Have you ever been to New York City and sat on the ruby red steps in Times Square, looking up at the iconic skyline? For Broadway fanatics and frequent theater-goers, the steps provide the roof for the holy grail of discount tickets — the Times Square TKTS booth.
The TKTS booth, a.k.a. the one stop shop for same-day discount ticket prices to some Broadway and off-Broadway shows, began testing new services at its Times Square location this week in conjunction with the Theatre Development Fund and the Broadway League, according to an Oct. 22 BroadwayWorld.com article.
While the changes initially seem like complicated money-grabbers, this theater enthusiast welcomes them with open arms.
Convenience is the name of the game at the most well-known TKTS hot spot. While the booth used to only offer same-day discount tickets for a selection of shows, patrons now have the option of buying regular priced tickets for shows without a discount on that particular day, reminiscent of a typical theater box office. Matinee and evening show tickets will also be available right when the booth opens at its new 10 a.m. opening hour (11 a.m. on Sundays), versus the after 3 p.m. rule it previously operated on, according to an Oct. 22 New York Times article.
As a New York theater tourist, I can personally vouch for the convenience of the changes. Typically, a visit to the TKTS booth on the bright and bustling morning while on vacation was accompanied by my daily Starbucks and crossed fingers. Unfortunately, a good portion of the shows my family and I wanted to see on our spontaneous show outing didn’t offer a discounted ticket. Our carefully constructed plans for the day would be interrupted by an extra trip to the box office or settling on a different show.
Now, regardless of the sometimes unreliably, inconsistent discount schedule, any theater-goer could get a ticket to any show they desired right at the booth. It’s a great customer service move — especially since the “play-only” ticket window will remain a staple at this center of the theater district. It’s going to be very hard to disappoint a customer in something other than wait time.
As long as the new services stick, gone are the days of downtrodden, wannabe theater patrons hanging their heads in frustration because they got to the window after their matinee sold out; they can just buy a ticket for an evening performance or any other show for that matter.
Victoria Bailey, executive director of the Theatre Development Fund, said the services aren’t intended to be money makers or challenge box offices — it’s purely an experiment to benefit the consumer.
“We’re exploring these options to see if it is feasible to give our customers the flexibility to get their tickets matinee and evening performances simultaneously, as well as give them the ability to purchase full-price tickets to future performances at the same time they are purchasing their same day discounts,” Bailey said in the BroadwayWorld.com article.
This may sound foreign to less-frequent theater patrons. Why does it matter? Who cares if people can spend their money more frivolously on high ticket prices than before?
It’s just nice to know if I visit the city on the weekend or take the school bus trip and decide I want to see a Broadway show, I can enjoy that spontaneous choice and see whatever show I want. No more worrying about finding the box office or triple checking what’s playing. Just a simple look at that ever entrancing screen of listings, a simple transaction and that’s it.
Enjoy the show.
