<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I've had pretty good luck in the past finding discounts to Broadway plays - now I'm looking for tickets in December and it seems more limited. I'm mostly interested in Avenue Q and I'd really prefer the Saturday matinee. Is it harder to get discounts in December because of the holidays. I'm torn between buying them at full price or waiting a little longer to see if new discount codes appear.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Yes - It is harder to get discounts on tickets in December... However, if you are willing to risk it and stand in line you could go to the TKTS booth the day of the performance and see if discounted tickets are available for Avenue Q. Even if they are not available for that particular show, there will be tickets available for some shows. I have actually seen some good, lesser known shows this way.</p>
<p>Notice even as thanksgiving rolls around, the discount page on playbill.com gets smaller and smaller.</p>
<p>i think full price is the way to go around the holidays... not many shows offer discounts. they know they'll pack the theaters at full price anyway.</p>
<p>techiemom, many shows have discounts available in December. The reason you may not be finding the codes now is that most of the discounts available for the fall end in October and November, so the new ones probably aren't posted yet. It will depend, obviously, on how well a show is selling but I know for a fact that there are always discounts available in December as well. Having said that, don't count on it for the actual holiday week. I'm talking about before and after the holiday period.</p>
<p>Avenue Q discounts have almost always excluded Saturday shows so if you could find a code, it's likely that you wouldn't be able to use it for when you want anyway. Avenue Q is traditionally a good seller (it's a great show!) but some of its tickets do sometimes find their way to TKTS, if you have the time and desire to stand in line. Keep an eye out at broadwaybox.com, too. You may luck out and find a code for the time you're going to be in the city. </p>
<p>If your heart is set on Avenue Q and you don't get to the city often, I'd buy tickets in advance. The cheapest tickets at the Golden are $46.25 and the theatre is small, less than 800 seats. There are a lot of excellent shows on now so if you want some other recommendations, just ask. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the information -
I was thinking I'd wait a few more days to see if Nov/Dec discounts get posted after the Oct ones expire.</p>
<p>My son is going to NY with a couple of friends to celebrate his 18th birthday and thats the show they really want. They'll be taking the train in and I know they would rather use the time they have exploring and walking around the city not waiting in lines for tickets.</p>
<p>Since its also just before finals Saturday matinees are the best choice - even if that means paying full price. Since the theatre for Avenue Q is small do you think its worth paying for orchestra seats?</p>
<p>I just checked Auenue Q's website and ticket prices go up $10 starting December 18th - the $101 tickets will be $111. It may make sense to go ahead and book just what we want without waiting to see if there are discounts since it is a special occasion.....</p>
<p>techiemom, I think I'd have to agree with you to order the tickets now. If it's a special occasion, and they definitely want to see Avenue Q, I'd order them. :) It truly is a fun show. As for the seating, I can't speak for everyone but I enjoy sitting in the orchestra section, and close to the stage. This is a personal preference and many others don't care how close they are. The Golden is a small theatre, as Broadway theatres go, so I'm sure sitting anywhere there is fine but personally, I'd choose orchestra or the first few rows of the front mezzanine, and they're likely the same price. I hope they have a great time!</p>
<p>When I saw Avenue Q I sat in the upper Mezzanie, and didn't feel like I missed anything. I think the tickets I bought were around $60, and I bought them ahead of time. This was not during the holiday season, however.</p>
<p>EVERYTHING is more expensive and more difficult to get in NYC during the holiday season because it is peak time for tourists. Have you tried <a href="http://www.broadwayworld.com?%5B/url%5D">www.broadwayworld.com?</a> They have a great travel and ticket center and often have tickets that are just not available any other way (that's how we saw "Wicked" two Christmas' ago!). Good luck!</p>
<p>Try this link too:</p>
<pre><code> alerts@broadwaybox.com
</code></pre>
<p>Bumping this discussion back up since I mentioned broadwaybox.com in my previous post here and I just got an email from them today with a list of new discounts. As I said before, there ARE discounts during December! It's not as difficult as many think. The following shows are listed on their current list with discount codes that have expiry dates in December or later:</p>
<p>Avenue Q
Butley
Chicago
Company
Hairspray
High Fidelity
Jay Johnson
Martin Short
Rent
Spring Awakening
Tarzan
The Apple Tree
The Little Dog Laughed
Phantom
The Producers
The Vertical Hour</p>
<p>There are also 34 off-Broadway shows with Dec. or later discount codes.</p>
<p>We spent two weeks in NYC last year over the Christmas break and saw many shows for less than full price. There are matinees every weekday for most shows over the break. The week before Christmas, there were many shows available at TKTS - and fewer people going to shows (and even less last year with the transit strike) The week between Christmas and New Year's was much more crowded and cheap tickets were harder to get. If you have some flexibility and don't mind waiting in lines there are student rush, standing room and lottery tickets available for many shows. If you have a certain show you need to see on a certain day then you should get your tickets ahead of time. As someone else mentioned, broadwaybox.com is a good website for discount codes as well as playbill.com.</p>
<p>MTMama, how lucky that you got to spend the holidays in NYC. It's a great time to visit. Just to clarify, in case others are planning, while there is a revised show schedule during the holidays (including this week for Thanksgiving), there are not matinees everyday. Because Christmas was on a Sunday last year, a day when most shows have a matinee, the result was that a matinee was added prior to the weekend, on the Friday. Many shows have regular Wed. mats but some which don't, added a Wed. mat. that week to make up for the revised weekend schedule and, of course, the Sat. mat remained as usual. There were seven performances that week for some shows, rather than the usual eight, but a few were able to squeeze in eight. During the week after Christmas, a few shows had four matinees. The scheduling may be different this year because Christmas is on a Monday, a night when many shows are dark, thus not requiring as much of a change.</p>
<p>There actually was a matinee of something everyday that we were there (even on Christmas and New Year's) - we were suprised about this. There are many added shows during the holiday weeks. </p>
<p>To the posted who asked about Ave. Q tickets - there is a discount code now at broadwaybox - orchestra seats are 56.25 through January.</p>
<p>MTMama, I just wanted to clarify that all shows do not have matinees everyday that week, I didn't want people getting that impression and depending on the opportunity! As I said, the schedule is revised to deal with giving the cast and crew time off to spend with their families but the actual number of shows does not increase. Union rules do not allow for that. They very occasionally have some shows do 9 performances but then they have to reduce the number the following week. Most shows do the usual 8 shows a week that is always the norm. Although, there were a few shows which had performances on Christmas, they were evening shows not matinees. Those were Chita Rivera, Jersey Boys, Phantom and Sweet Charity. A few others, maybe 4 or 5, including Piazza and Odd Couple had New Years performances at 3. Here's the schedule for this year's holiday weeks for anyone who may be in the city: </p>
<p>The link above is also helpful. It lists all the rush, student tickets, standing room, lotteries...etc.</p>
<p>Also, if anyone LIVES in NYC and wants some REALLY CHEAP seats for tons of shows, and you want the information, send me an email for the information. I am going to see "The Prime Of Miss Jean Brody" with Cynthia Nixon for three dollars tonight....In the last week, I have seen Mimi Le Duck (with Eartha Kitt), Losing Louie (on Broadway) and The Evil Dead: The Musical... all for THREE dollars each...... </p>
<p>PS... I saw Barbra Streisand at Madison Square Garden for THREE DOLLARS. I could get up to four tickets for Barbra...normal price $250 each.</p>
<p>This year between Christmas and NYE, many shows have Wed. matinees and some have Fri. matinees, but for Thurs., the only matinee I've found is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I haven't bought those tickets. Anyone have thoughts about it? Has anyone found a Broadway musical that is running a Thurs. matinee other than Grinch?</p>
<p>Ericsmom, in the link I posted above you can also link to the New Year's week schedule. The only Thursday matinees are Grinch and Jay Johnson.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the helpful hints. We will be in NY around New Year's and just bought the last of our tickets. I am happy to say that we even got some discounted seats!! :)</p>
<p>Coach Tom, we live live 45 minutes outside NYC and would love the info about discounted tickets. Thanks!</p>