There are four honest ways to pay less than full price for a Broadway seat bought on the day: rush, the lottery, the TKTS discount booth, and the plain old box office at the right moment. They trade off price against effort and certainty. Here is how each one works and when it is the right call.
The box office
Every Broadway theater has a box office, usually open from mid-morning until the show starts. Buying there gets you the regular price without the online service fee that ticketing sites add, though a theater facility fee may still be built into the price. It is also where rush, standing room and student tickets are sold, and where lottery winners collect their seats. If you are in Midtown anyway, walking up to the window and asking what is left for tonight is worth more than people think, especially on weeknights.
Rush
Rush tickets are a fixed number of cheap seats sold on the day of the performance, first come, first served. They come in two kinds.
- In-person rush is sold at the box office, often from the moment it opens. For popular shows a line forms well before opening time. Limits are usually one or two tickets per person.
- Digital rush is released in an app at a set time on the day. It is first come, first served too, but the line is a tap on your phone, and popular shows sell out in a minute or two.
Some shows also run a student rush that needs a valid student ID. Rush seats are often at the very front or far sides, and can be partial view. Each show's lottery and rush page lists the type, price, timing and limit.
The lottery
A lottery is the cheapest route for most big musicals, and the least certain. You enter online for free, winners are drawn at random, and you pay only if you win. It suits anyone who can be flexible about which night and which show. Our lottery guide covers the details.
TKTS
TKTS is the discount booth under the red steps in Times Square, run by the nonprofit Theatre Development Fund. It sells seats that shows have released for that day at a percentage off the regular price, commonly 20 to 50 percent, plus a service charge per ticket. A board shows what is available, and it changes through the day as shows add and sell seats.
TKTS is the most certain of the discount routes: if a show is on the board, you can buy a seat. The trade-off is the selection. The biggest hits rarely appear, and because the discount comes off a high price, a TKTS seat can still cost more than that show's rush or lottery seat. Check the Theatre Development Fund's own site for current booth hours and lines.
Side by side
| Route | Typical price | Effort | Certainty | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lottery | Lowest | A minute online | Low | Flexible dates, big hits |
| Digital rush | Low | Be on your phone at release time | Low to medium | Same-day plans |
| In-person rush | Low | Queue at the box office | Medium to high if early | Early risers near the theater |
| TKTS | Moderate | Queue at the booth | High, for shows on the board | Seeing something tonight, any show |
| Box office | Regular price, no online fee | Walk up | High | A specific show, a specific night |
Which one should you try?
If you have your heart set on one hit musical on one particular night, buy from the official seller or the box office and stop worrying. If you are in town for several days and flexible, enter the lotteries every day and keep rush as the backup. If you just want to see a good show tonight and do not mind which, go to TKTS or check tonight's lotteries and rush first.