There are many myths surrounding the Broadway matinee that should be quickly dispelled. First of all, every matinee does not happen exclusively with a cast of understudies. Yes, there are understudies on occasionally, but no more than when shows are on at night. Also, matinees do start on time (seven or eight minutes after the hour, depending on the house manager) but they start when they’re supposed to, so you need to be clear on the start time and get there! Lastly, there are almost always some great deals you can score on the best shows all around the city on matinees. Late fall, winter and early spring are the best times to go; midweek is better than weekend matinees. There will always be an appetite for good theatre and the best theatre in the world still happens out on the Rialto so get on with it, and follow these eight steps to a Broadway matinee!
1. Know the Show
If you’ve come to Broadway to see a particular show, a very different approach need be taken than if you’re just out to see “a show.” If you haven’t been out in a while and you’d just like to see something during the daytime, matinees are as good a reason as any to cut out on work. If you are only in the city for a limited amount of time and you’ve had your sights set on a particular show, you need to get as much information as you can. Find out what the show’s advance looks like, if tickets are even available when you want to go, the show’s performance schedule, and if there is a standing understudy policy. Some performers have day jobs around the city or elsewhere; for example, it may be commonly known that Brian Stokes Mitchell takes every Tuesday night off because he’s got an obligation at “Encores.” Whatever the case may be, know your show.
2. Performances
You need to know when the show is playing. Many performance schedules for Broadway shows break out something like this: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m., Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. That’s how it goes very often but not always. Again, if you’re out to see a specific show, make sure you know when your show plays!
3. Sales
Once you know the “what” and “when” you need to figure out the “how.” How much are tickets? How far out ahead are tickets available? How far in advance are they selling? Many matinees will have special rates; you can get even sweeter deals from some online sites and TKTS, which we’ll talk about later. Also consider the duration of the show. Just because you want to see “Design For Living” in October does not mean that you can buy tickets in March; especially for a show like that, which was a transplant from London and had international stars. Your show may have a “must end by” date because of the actors or an incoming production.
4. Call the House
Advertising and the stone wall of the business make it an imposition for many to get straight information. Calling Ticketmaster can be a huge waste of time; so much the same for ticket brokers who work on volume and rarity rather than on helping the individual get correct information. If you live in the city or you’ll be here for a while, go talk to the box office at the theatre. This is a sure bet and the staff who work in the box office stay married to the “house,” meaning they know things that a Ticketmaster operator in Peoria, Ill., won’t be able to read from her computer screen. Dealing directly with the box office will also afford you other perks like being able to appeal to a person’s sensibilities and the urgency of now. If the box office is holding house seats for a potential visitor, they may have clearance to release some or all of these tickets on the day of the show or at another specified time. The box office would rather have a full house and your money is better than empty seats. For some shows during slow months – and especially during the week – the box office may have programs that are not posted or unannounced raffles for cheap seats. Avenue Q raffles off the front row two hours before curtain. Bring cash to these raffles because most of these are a cash-only lottery.
5. Timing is Everything
If you were trying to get into “The Producers” those last two months before it closed when Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane came back, you could forget about it. However, a show like “Chicago,” which has been running for years and is a cheap show to operate and a great show for groups, probably has empty seats around noon for a 2 p.m. show. Your best bet is to survey the scene on a site like Broadway.com or Playbill.com, call the box office directly or stop in if you can to speak to them about matinee availability.
6. TKTS
The golden chalice of cheap Broadway tickets is without question TKTS. The two Manhattan- and one Brooklyn-run TKTS booths are enforced by the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and TKTS has exclusive deals for steep discounts on day-of tickets. Folks who’ve seen the lines on a Friday night in the summer at TKTS booths might think that TKTS is not an option for them. However, when it comes to matinees, it’s a little bit different. The Times Square (Duffy Square) TKTS booth lies at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue at 47th Street and has set hours for matinees and evening shows; that is, on Wednesdays and Saturdays the booth is open from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. selling matinee tickets only; Sundays the TKTS booth sells only matinee tickets from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. But if you live or stay in nearby Lower Manhattan or in Brooklyn, you can actually get your discounted matinee tickets the day before the show. Both these booths have restricted hours; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the South Street Seaport location. The Brooklyn booth is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Stopping in at TKTS, particularly for Wednesday matinees, is when you can usually score pretty big. Discounts of 20 to 50 percent are available for all the shows they support; especially during the non-summer and vacation time periods, this can lead to great rates on great seats. Wednesday matinees typically do not sell out (unless you’re a Mel Brooks show). Bring cash! TKTS only accepts cash.
7. Go to a Show in Previews
Many people shy away from wanting to go see a show on Broadway until it is “out of previews.” That’s really too bad. Seeing a show in previews, especially an allegedly really hot show, is the best way to get some sharply discounted tickets. There are some who won’t touch a show until Brantley has raved about it, but if you’ve caught wind of the next big theatrical event, seeing it in previews definitely increases your chances of seeing it with the stars attached and at a discounted rate. Before a show makes it to Broadway it will play for weeks or months in an out-of-town location. Perhaps it will have a run in San Francisco or London before jumping across the pond for its scheduled opening. Once in New York a show will also have previews. Previews will begin usually just two (sometimes as long as four) weeks before an opening night of a show. Having a show run in previews helps generate buzz about a new opening; the full cast will almost always be at all preview shows so seeing a show in previews is also a great way to make sure you see the stars you are looking for.
8. Note About Scalpers
Some people think that the only way to get seats to an in-demand show is from scalpers. This is a tricky situation. Most of the tickets you buy from scalpers will be legitimate – but not always. Moreover, scalpers have gone the way of cyberspace and the business is no longer centered in dark alleys with fast exchanges of money out of the public’s eye. There are a great many legitimate ticket brokers who are the new scalpers and you can find out everything you need to know about them on the Internet. Some of the more trusted sources include StubHub.com , BroadwayBox.com and TheatreMania.com .
That’s pretty much it. You need to know the show you want to go to; you need to find out the show’s matinee schedule; you should probably call the box office directly before you take any lip from other uninformed sources; Wednesday matinees are a lot easier to score great tickets to hard-to-see shows; seeing a show in previews is a great way to get discounts; and while buying from brokers online is a way to get into an in-demand show, you’re not likely to see too many discounts from that avenue, and TKTS is always there for you if you don’t have anything in particular in mind.
Live theatre is alive and well in the United States. With all the fire and brimstone you hear in the news about producers teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, there are still new shows opening up all the time, new stars coming to support the Broadway experience, old stars coming back to bask in the limelight, and future Broadway fanatics are born every minute. So come on out and support Broadway today! Making your way to a Broadway matinee will help keep the magic alive another day.
