Landing Broadway, Last Second

Killer seats for a Broadway performance may be as in-demand as those for a concert, but there seem to be a lot more ways to grab up-close theatre seats at the last second.

Certainly, one who knows how to work the system can figure out how to get a couple of concert tickets that are close to the stage. There are always those tickets that are released by the promoter or tour manager – sometimes appearing on Ticketmaster a day or two before the performance, other times appearing at the venue’s box office right before the lights are dimmed.

Then there’s the “emergency” tickets – good seats held by venue management in case a patron complains too vocally about his or her seating, or if a concert-goer with a disability needs special accommodations.

In the theatre world, there are even more opportunities, according to the Los Angeles Times. To maintain that “full house magic,” venues will try hard to fill in seats left empty by no-shows, especially the non-profit performing arts centers.

No matter what the performance, there’s about a 10 percent no-show rate, which drops as the ticket price climbs. Non-profit facilities will resell tickets, providing the buyer with a tax voucher or letter confirming a donation for face value, the Times said, as long as the original buyer remembers to call the box office. The same venues also offer ticket exchanges.

On Broadway, house seats can be released anywhere from hours to minutes before a performance. According to the Times, a lottery for $25 front-row seats for “Wicked” at the Gershwin Theatre takes place hours before each performance, with names literally drawn out of a hat. There’s also a lottery for “Hairspray” at the Neil Simon Theatre, but an average of 200 to 400 people compete for the ducats.

Some facilities have emergency tickets for VIPs, so a theatre fan might be able to snag a good seat at the last second as long as nobody more important shows up. At the Los Angeles Opera, senior and student rush tickets go on sale at selected performances 90 minutes before curtain, the paper said. Also, Southern California has several Internet sites featuring discount tickets.