are available the moment the box office opens (10am Monday through Saturday, 12pm Sunday), but shows that are ‘in demand’ get a line forming outside before the box office opens.
Depending on how well the show is selling, you may need to get there a few hours early, or there may be rush tickets available all day, and you can walk up before the performance.
These tickets are typically $39 to $69, and like the lottery, there’s a limit of 2 tickets per person.
Playbill keeps an up-to-date listing here of shows that offer rush, since not all shows do. Some shows limit rush to certain demographics: only students, only veterans, only people under 30, etc.
Last Minute Box Office
If you’re coming up on showtime and don’t know what to go see, it never hurts to pop into the box office and see what last-minute seats they have available.
Theaters don’t want to leave seats unfilled, so they’ll usually work with you.
It’s unlikely you’ll pay less than the lowest advertised rate, but your money will go further. So if the cheapest advertised price is a balcony seat for $49, it’s unlikely that you’d be able to get that seat for $25, but $49 might get you into the orchestra.
Your mileage may vary and depends on who’s at the box office and how busy they are. This works better for shows that aren’t selling as well.
For Locals
If you live in NYC or the surrounding area, consider taking advantage of these hacks to get cheap tickets to Broadway shows.
TDF
A $40 yearly subscription gets you access to TDF.org and discounted Broadway + Off-Broadway shows.
TDF is a non-profit that gets blocks of seats and sells them at competitive rates to their members.
- Broadway shows are a flat-rate $51 for plays and $59 for musicals.
- Off-Broadway shows are a flat-rate $35 for plays and $39 for musicals.
Tickets can be booked in advance, subject to their availability, and you pick up the tickets at the box office under your name. Super easy. Bring your ID, they usually ask for it!
Young Patrons Programs
Several non-profit theaters on & off Broadway offer discounted tickets to people under 40.
Here are a few to check out:
- Manhattan Theatre Club has three theaters (1 Broadway, 2 Off-Broadway), and if you’re under 35 years old you can book $30 tickets in advance. College students who live in NYC can get free tickets, but these sell out quickly!
- Lincoln Center Theater has three theaters (1 Broadway, 2 Off-Broadway) and most of their productions are eligible for LincTix – if you’re under 35, you can get $35.50 orchestra tickets (you just need to be mindful of them selling out quickly.)
- Roundabout Theatre has five theaters, and three of them – the Todd Haimes Theatre on Broadway and the two Off-Broadway theaters at the Steinberg Center – allow you to get $30 advance tickets if you’re under 40 via their HipTix program.
- New York City Center has $28 tickets available, both advance and same-day, if you’re under 40 via their Access Club program. NYCC is well known for Encores!, staging short runs of underrated Broadway shows with an A-list cast.
Standing Room Only (SRO)
If a performance is sold out, some shows sell same day ‘SRO’ tickets that allow you to stand at the back of the orchestra.
Be prepared to stand for the entire performance, but ushers will usually let you pop into an empty seat at intermission.
You’ll pay about the same price as rush tickets, $39 to $69. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good resource of which shows offer SRO tickets.
Understudy Performances
This is a little more serendipitous, but productions that rely on famous actors may discount tickets when an understudy goes on.
When Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott were in a production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, tickets were regularly going for $250-300 per seat.
They both got sick at the same time, and the theater refunded everybody and offered $30 seats to anyone who wanted to see the understudies.
You’ll get an opportunity to see some excellent actors in the same exact production, but for much cheaper. These often only happen with a few hours notice, so you need to be ready to pounce.
My Favorite Shows on Broadway
This is the weakest part of my article, and I’m sorry for that! I’ll work on updating it again later once I’ve seen more shows in 2025 and 2026.
Current Shows:
- Maybe Happy Ending
- Dear Evan Hansen
- Six
- Hamilton
- The Book of Mormon
Shows I Loved That Have Closed:
- American Utopia
- Come From Away
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Fun Home
Conclusion
Broadway shows can be an amazing experience without breaking the bank if you know where to look.
With a little planning and flexibility, you can see world-class theater for a fraction of the standard ticket price. Remember these key takeaways:
- Avoid third-party sellers with high markups like Broadway.com
- The TKTS Booth at Lincoln Center typically has shorter lines than Times Square
- Digital options like lotteries and TodayTix offer convenience with reasonable fees
- If you’re local, memberships like TDF and Young Patron programs offer significant savings
- Don’t be afraid to try for last-minute box office deals or see understudy performances
Email and tell me what you see, or leave a comment below with anything I missed.
For more New York City tips and tricks, see my favorite things to do in NYC here.
Special thanks to Nathan Sykes for helping me write this article. Check out his site Understudies.org for cool notices about when understudies are performing on Broadway. He also told me about a new resource, Theatr, which I’m going to check out soon.
