As actors, it is invaluable for the betterment of your craft that you watch as much acting as possible. Thanks to Netflix and other streaming services, you have at your disposal a lifetime’s worth of television and film performances to work through. But theater, with its ever-ascending ticket prices, is less accessible. That’s where rush tickets come in.
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Rush tickets are tickets that are usually sold at the theater’s box office on the day of the performance at a significantly discounted cost.
Though not actually a requirement, every single show on Broadway (and nearly every Off-Broadway show, too) has an allotted number of rush tickets for every performance, available only on the day of the performance. While some shows offer these tickets via digital lottery distribution, many still utilize the rush system.
And while theater fans today have always known a Broadway with a rush policy, it’s actually a fairly new advent relative to mainstream theater. Rush as it operates now, fittingly, started in 1996, when the original production of “Rent” transferred to Broadway. In a perfect storm of the show’s youthful appeal and the nationwide incentive to get young people more arts exposure, the show launched a $20 day-of ticket policy, and producers of fellow shows quickly took note.
Broadway vs. Off-Broadway vs. Off-Off Broadway 
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Broadway rush tickets are first come, first served, so the time one must arrive at the box office in order to secure them is pivotal. For long-running classics like “Chicago” or “Wicked,” you can likely get a ticket for evening performances in the late afternoon, if not immediately prior to showtime. For newer shows, it’s not uncommon to see hopefuls line up outside the theater hours before the box office opens—and sometimes even before the sun comes up.
For two-show days, both matinee and evening tickets are available for purchase at the time the box office opens (meaning you don’t have to wait until the matinee has concluded to purchase a ticket for the later show).
For a detailed breakdown of every currently running and impending Broadway show’s rush policy, you can refer to the resource B’Way Rush, which includes ticket prices and dates.
Price fluctuates from show to show, but each ticket generally costs around $30 to $50. Rush tickets for that evening’s performance are available at the time the box office opens that morning. They are first come, first served, and patrons are typically only allowed to purchase a maximum of two at a time.
Sometimes a production’s rush tickets will be randomly plucked from the remaining seats for a given performance, while other times there will be designated seats in the theater held specifically for rush. In the case of the latter, the seats are often obstructed or partial-view.
