How to see Broadway and still afford your rent

I go to a lot of Broadway shows. I’ve seen countless plays in this past year alone — from Sweet Charity to Miss Saigon.

And yet, I’ve never paid more than $50 to see anything (minus that one time I paid over $100 for Anastasia tickets so I could live out my ‘90s childhood dreams) that wasn’t in the orchestra or front mezzanine. With a little research and a lot of days spent entering my email address into the vacuum of the lottery system, I’ve become what some might call a savvy theatergoer.

While I can’t promise Hamilton or Dear Evan Hanson tickets — in fact, you should just forget about the existence of those shows entirely; OK not entirely but still, it’s a long shot — here are my insider tricks of the trade for a night on theater row, from most to least expensive.

The set from Miss Saigon at the Broadway Theatre

Get yourself a membership to the Theater Development Fund (TDF)

For just $35 a year, you can gain access to a plethora of discounted shows through TDF.  While they do have restrictions on who qualifies, most people are often eligible. Tickets range from $9-$47, with at least six Broadway shows available at any given time. They also provide off-Broadway hits like the puppet pageantry of Avenue Q in addition to classical concerts and the ballet. While they can’t always guarantee orchestra seats (though this hasn’t been my experience), the next best location is front mezzanine, and for a price cap of $47, it doesn’t get much better.

Visit TDF’s website for more information on how to apply.

Download the TodayTix app on your phone

While TodayTix does offer shows at a discounted price, be wary of steep hidden fees. The real gem of TodayTix lies in their lottery ticket offerings. Once you’ve set your location to New York in the app, go to the “All Shows” tab, click on their filters setting, and then choose “Lottery/Rush,” where you’ll be able to see everything they have available to enter for that day.

Sutton Foster after her performance of Sweet Charity at the Perish Square Signature Theatre

Read Playbill’s up-to-date list on every show offering a lottery system, standing room only, and rush tickets

In addition to Playbill’s discount page, it also provides an updated list of every show offering a lottery drawing. Unlike the TodayTix app, some shows have separate online forms for their lottery, while others require you to wait outside of the theater beforehand. They also tell you which shows offer standing room only tickets, as well as which shows you can rush at the box office the morning of. If you’ve been earnestly waiting to see The Book of Mormon, but you’re unwilling to pay upwards of $300 to do so, here’s your chance to see the famed production.

Join the Hiptix program 

If you’re between the ages of 18-35, you can purchase a maximum of two $25 tickets to any Broadway or off-Broadway productions held at the Roundabout Theatre Company through the Hiptix program. All you have to do is register online at the theater’s website, select the show you want to see, and enter the promo code. You can even link your account to other Hiptix members’ accounts so you can go to a show with a group of friends, bypassing the two-ticket max on each performance.

Zachary Levi at the stagedoor for She Loves Me at the Roundabout Theatre

Try your hand at winning Hamilton tickets with the “Ham” app 

Unless you’re one of those really lucky individuals, you probably won’t score tickets to Hamilton. But don’t just throw away your shot.

Created by programmer Lukas Thoms, the Ham app makes it really simple to enter the award-winning musical’s daily lottery for $10 tickets. It will even notify you before the lottery closes if you haven’t entered yet. And really, what are a few minutes out of your day? Plus, you never know, you could find yourself sitting orchestra at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, rapping the lyrics — with, let’s face it, probably zero swagger — to every song.

Snag Shakespeare in the Park tickets sans lining up at 6 a.m. in Central Park

Any New Yorker who’s ever waited in the sweltering summer heat to hopefully get a ticket to the Public Theater’s Shakespearean productions knows this is a hellscape that should be avoided.

The hellscape

I’m here to tell you there is a way to gain tickets to this coveted New York City institution without having to spend your entire day doing so.

Every summer, the Public Theater partakes in a borough distribution, where they will distribute a limited number of free vouchers — which you can exchange for tickets at the Delacorte Theater Box Office in Central Park — in each of the boroughs on specific performance dates. Vouchers are limited to two per person so make sure to go with a friend if you plan on bringing a group. Vouchers get distributed between 12 and 2 p.m., so you don’t even have to wake up early to get tickets for that night’s performance.