Save Money and Time on Broadway Tickets!
I'm a theater lover, and I'm going to sound a little giddy right now, okay?
A new app, TodayTix, helps to take the mystery, expense, and lines out of the Broadway ticket-buying process and literally (I am not misusing that word here) hand-delivers discount tickets to you.
I must confess that, even though I'm a total Broadway baby (my dad worked on Broadway when I was a kid, I have written and performed in my own plays and musicals, and my definition of the perfect date is a Broadway show), the Broadway ticket-buying process has always pushed my social-anxiety buttons to the max. Buying tickets by phone or on the Web often means paying full price plus fees, but waiting on line at the TKTS booth in Times Square for half-price tickets has never been my favorite option because of the potential for long lines (depending on time of day). As a consequence, I don't see nearly as many shows as I would like to.
Enter TodayTix, a new app that tells you which shows have available seats, lets you buy them at a discounted price, and then—for real—arranges for you to meet a concierge at the theater door who will hand you your tickets. This is the kind of luxe-for-less treatment Budget Travelers can totally revel in: Save money, save time, and feel like a VIP while you're doing it.
What shows are are you going to see? This time of year, all eyes are on Broadway's Tony Awards. But here's an insider's scoop: Regardless of who walks away with the big awards this year, if you are in the NYC area I suggest you download TodayTix (for iOS and Google Play) and nab tickets to Terrence McNally's new Tony-nominated play Mothers and Sons at the Golden Theatre. From the moment the curtain rises on a ferociously vulnerable Tyne Daly (who plays a Dallas matron visiting Manhattan 20 years after her son's death from AIDS) to the play's unexpectedly transcendant—and sweet—ending, I was either mesmerized, laughing, or wiping tears.
Oh, and if you're wondering where locals grab a bite before or after a show, I'm going to ask you to keep a secret: The Cafe Edison (228 West 47th St., between Broadway and Eighth Ave.) serves the best deli favorites in the theater district for well under $20 per person, and you'll be surrounded not by hordes of out-of-towners but actors, playwrights, and stagehands who love the theater even more than I do. If you want to dine like a Budget Travel editor, order the brisket on rye, a cup of matzo ball soup, and a chocolate egg cream—and tell them Rob sent you.