It’s not a spoiler to reveal that attending a Broadway show can cost a pretty penny.
The average ticket price surged to $129 during the 2024-25 season, according to Broadway League numbers. Total attendance rose to 14.7 million, with audiences packing more than 91 percent of available seats. At a time when face-value tickets to see celebrities flirt with $1,000, it helps to know your way around the myriad paths to a bargain experience.
Here’s our ultimate guide to attending Broadway on a budget.
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Rush tickets
If you have the patience to potentially wake up at the crack of dawn and spend a few hours in line, “rushing” the box office may be your best bet. Most Broadway theaters end up with a handful of tickets and dole them out the day of the show – first come, first serve – at a discount when the box office opens at 9 or 10 a.m. Some shows, such as “& Juliet” and “The Book of Mormon,” also offer a digital rush in which the same process plays out online. (Playbill keeps a running list of every show’s rush policies.) It’s worth noting that theaters tend to cap rush tickets at two per buyer, and it’s not always guaranteed that those seats will be together.
Searching for a truly unique rush experience? Try jockeying for the Ponyboy Seat in “The Outsiders,” a front-row ticket that goes for $79 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre box office the day of the performance. The catch? The show’s star uses that seat for the first seven minutes of the show, during which that ticket holder watches from the back of the theater before being ushered to their row.
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Lottery
If you don’t mind absorbing pangs of disappointment in exchange for a shot at cheap tickets, it never hurts to give a show’s digital lottery a whirl. (Unlike the first come, first serve digital rush, the lottery is about luck of the draw.) Policies vary, but most shows launch their lotteries the day before a performance and notify the winners a few hours later or the next day.
Results certainly vary: If you’re eyeing a hot-ticket show, you could dutifully enter every day for months without securing tickets. But the lotteries for less popular productions are considerably easier to win. If you are the lucky winner, you may only have 60 minutes to purchase your tickets before the offer expires. Although lottery tickets can be as cheap as $10 (for “Hamilton”), the cost can run as high as $65 (for “Wicked”).
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Standing room
If a performance is sold out, the theater may sell a limited number of standing-room seats that are exactly as advertised: tickets to enjoy the show from the back of the orchestra, with the caveat that you’ll need to stay on your feet. These tend to go for $40-$50 and, like rush tickets, are sold at the box office the day of the performance, with a limit of two per buyer. It might not be the best choice after, say, a 20,000-step day of sightseeing. But there’s also something to be said for getting an expansive view (and not worrying about a towering theatergoer taking the seat in front of you).
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TKTS booths
Wedged beneath those ruby-red steps in the heart of Times Square, the flagship TKTS booth sells same-day tickets to certain shows for up to 50 percent off. Although the lines can be lengthy, there’s a fast-pass option for repeat TKTS customers who return with proof of purchase from the previous week. And there’s a second, (usually) less congested booth 15 blocks north at Lincoln Center. In addition to seeing the available shows on the booths’ boards, you can also find them on the TKTS app.
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A TDF membership
A $42 annual membership to the Theatre Development Fund – the nonprofit that operates the TKTS booths – comes with access to discounted tickets to some Broadway and off-Broadway shows. Although not everyone is eligible to apply, the member categories cast a wide net: professional artists; government employees and civil servants; veterans; nonprofit staffers; union members; individuals on disability; overtime-eligible employees; freelance workers; clergy; retirees; arts students and teachers; and theatergoers under 30.
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TodayTix
This retailer puts select seats for sale at a discount, offers additional deals through its rewards program and, if you use the app, provides 10 percent off purchases.
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Theatr app
Theatr allows ticket holders to resell their seats at face value or less, with upselling prohibited. So if someone can’t make a show, that just might be your shot at getting into a buzzy performance sans processing fees and price gouging.
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Broadway Box
This site keeps tabs on the various discount codes available for official ticket purchases, with no payment or registration necessary. One recent scan of the site found codes that knocked $60 off some “Chicago” tickets, $40 off certain seats for “& Juliet” and 30 percent off select performances of “Six.”
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StubHub
The ubiquitous reseller is in on the Broadway game as well. Want an orchestra seat to see Leslie Odom Jr. during his 12-week run back in “Hamilton”? Good luck finding a ticket for less than $300 on StubHub. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be found – especially if you’re willing to play chicken a few minutes before curtain and wait for the prices to plummet.
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Discount programs
If all else fails, there’s a hodgepodge of other programs at your disposal. Broadway Week – running now through Sept. 21 – features a two-for-one ticket promotion for most shows. “The Great Gatsby,” “Six” and “Wicked” offer student rush tickets. And three companies that produce Broadway shows – Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and Lincoln Center Theater – offer discount programs for younger ticket buyers.
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Box office
Occasionally, good deals can still be had at face value through a theater’s box office or an official online retailer (such as Telecharge or Broadway Direct). In this case, it’s all about circumstance.
Yes, it’ll cost you a pretty penny to catch a reigning Tonys darling, an A-lister onstage or a “Hamilton”-like juggernaut. But an unknown commodity that’s still in previews could cost hundreds less (congrats to everyone who snagged their “Maybe Happy Ending” tickets before the word of mouth spread). The same goes for a marvel of a show that, for whatever reason, just never lights up the box office (looking at you, the late great “Dead Outlaw”). And if you’re willing to catch a star vehicle when said star has an announced absence, prices for those performances tend to plummet – even when the alternate or understudy is a megawatt talent in their own right.
