TKTS and dinner before the show

My girlfriend and I are going to New York tomorrow, and we’re planning on using the TKTS booth to get tickets for a musical. We don’t have a major preference about which show to see (although recommendations are welcome!), and we’re on a tight budget, so we thought TKTS would be our best bet. We’ve never done this before, so does anyone have any tips on using the booth? What time should we get there? How long is the wait usually? Any tips on how to get the best seats available? (I know TKTS is slim pickings, but we’d still like to get the best of what’s there.)

Also, we’d like to do dinner somewhere nearby before the show. Something moderately priced but with great food and a romantic/stylish setting would be great. Any recommendations? And if we’re buying tickets at the booth, will we have time to go back to our hotel (in Times Square) to freshen up before going to dinner and then the show?

TKTS and dinner before the show

Since you can waste a great deal of time on the TKTS line why don%26#39;t you go to www.broadwaybox.com and look at the discount shows available. The discounts are about the same as TKTS but you can get your tickets in advance and then pick them up at the ';will call'; window at the theater.

TKTS and dinner before the show

Thanks for the tip. I checked out broadwaybox, and I like that we can pick our seats and everything. Now, of course, I can’t decide what we should see, and my girlfriend is out of town so she can’t help! I think our top choices are Drowsy Chaperone (sounds right up our alley, but about $20/tkt more expensive than the rest and the site won’t let us know exactly what seats we would be in, just the section (which is huge), so it’s more of a risk…is it worth it?), Rent (we saw the movie and loved it), Spelling Bee (sounds funny), and Avenue Q (also looks hilarious). Anyone seen any of these and have suggestions? Also, having never used broadwaybox before, I’m a little nervous. Has anyone ever had trouble using this site for will call tickets?

Hi. I have never used broadwaybox.com, so I can%26#39;t help with that. However, I have seen Jersey Boys, Ave. Q, Rent, Spamalot, The Producers, Les Mis, and Chicago on Broadway and can HIGHLY recommend them all. I am going to see the Color Purple tonight, so I%26#39;ll post about that later.

Jersey Boys is great b/c of the rapport and ';interaction'; with the audience and the music is phenomenal.

Rent is great as well b/c of the music and the storyline.

The Producers is great if you want a something funny.

As for dinner, NYCgirl, left the following post for me which was VERY helpful (see below). Good luck and have fun! (PS - the special offer for McCormick is a Prix Fixe pre-theatre dinner for 29.95).

Maria Pia is nice Italian

www.mariapianyc.com

McCormick %26amp; Schmick - very good seafood:

1285 Avenue of the Americas

They offer a special from www.playbill.com (free to join)

playbill.com/club/…591.html

Don%26#39;t worry about using broadwaybox.com. Broadwaybox.com is a public site for sharing discount codes, and you%26#39;re actually ordering from the exclusive ticket agent for each show (usually telecharge or ticketron).

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I definitely think you’re right, broadwaybox is the way to go. So I looked into Drowsy Chaperone (our first choice), and the best seats I can get would be in the very last row of the orchestra, but in the center. (The theatre just has orchestra and mezzanine.) Can anyone who’s been to the show or the theatre give me an idea of how good/bad these seats would be? It’s our most expensive choice, so if they’re not good seats I think we’ll go with Avenue Q.

Did you try for front mezzanine? See what is available, otherwise go for Avenue Q.

Either choice will be great.

Thanks, NYCgirl. Yep, I tried for the best seats available (the site wouldn%26#39;t let me choose the section). I guess Chaperone is out. One last question, I promise! At Avenue Q we can get seats in the third row from the back (21 rows from the front, so it’s several rows closer than Chaperone), but at Spelling Bee (and for $20/tkt cheaper) we can get floor seats literally in the front row. Spelling Bee actually has tons of good seats available. This sounds too good to be true. Is this just because it’s a theatre-in-the-round, or is it that unpopular? Are “floor seats” (right up front) somehow worse than orchestra seats (right behind the floor seats)? If I have the choice, should I go for orchestra instead? Any advice?

The only one of the shows you mentioned that I have not seen is Spellling Bee. It gets very good reviews and most people love it, but I understand that it is not a ';typical'; show in the Broadway sense, but fun nonetheless (according to those reviews on this forum).

My preference is a few rows from the front, I hate sitting too close, you have to look up and I find it very uncomfortable. This is a personal preference.

Again, what about front mezz for Avenue Q? This is the one show that I would advise you to be a bit closer for, because of the puppets.

Again, any of these would be a good choice, don%26#39;t drive yourself crazy about it.

Ok, I lied, that wasn’t my last question. But this one is, I hope. NYCgirl, thanks to your tips I think I’m going to go for Spelling Bee. Avenue Q really doesn’t have any closer seats, and I think Spelling Bee sounds fun. The question: The cheaper rate I found is on playbill.com, not broadwaybox. Is playbill a reliable source for tickets, too?

Absolutely no problem with using Playbill.

Enjoy, and we would love a review of the show (I need to see this one!!!).