What's the cheapest and best way to book tickets in advance for Broadway shows for a person who lives in the UK? I'll be in New York this coming April and obviously I want to see a couple of shows whilst I'm there.
The cheapest way is always going to be in person at the box office. Otherwise, you're going to have to just pay the online fees through Telecharge, Ticketmaster, or whatever service you're going to use.
Yeah, there really is no way to avoid paying fees if you're booking online, unfortunately.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Ah okay! The fees I don't mind as much as the pricing of the tickets as broadway seems to be more expensive than the west end, or at least the tickets offered on broadway.com were.
Ah okay I'll have a look to see if they have anything up yet. I was thinking of rushing for a matinee, but I'm not sure if my student ID would be accepted.
There are a lot of websites you can check for discount codes, including (but definitely not limited to) broadwaybox.com, theatremania.com, broadwaydiscounts.com, playbill.com ... and even BWW has discounts you can use.
Yes I agree with most - avoid Broadway.com. The cheapest way to buy in advance is to find a show with a discount code. BroadwayBox.com and Playbill.com have codes too.
You could go to the box office and avoid the fees, but you'll obviously need to wait till NYC to do that. Depending on the popularity of the show, this may be an okay option.
Hint: sometimes shows release premium seats for regular price a day or two before the show.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
Trust me, we all hate the fees from telecharge and ticketmaster. What shows are you wanting to see? As long as you aren't super picky about your seats, a majority of the shows will have seats available up until show time. You can save your self about $10 per ticket by buying them at the box office. If you are picky about your seats and want peace of mind, you are unfortunately stuck with the fees. The broadwaybox discount codes are great.
If you don't mind sitting in the balcony, see what the prices are for those seats. You can end up with seats that are far less money then a 50% off ticket.
For example....First Date sells balcony seats for $35. Much cheaper then a half off seat for $65 (regular price being $130...then 50% off...$65).
In echoing with what everyone has said already, you can use discount codes through Telecharge by going to BroadwayOffers.com and plugging in the code. It'll take you straight to the show/validity dates.