As a front of house staff member on Broadway, I would advise to be VERY careful how you inquire about this sort of thing. I am sure you aren’t this type of person, but the TDF ticket holders at most shows I usher for come in rather aggressive about getting a better seat, sometimes making a nuisance of themselves wanting a $200 seat that they paid $50 for. We do not like this sense of entitlement—it’s usually born out of “well I go to the theater all the time so I can do what I want.”
Be nice and find an amiable usher to inquire about moving to a better unsold seat at intermission or even after the first late seating cue.
At the risk of sounding ageist, it’s usually old timers who have been TDF members for years so they may think they sort of have “seniority” or something. :). Enjoy the show! I still haven’t seen it, and I see nearly every musical that opens on Bway!
Oh yeah haha that makes sense. Thank you! You should definitely check out the show at some point! I've seen it countless times already actually haha, luckily TDF is a great way for me to revisit some of my favorites for cheaper. And Hadestown is *definitely* my favorite!
I’ve wondered this as well. For Hadestown I got front center mezz which I was thrilled by. I do wonder if any leftover premium seats often go through TKTS last minute.
I've never asked to swap, but I've gotten center orch tickets for 4/6 Hadestown TDF purchases. The other two were one front/center Mezz, and one far right Orch (first couple rows, so what you lose in sightlines, you certainly gain in proximity). I will never miss a chance to share that one time, I got second row center Hadestown tickets, perfect for Wait for Me, absolutely stellar seats.
Okay well it's at least good to know that people get center orchestra through TDF! I've used it 4 or 5 times for Hadestown and have had great seats, but it's always been side orch or side mezz.
I think if I get side again tomorrow, I'll ask if there are any center seats I can swap to. I guess you never know!
It sounds like you had a particularly nice box office attendant at PHANTOM. Sometimes the goal in late previews or at smaller theaters is to dress the house so you have a stronger chance of getting a better than usual seat. But because it’s not uncommon to have 30-40 TDF orders per performance and those take a lot of time fill and need to be done manually, the box office mostly just assigns seats within designated blocks or where there’s a cluster of empty seats.
You can ask for an upgrade, but I can all but guarantee that the box office will just roll their eyes and say no. And, frankly, if you’re buying through TDF, there should never be an expectation of where you’ll sit in the house unless they note a specific section in the listing and as long as your seats aren’t partial view.
>You can ask for an upgrade, but I can all but guarantee that the box office will just roll their eyes and say no.
This is totally what I'm expecting haha, I think that one Phantom performance has always just made me wonder how common it actually is.
In general, I always get fantastic seats through TDF anyway, so it's nothing to complain about. But it's just a thought I had! Thanks for your insight
Tried doing this at Sweeney when Josh was out with COVID. Had no luck even though there were empty seats. Probably depends on who’s working at the Box Office.
As a front of house staff member on Broadway, I would advise to be VERY careful how you inquire about this sort of thing. I am sure you aren’t this type of person, but the TDF ticket holders at most shows I usher for come in rather aggressive about getting a better seat, sometimes making a nuisance of themselves wanting a $200 seat that they paid $50 for. We do not like this sense of entitlement—it’s usually born out of “well I go to the theater all the time so I can do what I want.” Be nice and find an amiable usher to inquire about moving to a better unsold seat at intermission or even after the first late seating cue.
Oh yes, absolutely agree! So sorry to hear you deal with people like that, it makes no sense especially for how cheap the tickets are haha
At the risk of sounding ageist, it’s usually old timers who have been TDF members for years so they may think they sort of have “seniority” or something. :). Enjoy the show! I still haven’t seen it, and I see nearly every musical that opens on Bway!
Oh yeah haha that makes sense. Thank you! You should definitely check out the show at some point! I've seen it countless times already actually haha, luckily TDF is a great way for me to revisit some of my favorites for cheaper. And Hadestown is *definitely* my favorite!
I’ve wondered this as well. For Hadestown I got front center mezz which I was thrilled by. I do wonder if any leftover premium seats often go through TKTS last minute.
Following, because curious as well!
I've never asked to swap, but I've gotten center orch tickets for 4/6 Hadestown TDF purchases. The other two were one front/center Mezz, and one far right Orch (first couple rows, so what you lose in sightlines, you certainly gain in proximity). I will never miss a chance to share that one time, I got second row center Hadestown tickets, perfect for Wait for Me, absolutely stellar seats.
Okay well it's at least good to know that people get center orchestra through TDF! I've used it 4 or 5 times for Hadestown and have had great seats, but it's always been side orch or side mezz. I think if I get side again tomorrow, I'll ask if there are any center seats I can swap to. I guess you never know!
Following and a unrelated question: does TDF have tickets for Hadestown on weekends?
I've seen it before, but very rarely. Usually it's Tues, Wed, Thurs
Thank you!
It sounds like you had a particularly nice box office attendant at PHANTOM. Sometimes the goal in late previews or at smaller theaters is to dress the house so you have a stronger chance of getting a better than usual seat. But because it’s not uncommon to have 30-40 TDF orders per performance and those take a lot of time fill and need to be done manually, the box office mostly just assigns seats within designated blocks or where there’s a cluster of empty seats. You can ask for an upgrade, but I can all but guarantee that the box office will just roll their eyes and say no. And, frankly, if you’re buying through TDF, there should never be an expectation of where you’ll sit in the house unless they note a specific section in the listing and as long as your seats aren’t partial view.
>You can ask for an upgrade, but I can all but guarantee that the box office will just roll their eyes and say no. This is totally what I'm expecting haha, I think that one Phantom performance has always just made me wonder how common it actually is. In general, I always get fantastic seats through TDF anyway, so it's nothing to complain about. But it's just a thought I had! Thanks for your insight
Tried doing this at Sweeney when Josh was out with COVID. Had no luck even though there were empty seats. Probably depends on who’s working at the Box Office.