Finding Discounted or Free Theater Tickets

The DollarMusings (DM) family loves the theater!  We try to go often and have been known to see as many as 5 or 6 shows a year.  However… as anyone who loves 'the stage' knows, a night at the theater can be an EXPENSIVE undertaking.  Many of the ‘Broadway Run’ shows, even here in the upper Midwest, can easily cost more than $100/person and even off-off-off-Broadway community shows can cost $25 or $30/person. Certainly not for the faint of heart.  


However… there are ways to reduce your expenses and still enjoy great theater!  Here are our suggestions for finding cheap or even FREE theater tickets.  Read through to the end… because we’ve saved the best for last! 

• Social buying sites like LivingSocial, Groupon and Scoutmob.  Many people are familiar with the big ‘social buying sites’… however, you might also want to check out your local professional associations, to see if they have any group buying or social buying networks.  The local Realtor association has an ‘offer a day’ email where members can buy items as giveaways to their clients… or use for themselves.  Check to see if any association you belong to has a similar group-buying arrangement.  Theater tickets don’t appear often on these sites… but we've found  2-for-1 deals… especially at a couple of dinner theater venues near us.
• Your work.  Yup, you read that right… many large employers have discount tickets for local venues, including theaters, available only to employees.  Most of the time you have to order tickets in advance and only for a specific number of shows, but the savings can be rather dramatic... especially if the corporation you work for is also a funder of the theater or production company.
• Ebay and Craigslist.  Most people don’t think about checking online sales or auction sites when they want to go to the theater, but we've found some amazing prices (especially on last-minute ticket purchases) through these sites.  Check out our earlier post on “Finding it First on Craigslist” to see how you can quickly and easily set up an RSS feed to always know when someone lists an item for sale that contains the name of your favorite theater, playhouse or a show you’d like to see.
• Dress Rehearsals.  Traditionally theaters and playhouses offer discount tickets for the final dress rehearsals of a show before they open to the general public.  In the past, these tickets were generally sold at a huge discount, but lately we've seen that the discounts have been drastically reduced and even eliminated at some of our favorite places.  Check out their websites or sign up for their electronic newsletter to learn about any discounts they might have.  Don't be afraid to call and ask either!
• AAA (Updated).  An astute reader (Thanks @Cindy!) reminded us that AAA offers discounts at thousands of locations throughout the country... and that many theaters, especially ones located in tourist destinations throughout the country, offer AAA discounts for members.

AND NOW… we've saved the best for last… and will share with you how we score FREE theater tickets on a regular basis.

• Volunteer.  Many smaller venues and community theater playhouses operate on small or non-existent budgets and rely on volunteers to operate the box office, design/print the ‘playbill’ or work as ushers during performances.  We volunteer, as a family, to work as ushers for a show, and once everyone has been seated, are allowed to sit in any unsold seats, or, if the show is sold out, they’ll let us pull in a handful of fold-out chairs in the back.  It’s certainly not front-row exclusive seating… but for free: beggars can’t be choosers. :-)

Do you have any other ways you've been able to score deeply discounted theater tickets?  Share your experiences with the rest of us!  Click on the “Thoughtful Opinions” button below.