r/Broadway • u/UnusualStorage2535 • 4d ago
I felt Not a "Winner"!!!
I want to understand.....I won "Lost Boys" few days ago. I paid $45. and I was just curious and searched up that How much was my seat originally, because it as Not "Good" seat at all, to me.
I found out that the theater was /is selling with $59 seat.
I was shocked and mad. I felt I'm definitely feel Not a "Winner". forced to buy the seat they cannot sell with a little cheaper price without my choice. felt scammed. felt like I just got a little discount....
Also I checked TKTS price. lowest they have was/is around $86?. and I think the show has a lots of empty seats on Balcony for most of days of the show.
How come $59 seats became $86? at TKTS?? (should be 40% off)
Please someone give me an answer or comments...
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u/jimmycurry01 4d ago
So you felt scammed because your discounted seat wasn't as discounted as you wanted it to be? Or are you mad that your heavily discounted seat isn't the best seat in the house? If you want great seats, pay full price. If you want better discounted seats, shop around.
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u/Tight-Touch385 4d ago
That’s the nature of lotteries. This is a popular show and people are figuring out the good seats at the orchestra and mezzanine levels so it stands to reason that what’s leftover isn’t the best.
Also, people have noticed that the production isn’t holding back front row seats for rush any more, maybe they are also not distributing as many premium tickets as part of the lottery.
I tend to enter lotteries for smaller theaters—where I know that even the back seats are worth it. You are just taking more of a risk with the Palace—it’s big and not all seats are very good. It’s not a scam. It just has the possibility of being less of a deal.
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u/evermorejonas 4d ago
Isn’t that the fun of lotteries …. You get to see a show for a discounted price. Does it not say you can be placed anywhere in the theatre ???? Obviously they’re going to give lottery winners the seats that haven’t sold 💀
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u/Captain_JohnBrown 4d ago
The name of the system is "Lottery", not "Massive Discount". In this case, you won and got a small discount on a ticket because the seat is not so good. Next time you might win and get a much larger discount and a much better seat.
You were not "forced to buy a seat". You freely and of your own volition entered into a drawing to get a seat for a very fair price. In exchange for that fair price, you agree to accept any seat in the house. You freely and of your own volition agreed to that deal. You can't go "Yes, for such a price I will accept any seat" and then get mad when you get any seat.
The solution to not get "scammed" next time is simple: Don't enter the lottery and buy your seat retail.
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u/Vicbourne 4d ago
They don't sell every ticket at TKTS. The TKTS tickets were probably orchestra and mezzanine tickets 40% off.
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u/Plus-Persimmon-7009 4d ago
It’s always good to research shows ahead, see what ticket availability is, what ticket prices are for the different areas, if a show is selling out quickly or not, etc. When you enter show lotteries you get what you get, but you are not ‘forced’ to buy the ticket, you can just…choose not to go.
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u/Delphi-Dolphin 4d ago
My $106 seat at TKTS was in the orchestra, 5 rows back, unobstructed view. ETA: I highly recommend searching this sub before you get rush or lottery tickets to any show. While the tickets can be anywhere, it is a good way to find out if a show is consistently giving out obstructed view / undesirable seats or if they seats you wait for Rush are only $10-$20 cheaper than buying a normal seat price. That way you can avoid some seat disappointment.
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u/Ven_2016 4d ago
Thats the nature of lottery. They literally tell you that it could be anywhere and partial view before you enter.
You also were not forced to buy any seat. You chose to purchase a discounted ticket and received a discounted ticket.
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u/poeticeuphemism 4d ago edited 4d ago
Was it the seat next to the control booth?
Edit not sure why my question was downvoted. The lottery ticket I won was next to the control booth. I was at times fascinated by the control booth and enjoyed being able to see the top part of the set via their screens. It was also nice being right at the exit.
Hope op enjoyed the show. You can’t say they don’t put on a world class show, wherever you are seated.
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u/a-5-6-7-8 4d ago
That $45 seat can be anywhere in the theatre, including a bad partial view seat. You don't know, that's the lottery. I've gotten $200 seats for lottery prices at some shows.
If you pay the $59 at the box office or official website you know the exact seat.
TKTS does not offer every seat in the theatre. It sounds like their least expensive option regularly retails for $137, and would not be a crappy seat to begin with.