This past year, Broadway revenue grossed more than $1 Billion. When it comes to Plays and Musicals, art is alive and well. Of course, it’s rising ticket prices that are the cause for the revenue to jump, but it’s still pretty exciting to know that the theatre is doing so well. As someone who hopes to one day be on one of those stages in one of those shows, it’s a relief to know that the art of Theatre is not dying. Yet, at least.
Living in New York City, I have the benefit of being able to see shows quite frequently. I try to see at least 2 or 3 shows a month, and being a student, I get pretty good discounts as well (I mean come on, I’m a student in NYC. I’m poor.) But what if you’re a tourist? Or just coming to the city for a quick day trip and want to see a show? Here are, in my opinion, the best resources to help you with that!
1) BroadwayWorld
Think I was going to list something else first? WRONG. Broadwayworld should always be your first stop for anything Broadway. Plays, Musicals, Art, everything – it’s all on here. I read Broadwayworld EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 1) Because I’m a nerd, and 2) IT HAS EVERYTHING. They are always up to date on news, the weekly schedule of shows, rush/lottery policies, you name it. They even have regional pages for all over the country. Have a theatre in your home town that touring shows come to? There is most likely a regional page for it on Broadwayworld.
However, the BEST part of the website is their message board. I have been a member of this board since 2006 and occasionally post. It’s basically a huge community of theatre nerds who are OBSESSED with everything Broadway. There are even industry people who will post. Not sure if Vanessa Williams is going to be on vacation when you are going to see The Trip to Bountiful? Check the message board – someone has probably posted about it. There are a ton of rumors, alllllways, when it comes to theatre, and someone almost always has some news regarding it. This is by far my favorite site.
2) Playbill
This is probably the site you thought I was going to list first. Playbill and Broadwayworld are very similar, however Playbill does not have a message board. BUT, Playbill is the official printer for every Broadway show. When you go to see a musical or play, you are handed a program with information about the show. These are supplied by Playbill. Even going to see an Opera at the Met, you will find your program to be printed by Playbill. I also frequently use their site to find auditions, but you don’t need to worry about that part. They also have great information about rush/lottery policies as well.
3) Broadway For Broke People
The name says it all. Want to know if a show has a lottery or a rush policy? Check out this site. Some shows may only have a student rush available (If you had a Student ID, you can get discount tickets. There’s more rules than that but that’s the gist). Other shows will have a general rush that ANYONE can do, so those are always something to check out. The more popular shows will do a lottery, such as Wicked and Book of Mormon. This entails you putting your name into a lottery to win discounted tickets to the show – they are often around $30 and are front row. Definitely a site to check out!
4) Broadway Box
Trying to buy tickets online but want to see if there are any discounts? CHECK THIS SITE. They almost always have discount codes for sows and you can often save 50% on your tickets. I try to avoid paying full price for shows because, again, I’m basically poor, so this is one of the first sites I will go to. This is where I bought my tickets to Kinky Boots, before it won all those Tony’s and raised their prices. You should always check this page first before you buy tickets.
And of course…
5) OMG, It’s Jake!
When I go see a show, I will always write my reasons to see a show, such as my 6 Reasons Why You MUST See Pippin. What’s better than a first hand review of the show from a common civilian? DUH. Nothing’s better than that.
OMG It's Jake 