Its general rush and you can pay with credit card. I actually went this morning a little after 10 and was the only person there! I wouldn't be surprised if they still had some rush seats for tonight - might be worth a trip to the box office.
The height of the stages changes per show. For Shrek, it was very high, you could only see their necks when they went upstage. For Promises, Promises and The Color Purple it was high but only so high that you couldn't see feet when they went upstage.
Got there today at 8am and I was third on line. Next person came at about nine. I'd guesstimate about 12 were lined up when the box office opened at 10 am. Our seats are dead center 1st row.
I've gone twice..once on a wednesday looking for a matinee ticket and once on a thursday looking for a night ticket. both times got to the b/o around 10:30 and they didn't have rush tickets left. not sure that helps, but i'm assuming that many people start to line up relatively early.
The last time I tried rush I got to the box office at 10:30 because my bus got into the city late (on a Wednesday) and they were sold out. That was late June. The two times I have gotten rush tickets, I got there at 8:00 the first time (a Saturday in late April) and was 5th in line, and 7:30 on a Wednesday and was first in line (in mid-May). I haven't tried recently as I moved back home to Mass. after graduation and I haven't been to the city since June.
A friend of mine went last Friday and arrived at 8:30am. The person in front of him got the last rush ticket, but they did sell my friend and others behind him rear orch seats for $38 which he said were fantastic seats.
I've done the general rush twice. The first time was early in the run, and as this thread indicates, back then you could just walk up at ten o'clock and get tickets with no waiting. This was before the rush caught on. As more people started to learn about it, it became more competitive. And because it's general (not student) rush, there are more people to contend with. Also, they only reserve the 14 front row center seats, and once they're gone, that's it.
I rushed about a month ago. It was a Wednesday, so there were two performances (and a total of 28 tickets) available. I got on line just before 7:00 and was the second person and first for the matinee. By 8:30, the line was around the block and all tickets were accounted for. Judging my that experience, I'd say nowadays you need to be there by 8:00.
ETA: Good to see that they're doing rush loser seats now. That's always a smart idea if you have the seats to sell.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
I got there on a saturday in july (I think around the 10th) at 8am and was second in line for the matinee (my friend and I got 3 tickets) I think I could have gotten there at 830 or maybe 9 and gotten tickets for the matinee but I'd say get there at 8 to be safe for a matinee. It was so worth it, what a fun show!
Hahaha my friend and I were the people that got the last ticket on Friday. I hope your friend was that middle-aged guy and not that rude bitch who was pissed off when we told her there wouldn't be seats left to save her waiting.
We got there at 8:02am.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Well either him or me. With the Australian accents? We thought we might aswell save people waiting if they were expecting since we counted who was taking what. I don't know if this is frowned upon but one lady was particularly bitter about this. I guess your friend made a comment about it because we wasn't really sure if he heard us correctly and mentioned it twice.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Did you know that they offered discounted tickets for those in line after the cut off of 14 tickets? I'm not certain if they do this for every performance; however telling people in line that they only give out 14 might've made them leave the line and miss the opportunity to purchase the rear orch discounted tickets - like my friend and others behind him were able to do.
olol nope. Oh well, maybe instead they went and bought full price tickets to a struggling show such as WICKED or BOOK OF MORMON :P, it's not like Sister Act needs the business.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000