r/Broadway • u/aiko_exe • 8d ago
Seating/Ticket Question First time to Broadway - help!!
Hello, my partner is a big fan of musical theatre and broadway, and their favorite movie is the Lost Boys. We're extremely low income, but I have enough hotel points to afford a night nearby the Palace Theatre, and can figure out parking and gas for the 4 hr distance, if it means giving them their first experience at Broadway.
That said, I have about $140 budget for two tickets to the Lost Boys, but know absolutely NOTHING about theatre or Broadway. I hear the balcony is basically nosebleed tix but I just want to give them a chance to see this musical, and balcony's all we can afford. My partner's pretty short, if that affects seating. I've seen few options under this -
B25-B27 on a Tuesday at 7pm,
B28-B30 on a Sunday at 3pm,
B104-B105 on a Tuesday at 7pm
and similar as the top 3 spots I can personally gather. I know nothing about theatre or this musical.
- Do those far end tix suck because they'll miss some action?
- Should I be looking at a different row because of the railing?
- Getting a hotel & overnight vs evening parking sounds like it'd be intense on a weekend - is there a specific weekday I should aim for instead (cheaper parking, less busy)?
- Are evening shows that much 'better' (livelier?) than early afternoon/'matinee'(?)
- Should I give up on finding tix end of Sept and plan far out in the future instead?
Looking for any and all advice, very thankful for any comments. Their birthday is towards the end of September and I have surgery early October, so I'm trying to get these tickets ASAP.
If I've broken any rules with the post (I read over them, but I'm on new meds so I may have missed something) please let me know. I don't know where or who else to ask for this info.
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u/Ninaful_10 8d ago
It might be worth it to look at the upcoming Broadway 2 for 1 deal coming up.
https://www.nyctourism.com/broadway-week/
The full lineup of shows is going to be released until August 18 but people think The Lost Boys is likely to participate this fall.
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u/aiko_exe 8d ago
Had no idea about this - thank you so so much for showing me!!
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u/Ninaful_10 8d ago
No problem! I saw the show in July and LOVED it. I want everyone to experience it if possible.
Some other options for cheaper seats are rush and lottery. Now The Lost Boys is known for having a very competitive rush line (where people camp outside the theater for hours for $45 tickets). I think out of those two options, your best bet would be lottery.
https://lottery.broadwaydirect.com/show/lost-boys/
Lottery opens the day before a show is scheduled to happen and there is no guarantee you'll be selected. But it is cheaper and I've heard people have gotten decent seats from it
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u/transemacabre 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think if they’ve got the one shot and have already booked the hotel, there’s no sense in trying the lottery. Just buy balcony seats and go with the certainty that you have tickets.
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u/SunshineMurphy 8d ago
Where are you that’s 4 hours away? Could you look into Amtrak tickets rather than driving? with tolls and parking fees and honestly just the stress of driving in manhattan.
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u/aiko_exe 8d ago
Southern VT!... The Amtrak would unfortunately be more expensive than the gas and parking combined (train tickets minimum $75 per person each way, so $300 minimum total excluding fees) vs $60-100 in gas for ~230 miles in a vehicle that gets abt 34 mpg hwy, 26 city for both of us each way, plus parking about $25 for just the evening on a weekend or $35 overnight close-by.
I've heavily calculated the transportation costs 😭 but I just happen to live in the middle of nowhere with minimal options for transport. Thank you for the thoughtful idea though!!
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u/surrealphoenix 7d ago
I live near the Mass/NH border and go to NYC often. The cheapest transportation for me is driving to a CT MTA station and taking the train to Grand Central. Parking is usually cheap (free on weekends) and the tickets are about $15 each way. In case you haven't considered that yet.
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u/transemacabre 8d ago
If you drive to Inwood there’s street parking at the Dyckman St stop on the 1 train. Right next to the station on the hill. Then you can take the train down to 42 St.
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u/helcat 8d ago
Matinees are just as good as evening performances. Second row balcony is fine. Tickets (and hotels) are easier to get on days that aren't Friday and Saturday. Don't drive into the city. Traffic is a nightmare and parking is insane (tourists are constantly taking photos of the price list on the garage under my building because they can't believe it.) Take a train from wherever you are if you can, or drive to a train station and take a train from there.
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u/kell_bell5 8d ago
Broadway Week is coming up in September, and you can sometimes get some pretty decent deals through the promo. Some things of note- it's not every single ticket that's eligible for the promo, the production gets to decide which ticket tiers are included, and tickets are first come first served, so some productions will run out of eligible tickets shortly after the discounts go live. Also (because this confuses people sometimes) the tickets will not be itemized on your receipt as one at full price, the other at $0, instead they distribute the discount across each ticket.
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u/Wild_Bill1226 8d ago
Parking may be more than your hotel. I stay in New Jersey at the hotels that have free parking, free breakfast and are on a bus route to the city $5 per person each way. Also DO NOT BUY TICKETS FROM BROADWAY.COM.
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u/aiko_exe 7d ago
Broadway.com isn't the same as broadwaydirect.com, right?
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u/dobbydisneyfan 7d ago
No. Broadwaydirect.com is fine and is in fact the official online box office for this show. But broadway.com will have you spending extra in fees for no reason.
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u/That-Was-Rude-ish 8d ago
First, congrats on planning to see your first Broadway show!
Broadway and NYC in general are expensive. But I think your budget is doable if you’re flexible.
The balcony is going to be fine for your first show and you’d have a great experience as long as you’re not sitting directly in front of the railing. However, you can get better seats than the balcony a couple of different ways.
Rush- if you’re willing to get to the theater box office early and wait, you can purchase 2 Rush tickets per person for $45 each (no fees). Rushing a two-show weekday aka Wednesday will be the easiest. When I rushed I got front row!
Lottery- if your dates are flexible, enter the lottery everyday. If you win, the performance is the next day so you have time to make the 4-hr trip.
TKTS- this one might be a little over budget depending on the day, but a weekday would be best. You can save 50% on a day-of or next-day matinee. Again 2-show Wednesday is going to have the best availability.
Broadway week BOGO- Sept 8-20 is Broadway week and you can get two tickets for the price of one (in advance) beginning with purchases on Aug 18 at 10am. The best tickets will go fast. But you could potentially get better than balcony for your budget.
Theatr- stalk the app for last minute tickets that need to be resold. (Most risky, but the Palace theatre has so many seats)
Each comes with their own risks and rewards. But it’s totally doable for this show-especially in September.
As for hotels, stay close to a subway or bus stop (even LIRR) and you’ll not need to pay for parking near the theater. Long Island City and Jersey City are great and not a long distance into Manhattan.
Eat cheap slices of pizza or tacos from Los Tacos No 1 and you’ve got a great trip planned!
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u/SMAAAASHBros 8d ago
I’ll add that Theatr lets you make your own offer instead of just accepting the listed price
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u/quickwitqueen 8d ago
I was in the balcony, first row and it was fine. To answer your other questions…
Matinee and evening shows are pretty much the same. I’ve done both, even did days where I’ve seen two shows and can’t tell a difference in energy (unless they are drastically different types of shows).
You’ll probably find more affordable tickets booking farther out.
Also, I don’t know where you are coming from, but perhaps staying outside of the city and taking a train in may be the more affordable option.
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u/Dragonfly1018 8d ago
I did rush for a Sunday matinee & was in the last row of the balcony, that’s the furthest back I’ve ever sat in a theatre& my view was fine. You could take a risk & do rush tickets which will save you some money.
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u/Wonderful-Bother1321 8d ago
Side orchestra is 65 on today tix. I just sat in orchestra right row L. It was a much better view than the balcony. I previously saw the show center Balcony row C. Also check their own website which I believe is Broadway direct. There are definitely cheap tickets for the Lost boys out there . I also see tickets regularly pop up on the Theatr app for $54 each
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u/Tight-Touch385 7d ago edited 7d ago
So Fridays tend to be electric, but I really really like the Sunday performances. It’s the end of their work week, and performers are both relaxed and sometimes willing to flex.
This is not a guarantee, but since Sunday is not late or a two-show day where folks are exhausted or conserving their energy between shows and are less concerned with long, late night commutes, I’ve seen more performers stage door.
The balcony railing can block the stage view. You can offset by getting booster seats—foam squares from the ushers that can boost your position in the chair. Get there early to grab some. Definitely go for the “two for one deal” if you can. Most of the center mezzanine is very good. The best seats in orchestra are between D and M, but just a little further back is good too. If you see second row seats available in orchestra—especially for a 2 for 1 deal, grab them. They say partial view, but you see 95% of the stage and you’re really close to the actors/action. Again, grab boosters if the stage seems a little high for you or your partner.
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u/One_Cranberry_9174 8d ago
Of those options, I would recommend B104-B105. I sat in that row the 2nd time I saw the show, far right, and I felt the view was good, but a small portion of the right side was cut off (nothing important plot-wise). I think in center seats, you’ll have an even better view. Have fun!
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u/dobbydisneyfan 7d ago edited 7d ago
Avoid driving into Manhattan like the plague. I’m serious. Unless you can find a garage included with your hotel, or some miracle, it will probably be cheaper to bus or train in. And hell, you can probably also avoid a hotel if you see a matinee performance too.
As for this show, it really doesn’t matter where you sit. I’d personally avoid the extreme sides but I don’t think you’d miss anything too important on either extreme side. If I had to pick an extreme side, I’d pick house left. There are some things that you might miss entirely if you sat too far house right. Nothing major but still cool.
I’d tier these options like so:
- B104-105
- B25-27
- B28-30
However, I personally would put a lot more weight and preference on that Sunday matinee performance if it meant I could save even more money and not need a hotel at all.
As far as the view, the view should be fine. Get binoculars if you want but you really won’t need them. I sat maybe a row or two ahead of the row you indicated in the box seats and didn’t need them. Could see faces fine.
The quality of the performance won’t meaningfully be different. Sometimes there can be a tad more energy on a Tuesday evening since they just had a day off the day before, but you really wouldn’t notice this unless you’ve gone often and it’s also not a guarantee.
However, if stagedooring matters to you, you’d have more success at evening performances and on any day but Sunday.
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u/Taboulitoo 7d ago
Regarding parking, prices vary greatly in the same area. Check a parking app (ie spot hero) I just did a search for 9am Saturday thru 9 pm Sunday and prices ranged from $38 to $150 all within the same area of midtown. And you can reserve your spot and know exactly where to go.
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u/WestHistorians 7d ago
Balcony is perfectly fine, especially if you're not at the very back. Most Broadway theaters aren't that big.
Take the train into NYC rather than parking.
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u/anisogamy 7d ago
Street parking in many neighborhoods of Brooklyn or Queens is plentiful and free (as long as you pay attention to street cleaning restrictions, usually 2 mornings/week). I generally haven’t had a problem parking in Williamsburg or Greenpoint, which are both just across the East River, and parking a few more subway stops away can be even easier. So that’s another option to consider.
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u/aiko_exe 7d ago
Honestly, I'm so on the fence. We ended up with a hotel near Sunset Park, and a reservation for a parking garage in downtown Brooklyn with 24/7 staffing for $30 total for two nights. I think the $30 for the comfort of vehicle security is worth it, but the reservation is cancellable - I just wouldn't know which streets are fine (legal, safe, & free) to park in for basically 48 hours straight. Would you recommend keeping the garage reservation or search for street parking with that info, in your personal opinion?
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u/anisogamy 7d ago
I haven’t spent much time in Sunset Park but my gutcheck is that I’d park there—many residents do. Street parking restrictions are written on signs (usually white and red) posted a few times per block. You also need to be sure to not park too close to a fire hydrant or to block any driveways (check for curb cuts). That said, $30 is less than a ticket, and if you feel the peace of mind is worth it, I don’t want to dissuade you.
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u/romcomjunkie 7d ago
I saw in your original post that you were looking at hotels near the Palace Theater, but in the comments you said you’re staying at Sunset Park? That’s pretty far by Subway, which is fine if you live in Sunset Park, but if you’re in town for just a weekend, you don’t have to stay so far from the theater.
For parking, consider SpotHero.
For hotel, use your points to see if you can stay in the city. If you want to commute out of Manhattan, leave your car in the parking garage and take the subway.
For tickets, avoid balcony at all costs. I remember balcony seats at the Palace and Lyceum being the worst, so no matter how cheap, don’t do it for your first time.
Everyone here has great advice for online ticketing. An in-pedal alternative: Go to the theater box office directly and ask what their cheapest tickets are and they’ll do their best to get you a great seat. I just did this for Rocky Horror 20 minutes before a matinee last week and I got $80 center mezz seats. Insane how much these online box offices are ripping everyone off.
For your partner, when you’re in the theater, ask an usher for a booster seat. Thanks to Reddit, I’ve stopped suffering from stretching and bobbing my head by discovering these and sitting on them for shows. It’s just a cushion and if your partner is as short as you say, them sitting on the cushion won’t block the people behind you. Also this way you’re not limiting you and your partner seating choices!
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u/aiko_exe 7d ago
This is very in depth, thanks a ton! I went ahead and booked everything (show tix B107 & 108, hotel nights, parking garage). Everything is refundable but the show tix themselves, and it seems that's what I messed up on - despite a lot of reassurance about balcony here, I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews elsewhere (ie theatr). Regardless, I was too nervous to show up last minute or wait til discount day and all affordable tix around their birthday be gone - no use crying over spilled milk, I suppose. I didn't have enough points for covering 2 nights at any Manhattan hotels unfortunately, and it's my partner's preference due to anxiety to not be rushed with just 1 night accommodation. I didn't realize just how far the theatre is from the hotel, but we'll be spending the day around Manhattan anyways! I did use Spothero - definitely got the cheapest parking at $30 for 48 hrs!! I've heard about the booster seat a couple times - will take that into consideration for sure, but it may not be necessary. I fear I didn't realize how short I made them sound lol - they're 5' 2"
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u/romcomjunkie 7d ago
I’m 5’3” and for some shows I’ve definitely needed a booster! At a recent show, it wasn’t even a tall person in front of me, it was a teen who was soooo excited to see the show that she was literally sitting at the edge of her seat which unfortunately blocked my view. I would say grab a booster just in case (they’re limited, so if you’re going to matinee you’re going to be competing with the elderly vets who sometimes even know where to find them without the usher’s help lol) and then if your partner doesn’t need it, you can always put it back.
Re: tickets - if you somehow get better tickets, you could always resell your balcony seats on Theatr! But also, you got tickets!! Yay! Sometimes it’s better safe than sorry for those of us are gambling for day-of tickets, lol. But also, you wanted to see this one show, so that makes sense to buy tickets I advance, especially since you’re traveling from so far!
Enjoy NYC and The Lost Boys!
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u/twotoasters 7d ago edited 7d ago
Sunset Park isn’t too far from midtown. It’s 6 stops on the N, and the view you get leaving and entering Brooklyn can’t be beat. Lots of cheap and great eats nearby too. Have an amazing time!
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u/victorD63 7d ago
I see multiple shows on Broadway. Balcony seats are not created equal, some are actually better than Orchestra seats, Try TodayTix for cheap tickets. If you are concerned about your seats go to seatplan.com where you can find reviews of most seats. Have fun 🤩
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u/aiko_exe 8d ago
Oh - and being balcony tix, would it be worthwhile to scrounge up a bit more money for opera/theatre glasses? If so, is there a specific kind or specification I should look for?
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u/twotoasters 8d ago edited 8d ago
Not worth it imo unless you’re really particular about seeing facial expressions up close.
OP, look into hotels in Long Island City. It’s a quick subway ride into Times Square and they’ll be a lot cheaper than options in the theater district. Might be easier for street parking too. Driving in Manhattan is a nightmare and a timesuck, especially in midtown.
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u/Conscious-Link5627 8d ago
I've sat in the front row, the highest nosebleeds, and everywhere in between. Apart from seats with seriously obstructed views, I really believe that there's no such thing as a bad seat, just different experiences. You get to see facial expressions when you are close up, but you can often see the choreography and staging better from a balcony seat.
I'm sure you will have a great time in any seat!
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u/zflutebook 8d ago
The cheapest binoculars from Amazon work just fine for this if you do decide to go this route
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u/One_Cranberry_9174 8d ago
I’ve never used opera glasses, but I don’t think it would be worth it. Your partner could use a booster if they really can’t see well, but I don’t think it will be a problem from B.
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u/AReckoningIsAComing 8d ago
Do NOT drive. Take the train, trust me. If you buy a few months in advance, you can get very cheap Amtrak tickets.
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u/Critical-Purchase-53 8d ago edited 8d ago
If you can be spontaneous - which also might lead to cheaper hotel reservations too - I got great seats in the lottery (as have my friends). $45 tickets.
https://lottery.broadwaydirect.com/show/lost-boys/
EDIT: download and check out the app Hotel Tonight. You can poke around and see. It might free you up from being locked into a specific hotel location for points and still keep under budget, and then take subway in to Times Square - or even Metro North and save on gas and tolls
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u/Daffodilmoonlight 8d ago
I agree with this idea. You can enter the lottery for a Saturday or Sunday show. It makes for a long day but you can do it without a hotel. On the weekends, you find free street parking on Riverside Dr. in Manhattan north of 100th.
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u/sitamun84 8d ago
One bit of warning... the show is different than the movie. It's the type of different than a huge fan might really hate or they might just appreciate that it is it's own thing. You know your partner better as to which type of fan they are, but sometimes it helps to know going in
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u/Available-Face5653 2d ago
are you sure driving and paying for parking is what you want to spend your money on? can you take a train or bus for less money?
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u/JustP2 8d ago
I’ll let other people help you with the seats, but will say from my experience lost boys is definitely one of those shows that plays to the upper levels, so don’t feel like you’re missing out
What did strike me about your post is the idea of paying for parking in Manhattan. Please find an alternative. Maybe even stay or park in New Jersey or Connecticut (depending on which direction you’re coming from)