i do this all the time but
1. EVITA and HEDWIG are two shows i wouldn't count on for this to work anyway. people forget that EVITA may have had it's detractors but ricky martin made it a hot ticket. the fact that it worked recently for someone with HEDWIG is a good sign. now that NPH is gone it's just another good, hot (but not crazy hot) show. heading to the box office right before a show opens doesn't work (always) for honest-to-god-limited runs with celebrities. but even for really, hot, good shows, with a fair amount of buzz - you can usually get those last minute tix. even for something selling as well as KINKY BOOTS it works. friends got saturday night premium tickets at regular prices a couple of weeks ago.
also - i don't think rannells has generated the kind of buzz some thought he would. the oh-my-god-wait-till-you-see-him talk i heard hasn't panned out. maybe it was justified, maybe not. i don't know. i'm seeing him this week.
2. someone who practically lives in lottery/rush lines told me - and i don't know why - never to actually ask for a premium seat at regular price and i don't. you can see the bo person decide to either release the seat or not and 9 times out of 10 they do. being polite helps. and i never, ever cause a scene at the box office. the decision at the beginning of the run may be the producers but at some point - and i am sure front of house people will say i'm wrong about this but i believe it and 90% of the shows i see are either with a group a last minute purchase - the box office folks take it into their own hands.
also, and i had to actually explain this to a friend of mine who should have known better - you have to actually pay full regular price. he tried to haggle a cheaper price. needless, to say, i dont think that will often, if ever, work.
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