If there’s one thing that sets apart New York City from most of its big city rivals in America, Europe and Asia, it’s the rich and vibrant theater atmosphere in Midtown Manhattan.
Manhattan even has an area in Midtown designated as Theater District because most Broadway theatres are located here.
Theater District extends from W.40th St to W.54th St and west of 6th Ave to East of 8th Ave.
There are 40 Broadway theaters with seating capacity from 597-1933.
Broadway Theatre League, the trade association, estimated that in 2011 attendance at Broadway shows touched 12.13 million with gross revenues of $1.08 billion.
Now, theater in NYC is not Broadway only.
There’s Off-Broadway (theaters with 100-499 seats) and Off-Off-Broadway (theaters with less than 100 seats).
Also, keep in mind that some of the theaters are not even located in Midtown Manhattan.
As with so much in our era, so much choice. Isn’t too much choice the bane of our times?
Useful Broadway Links:
* The Broadway League
* Internet Broadway Database Archive
* Wiki Profile of Broadway
Discounted Broadway Tickets
No reason to pay full price, sweetie.
I’ll wager you a thousand pennies that the wretched members of the 1% never pay full price for a Broadway ticket. They probably leverage their web of connections to wrangle free prime seats for the whole family.
Discount Broadway Tickets @TKTS
You, the humble member of the plebeian 99%, can score up to 50% off regular ticket prices for same-day Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals and plays at the TKTS discount booths.
The Official TKTS app (free) for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7 provides real-time listings of all Broadway and Off Broadway shows available at TKTS Discount Booths.
TKTS Kiosk in Times Square
To find out what tickets are available at the TKTS booths, visit the Entertainment Link web site:
http://www.entertainment-link.com/tkts.asp?show=all
But the lines for the same day tickets can be long. Don’t blame us.
There are three TKTS discount booths in New York City selling discounted Broadway tickets:
1.Times Square Booth – Sells day-of-performance tickets only.
Location: Broadway and W 47th St
Subway: 1, 2, 3, N, R, A to Times Square
2. South Street Seaport Booth – Sells tickets to evening performances on day of performance, and matinee tickets the day before.
Location: Corner of Front and John Streets, near rear of the Resnick/ Prudential Building at 199 Water St
Subway: J,Z,2,3,4,5 to Fulton St; A,C to Broadway-Nassau
3. Downtown Brooklyn Booth – Sells tickets to evening performances on day of performance, and matinee tickets the day before as well tickets to Brooklyn performing arts events.
Location: 1 MetroTech Center at corner of Jay St and Myrtle Ave Promenade
Subway: A, C, F , R to Jay Street-MetroTech. 2, 3, 4, 5 to Court Street-Borough Hall
Payment: TKTS Times Square, TKTS Seaport and TKTS Downtown Brooklyn accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards, cash, travelers checks or TKTS Gift Certificates.
Another way to save money on Broadway tickets is to go during Broadway Week January 17-February 4 when you can get 2-for-1 tickets.
Details – http://www.nycgo.com/broadwayweek
Also, check out the Talkin Broadway web site for discount codes and information on Rush Tickets for students.
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/faq/index.html#discountcode
Rush tickets are much cheaper but they are limited and usually reserved for purchase by students (with ID) for same day shows.
Sometimes I’m tempted to register for a course at a community college, get a Student ID and gormandize on all the many discounts available for those attending a college. But since I’m in my dotage it might not go well with the admissions clerk. Schade!
Other NYC Theatre Avenues
But there’s more to the theater scene in New York City than Broadway, Off-Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway.
There are several avenues to see FREE plays or at reduced rates.
Here are a few of them:
Shakespeare in the Park
Delacorte Theater in Central Park
New York, NY
A NYC summer tradition, Shakespeare in the Park is one of the many joys of life in the Big Apple.
50th Anniversary in 2012.
When: June-August 8PM. Check calendar on web site for schedule.
Where: Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Enter at W.81st St and Central Park West or 79th St and 5th Ave
FREE tickets are distributed (2 per person) at Delacorte Theatre in Central Park on day of show or try your luck at the Virtual ticketing system on the web site.
Subway: B, C to 81 St
Web site: http://shakespeareinthepark.org
New York Classical Theatre
40 W.116th St
New York, NY 10026
Ph: 212-252-4531
Mission: FREE Production of popular classics and forgotten masterpieces in non-traditional public places throughout NYC
When: June-July, Check web site for schedules and venue
Where: Central Park (W.103rd St and Central Park West), Battery Park (in front of Castle Clinton) and World Financial Center (200 Liberty Center)
Subway: Central Park location – B, C to 103rd St; Battery Park venue – 4, 5 to Bowling Green; 1 to South Ferry or R, W to Whitehall; World Financial Center venue – A, C, J, M, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Fulton St/Broadway-Nassau; E to World Trade Center; or R to City Hall.
Web site: http://www.newyorkclassical.org
Public Theater
425 Lafayette St
(Between Astor Place and E.4th St)
New York, NY 10038
Ph: 212-539-8500
Producer of both Shakespeare and new works.
Discount Tickets: Limited General Rush Standby Tickets ($20) will be offered 60-minutes before performance at box office.
Web site: http://www.publictheater.org
Subway: R, N to 8th St-NYU; 6 to Astor Place
Hudson Warehouse
North Patio of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument
Riverside Park
W.89th St and Riverside Dr
New York, NY
2012 marks the 9th Season of Hudson Warehouse’s FREE outdoor staging of Shakespeare’s plays.
When: June-September, Thu-Sun, 6:30PM
Subway: 1 to 86 St; 1, 2, 3 to 96 St
Web site: http://hudsonwarehouse.net
Gorilla Repertory Theater Company
Stages free classical dramas
Web site: http://gorillarep.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gorilla-Rep/113608852203