Broadway and New York Mid-Town
Although she was going to be busy during the day at her seminar, the idea was to have dinner in the evening and to see a Broadway Play. Since she was ‘working’ during the day, it was my job to get tickets to a Play. We decided we wanted to see ‘The Color Purple’.
I have been to several Broadway Plays before, but my company (based in Long Island NY) had usually got the tickets for me. In other cases, I just let the concierge in the hotel take care of the Tickets.
Since I had a little time on my hands, I decided I was going to get the best tickets at the best price possible. So I started with the Concierge in my hotel – something I was familiar with. She talked to her contacts and said that Orchestra Tickets could be had for $145 – $209 per ticket – probably closer to the $209 because she had to pay broker fees to get the tickets. Mezzanine Tickets were going for $120-179/ticket. I thought I could do better than that.
I then went to my computer. There were several companies listed there under Discount Broadway tickets, but they were also charging broker fees and the best price I found there was $192/ticket! There had to be a better way!
I had heard many times that there was a ‘Ticket Booth’ place in Mid-Town NY where you could get really good discounted tickets. Everyone I have talked to seemed to know about this place, but no one could tell me exactly where it was. When I was online, I had noticed a listing that said it had same day discount tickets at a ticket booth, but there was no phone number – just the times it would be open!
Their web ad said they were open on Saturday from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm for discount tickets. They are also open for matinée showings from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. There are large electric screens outside the ‘ticket booth’ that tell you which shows they have available for that evening. (I later found out that there is an app you can download to get the same info). It turns out that this was the place I was looking for! They are simply called TKTS Booths and are owned by a non-profit entity called TDF or Theater Development Fund! They are located right in the middle of the Broadway theater district at Broadway and 47th Street. (1564 Broadway) for your GPS!
I walked over to TKTS a little before 3:00 to see if they had my tickets. My timing was a mistake. There was a line waiting that extended halfway down the block and zig-zagged back and forth 3 or 4 times! I thought the line would take a minimum of an hour to get through and I started to leave, but decided I didn’t have anything else to do, so why not wait it out! It was good that I did because it actually took me about 30 minutes to get through the line. I was able to get two Orchestra tickets for $158.00 ($79 each) including all service fees. I was a happy camper!
The Color Purple
I thoroughly enjoyed The Color Purple! Since I am obviously not a trained critic, you can see a real review of the Play here by the New York Daily News!
I did have a couple of observations on the play also!
- My initial thinking was that the play (like the movie) was a play for empowering women – and certainly portrayed men in a negative light. Nothing wrong with that – it was a story that needed to be told, but nonetheless, I thought it might be a bit uncomfortable to sit through. However, I found the play to be totally entertaining and the music was outstanding!
- When you look at the listing of cast members for Color Purple, the name that stands out is Jennifer Hudson. If someone had told me before the performance, that there was someone in the cast that could sing better than Jennifer Hudson, I would never have believed it. And Jenifer was very good in the Play. However, the lead character, played by Cynthia Erivo simply took the show. Her rendition of ‘I’m Here’ will give you chills and brought the entire audience to its feet!
If you are in New York, make sure you see it! Now you know where to get tickets :-).
Recent Comments