Hamilton Cancellation Line

[rangersrule132]

casedilla2 said: "Hey everyone, I am doing the cancellation line in a couple weeks on Tuesday, 2/14. If anyone is interested in 1-2 tickets for that show and would be willing to help pay for my and my friend's tickets in exchange for waiting in line and making you our plus one, please message me!

 

"

you are about 6 months too late.

[elili]

can kids standing in line buy a ticket? do they have to have their own method of payment if with a parent?

 

also is the new policy that no line forms until 5:30 even on matinee days?

[fyeahmaria]

Today there were only 3 people in line when I walked passed around 9am

[tylergrabo]

fyeahmaria said: "Today there were only 3 people in line when I walked passed around 9am

 

"

lol i was one of those 3 people. we arrived at the richard rogers at around 6:45 and we were the first people there. The line didn't start forming until a little before noon (around 11:15), most likely due to broadway con. but we were given front row centerlotto seats for standard prices and overall it was an amazing experience. my advice would be to anyone attempting to do the cancellation line, is to do it at this time of year as there will likely be less people. it was very cold this morning but we came prepared with blankets, hand warmers, etc. if you definitely want to secure your tickets though, you should arrive before the sun comes up and setup "base-camp" in front of the theater. be prepared to wait a long time for the cancellation tickets aswell. and if it gets close to showtime don't worry, we didn't get our tickets until 2:50 (3:00 show). as far as i know there is no age limit on buying hamilton tickets as we were able to purchase ours with no problems (however i assume you have to be at least 13 to buy them). in general, the wait was very long but it was so worth it in the end. good luck to anyone trying to get tickets! 

ps. if anyone has any questions about the line experience, feel free to pm me! :)

 

[alliec419]

I know this is probably reaching, and too soon to tell, but with the doubling of # of lottery tickets given out each day, have there been an increase in the # of cancellation tickets given out? I am dying to drive down for a day trip to do this line (from Boston). 

[taudrisp]

alliec419 said: "I know this is probably reaching, and too soon to tell, but with the doubling of # of lottery tickets given out each day, have there been an increase in the # of cancellation tickets given out? I am dying to drive down for a day trip to do this line (from Boston). 

 

I was just in the cancellation line yesterday, 7pm show and I got there at 3pm. There were 4 couples in front of us (the first ones in line got there at noon) which was a pleasant surprise. Long story short around 4:30pm they had premium seats for sale ($540) and then at 5:30pm they started clearing people for the $199 tickets. All the people in front of my walked away with tickets. At this point if it was a nail biter because we were literally next and they stopped calling people (there were probably another 20 people behind us) and all of the lottery winners started showing up to get their tickets. Finally at 6:40pm they called us and we got 7th row center orchestra (RIDICULOUS seats). The next 5 people behind us filled out the rest of the row. Not sure how many people past them got cleared. I can't tell if there were more tickets available (from what I saw about 20 tickets were given out) then usual. I do have to point out that everyone was surprised that the line was as short as it was so this situation may have been an exception to the norm. It was probably the coldest day in awhile and there was light snow in the morning. It was also a Tuesday show so the primary Hamilton doesn't perform (which by the way should not stop you, our Hamilton was amazing!). Not sure what was going on but we were lucky that we only waiting 4 hours and had ended up with the most amazing seats. 

Prior to lining up I read this board up and down and to add some of my advice:

- Sullivan is the theatre cop for the area and he said that in general he stops the line at 30 people. He will also give a rundown of the ticket options as you have to know what you want because they work fast once you are called (premium, standard or standing room)

- come prepared; I brought hand warmers, a blanket, water, snacks and my kindle. We also made a night of it by getting a hotel room (my thought process was if it didn't work out Tuesday then we would try again for the 2 shows on Wed .. yes, I was determined). 

- go early, my experience was definitely not normal so unless you have back up shows like I did I wouldn't recommend just show any less then 5 hours to showtime. For more context, we drove by the theatre at around 11am and there were about 15 people on line for the 2pm show

- if you ever second guess yourself why you are waiting IT IS WORTH IT, I have been listening to the soundtrack pretty religiously the last few months (totally late to the Hamilton bandwagon) and had very high expectations. I was concerned I would be disappointed that no one from the original cast would be there and frankly I just had really high hopes it would be what I always saw in my head ... without any question it exceeded all of my expectations and made me appreciate the show even more. I am not concerned about over hyping it because its THAT GOOD. I would wait on that line again in a heartbeat to see it again and honestly definitely plan to!

Good luck and for those going soon get excited, its pretty awesome!

 

[elili]

just called the box office and was told that you have to be 18 to purchase tickets.

hoping that people are going to be ok with my son standing in line then switching

out with his dad to purchase tickets later. we aren't buying additional tickets, just 4 in all.

anyone have experience with this?

[daijop]

elili said: "just called the box office and was told that you have to be 18 to purchase tickets.

hoping that people are going to be ok with my son standing in line then switching

out with his dad to purchase tickets later. we aren't buying additional tickets, just 4 in all.

anyone have experience with this?

 

I waited on line with my 11 year old daughter. My parents joined us for the last hour and we purchased 4 tickets in all.  It wasn't a problem other than a person behind us being upset.  It wasn't about ago, she didn't realize each person was allowed to buy 2 tickets

 

 

[elili]

thanks for letting me know! super helpful.

[Coachkit]

I need 3 tickets for 2/10, 2/11, or 2/12. We fly in at 5pm 2/10. Will anyone wait in line for us for Friday nights show for fee?  We are coming from West Coast and this is once in lifetime trip for us.

[fyeahmaria]

Did the cancellation line on Wednesday (25th) for the matinee. Got there at 7.45 am and was ticket 13 and 14. First guy in line got there at 1 am, and those in front of me had arrived just after 7. No one came after me until about 9.30. I don't think any premium tickets were offered, but 3 regular single tickets were sold at 10.20. I didn't catch the location of these. After that they started selling tickets in pairs around 11.15, and did a couple every 15 minutes or so. We got our tickets at 12.30. At least two tickets after us were sold, but not til about 1.45. When we got to our seats we realized everyone except the first three people got seats in the second row of the orchestra. The cancellation line actually filled that entire row. That made me wonder if they might have been held for the lottery, but maybe something had gone wrong with it so they just sold them all to the cancellation line? (For $199 instead of $10). Anyway it was great for us, and nice to have a little time before the show to change and relax. Just under 5 hour wait for me, and so worth it! 

[elili]

that's great. do they always let you leave now?

i thought the new rule was that once you got your tickets you had to stay

in the box office.

[fyeahmaria]

That's not a new rule, I think it was announced last summer when things were crazy and all tickets were sold right before the show. 

These days they tend to sell tickets earlier, and there is no way to force you to just wait around until the doors open. So yes they let you leave. 

[tylergrabo]

elili said: "just called the box office and was told that you have to be 18 to purchase tickets.

hoping that people are going to be ok with my son standing in line then switching

out with his dad to purchase tickets later. we aren't buying additional tickets, just 4 in all.

anyone have experience with this?

I do not know if that's right because I'm 16 and I bought tickets in the cancellation line without any adults. Idk if I was just lucky or something, but when I called the box office a week or two ago, they said there wasn't an age restriction. Best of luck to everyone! :)

 

[Mmangano]

Looking for 2 tickets in mid August- early September if anyone is selling! I don't live near NYC anymore so it's too long of a trip to risk not getting tickets from the cancellation line when we get there. 

 

Thank you!

[likeeohhmyygosh]

Just wanted to share my experience in the line today (Thursday) and hopefully help others as this board helped me.

- I was 1st in line when I arrived at 9AM. #2 joined me shortly after. #s 3 & 4 didn't arrive until 11AM. 

- Everyone was very nice, chatty, and we took turns letting each other go grab coffee/restroom/ go warm up (today was the coldest day in February so far).

- I was offered Premium or Standard seats at 12PM for the 7PM show. I took Standard. Front row center of the Mezzanine (11 rows back from the stage). I was surprised I only had to wait 3 hours! It's worth it to be first in line when it's this cold. 

- There were no other Standard seats available at that time. I'm sure more became available, but I'm not sure how much longer my line-mates had to wait. 

Advice to anyone doing this in the cold: layer up! You can always remove layers if you get hot. But it is a cold and windy street. Handwarmers and footwarmers  will be your savior. Also, bring something soft and thick to sit on, the cold concrete will terrorize you. And bring a blanket (wind breaking, if you have one).

Good luck all!!

[LesMizazz]

Here is my long, somewhat detailed, summary of my experience in the cancellation line yesterday (Wednesday) 

I took the train to Manhattan from Queens and was originally going to do Book of Mormon lottery. I put my name in at 4:30pm when the sign-up started and then decided to wander down to Hamilton to see how long the cancellation line was. 

When I got there, the student matinee was about to let out, but I saw a group of about 10 people standing together, which I assumed was where the cancellation line forms when a performance is about to let out, so I got in line around 4:40. 

I wasn't even sure if there was a performance that night since there was no lottery, but I'm pretty sure they cancelled the lottery due to the NYC Teacher event they were sponsoring. 

The matinee let out around 4:50, and then once it was clear, a guy moved the line in front of the theatre where the doors and stairs are. I decided to give up on my Book of Mormon chances since it seemed like a good chance of getting a Hamilton ticket. 

Around 5:30, a guy came out and said there were Premium tickets available for $850. Only 1 lady in front of me was interested so she went in, but came out 10 minutes later making it sound like there would likely be much cheaper tickets a little bit later, so she got back in line.

Around 6:00 or so, Williams? the cop who hangs out around the theatre came by and gave the rundown of the cancellation line. Then he counted how many people were in line and I ended up being Number 13. 

1-6 were too far ahead for me to talk to, but I think most of them got in line around 1pm.

7 and 8 got there around 3 and were a guy and girl in their 20's. 

9 got there around 3:30 and was the lady who was going to buy the premium but opted out.

10 got there around 4 and was a lady who I thought had originally gotten in line with 2 other people, but they ended up leaving and she was only getting a ticket for herself. She was really nice and gave me an extra bagel that her friends had gotten for her. (I was dumb and didn't eat any lunch before standing in line).

11 and 12 got there around 4:30 and were a mother and son who drove in from Ohio for the son's 10th birthday! They were both really sweet and the boy (George) has been wanting to see the show for a really long time. His Dad passed away last November and so his Mom was really hoping he'd get to to see the show even though she was freezing waiting in line. We let them leave and get pizza and coffee across the street, and nobody minded them getting back in line. I was telling myself and the people in line behind me that even if tickets ran out by the time I got to the box office, I wouldn't mind as long as George got to see the show! He even rapped Guns and Ships for us while we stood in line. 

13 was me, who got there at 4:45. 

14 got there around 5. He was a visiting from Australia for 5 days who wanted to see as many shows as possible. He was really fun to talk to about Australia and theatre in general. If he happens to read this, can we please get married so I can escape the political craziness here in the States? 

15 got there around 5:30 and was a girl who is moving to California next week, so she wanted to be able to see the show while she still lived here. For pretty much the majority of waiting in line, she was on the phone with Delta booking her flight to CA.

16 got there around 5:45 and was a nice 20 something girl who often walks past the line after work. She too had noticed that there was no lottery today so she thought she'd come by and see what availability was like.

There were about 3 more people in line behind them and then the barricades for the stagedoor were set up. On the other side of the barricades the line continued with people having showed up around 7 or so. 

At 7:30 they stared letting people with tickets enter the theatre. It was a little crazy because people with tickets lined up right next to the cancellation line, so it was hard to tell if people were cutting into the line or not. Everyone in the line was very aware of this though and we looked out for each other. 

The ticketholder line dissipated around 7:40, and then they started calling in the cancellation line 1 or 2 at a time. Once George and his Mom were called, it was a pretty cool feeling to be in the front of the line (and I was also happy that they got tickets!). 

It was probably around 7:50 that the guy came out and said he had 5 standing room available and if we wanted them we had to tell him now! I was actually hoping for SRO so right away I said yes, as did 14, 16 (and I assume 17 and 1. The girl who had been on the phone the whole time didn't want to stand (I think), but I still ended up seeing her walk into the theatre so she must have gotten a seat. 

I have no idea how much the people in front of me paid for their seats (I'm assuming $199), but I am so happy I got in line when I did and was able to get a $40 Standing Room ticket! 

I only wish I had dressed a little bit warmer (i was wearing a t-shirt under a jacket, but more layers would have been much nicer). But for only having to stand in line for 3.5 hours for an SRO ticket, I'd say the Cancellation Line was very worthwhile!

[Rainah]

WHat was SRO like, seat wise and comfort wise?

[philicheesteak]

I realize this is last minute, but me and my partner are standing in line tomorrow and would be willing to stand for two extra tickets in exchange for ours to be paid for. Please message me if you are interested! 

[Rainyday3]

How does lining up work on Saturdays if you only want to try for the evening show?  I've read a couple different reports, so kind of confused!

 

[philicheesteak]

Just sharing our experience with the cancellation line on Friday, 02/17/2017. We got to the line at 6:00AM on the dot, me and my partner were first in line, quickly followed by numbers 3 and 4 at 6:15AM, then number 5 at 9AM. The Officer came at about 4PM, and asked if they have given out any tickets early, and we said no, and he asked that we all be ready in case they do call us in (at this point, there was about 16-18 people in line). An hour later, a man from the box office came out and started calling us in, they released 4 tickets at 5PM, so we were able to head home and freshen up. 

When we got back, we saw that we were the only ones out of line (we only bought 2 tickets), but 3 and 4 were buying 3 total, so they were waiting for one more. When we got to our seats, 10 minutes later, we saw the first 8 people that were in line inside too! (So that was great news! :)) 

We paid $199 for one ticket each, and our seats were in the second row! Great view of the stage and actors. Good luck to those of you trying for them, totally doable! Thank you for all of the previous posts that helped us! 

[sonyaisgood]

Rainyday3 said: "How does lining up work on Saturdays if you only want to try for the evening show?  I've read a couple different reports, so kind of confused!

 

 

"

You can join the line after 2:05 when the matinee line is told the show is sold out, or you can join the matinee line, tell them you don't want the matinee ticket if you get offered, and when they call it off, they offer you guys to keep waiting but on the other side (because where you guys wait is the theatre's exits, so they need to keep it clear while the show is going on)

[MyFavoriteBrunette]

Rainah said: "WHat was SRO like, seat wise and comfort wise?

http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1081132&page=160

post #3977 

 

 

[pac2015]

Glad to see that this is still going strong and fans are still having luck!  I'll never forget my cancellation line experience about 10 months ago.  Met a lot of great people and that rush of getting a ticket 13 minutes before curtain was just something I'll never experience again.

[LizB2]

rangersrule132 said: "casedilla2 said: "Hey everyone, I am doing the cancellation line in a couple weeks on Tuesday, 2/14. If anyone is interested in 1-2 tickets for that show and would be willing to help pay for my and my friend's tickets in exchange for waiting in line and making you our plus one, please message me!

 
If anyone is planning on waiting in the cancellation line on 2/25 or 2/26, I would love two tickets for my daughter and I and would be happy to pay for your tickets as well. Please send a message if interested. Thank you...

 

[HappyWifeHappyLife]

I've been following this thread for awhile now and finally decided to post. I'll be in NYC on 3/19 and am hoping to score 2 tickets to Hamilton that afternoon. Anyone wait on a Sunday recently have any advice?