Braving the cold (and the human interaction) for those sweet, sweet tix

This Friday, Columbia’s TIC office will open in Lerner, selling Columbia students discounted tickets to Broadway shows, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and more. But even these discount tickets are often fairly pricey – a ticket to Aladdin in March, for example, is $59. To help out those of you not quite ready to shell out money at the TIC, Managing Editor (and penniless arts lover) Betsy Ladyzhets has put together a list of places you can get cheap tickets to shows, concerts, and other arts events outside of Columbia.

• Broadway Week: Two for one tickets are being offered right now with a special promotion that lasts from January 17 to February 5. Speed is of the utmost importance for this opportunity – many shows are already sold out.
• TKTS: The Theater Development Fund (TDF) has three discount ticket booths in NYC: one in Times Square “under the red steps” in Father Duffy Square at Broadway and 47th Street; one in South Street Seaport, at the corner of Front and John Streets, near the rear of the Resnick/Prudential Building at 199 Water Street; and one in downtown Brooklyn, in 1 MetroTech Center at the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue Promenade. These booths have same-day tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway musicals, plays, and dance productions between 20% and 50% off regular prices. You can see which tickets are available at any given moment on TKTS live. If you plan on trying TKTS, it’s good to get there at least half an hour before the booth opens to secure a decent spot in line.
• Playbill: This list has information for rush, lottery, and standing room only policies for all Broadway shows. Playbill has rush and lottery information for many off-Broadway shows as well.
• TodayTix: This app boasts last-minute Broadway deals and other theater tickets; you can both get tickets at discounted prices and sign up for daily lotteries for many popular shows.
• Tix4Students: Anyone at least 18 and currently enrolled (part time or full time) in an undergraduate or graduate program at an accredited college or university can create an account on this site, which then gets you access to Broadway and off-Broadway tickets at heavily discounted prices. (The average is $40 per ticket.)

• Metropolitan Opera: You can get up to two opera rush tickets every week through signing up for the Met’s rush ticket page. Their tickets are only $25 for great seating locations, but are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Met also offers student tickets (at significant discounts) online, by phone, and at the box office for select performances.
• NY Philharmonic: The orchestra offers college students rush tickets online (if you use the promo code RUSH at checkout) up to ten days before a performance and at the David Geffen Hall Box Office on the day of a performance. You need a valid ID to get the tickets, and the Orchestra 1, First Tier Center and First Tier Front Boxes sections aren’t available. The NY Phil has a student rush email list that you can sign up for to find out when tickets are available.
• Carnegie Hall: Carnegie has a student rush program offering college students up to two tickets for $10 each online for select performances. For information about which performances apply and how many tickets are available, you can check Carnegie’s student tickets Twitter. General rush tickets are also occasionally available at the box office.
• Brooklyn Academy of Music: The academy offers $10 tickets for shows and movies (with a $2 faculty fee per ticket) up to 90 minutes before performances at various box offices, for any students under the age of 29 with valid ID.
• NYC Ballet: The NYC Ballet has a program called “$30 for 30” – $30 tickets for people age 30 and under. With a valid ID proving your age, you can get up to two tickets the day of a ballet performance at the box office of the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center.
• American Ballet Theater: Elementary, high school and college students 25 years and younger can get rush ballet tickets ($29 Orchestra seats and $11 Family Circle seats) at the Metropolitan Opera House Box Office at Lincoln Center on the day of a performance.
• Other references: The MusicHum department has compiled a page with links to different sites listing classical music concerts in NYC, many of which are located at venues that offer rush tickets or student discounts.

If you know of any other opportunities for student or rush tickets, let us know in the comments and we can add them to the post!

Close and almost too personal via Wikimedia Commons