Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Is Music Man doing rush? | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 11:40 am EST 12/24/21 | |
| In reply to: Is Music Man doing rush? - OJaffee 10:53 am EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| I hear some line up around 5 a.m. I'm not surprised by this news. It probably varies every day. There are some individuals that are paid to wait and then turn the tickets over to others. That's how things work now a days. | |
| reply to this message |
| This should be easy to solve | |
| Posted by: skier74 06:22 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is Music Man doing rush? - FinalPerformance 11:40 am EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| Why aren't the BOs requiring positive ID matching for the purchasers of same-day Rush tickets? I'm almost certain the Rent lottery required it. That way, the most a professional can do is sell one ticket (assuming the BO lets a single person buy two tickets, which they don't even have to do), but they'd have to actually sit through the show, which would probably remove the financial incentive in most cases. |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: This should be easy to solve | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 04:17 am EST 12/27/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 04:14 am EST 12/27/21 | |
| In reply to: This should be easy to solve - skier74 06:22 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
|
|
|
| You and the preceding poster are talking about a situation that may or may not even exist. If it does exist, it is so rare that it is not worth dealing with. If it were a real problem, theaters would have dealt with it decades ago. That is why I responded to him in the first place. I've stood in over 400 rush lines over the last 25 years. How many times have you stood in a rush, standing room, or cancelation line? Just curious. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 07:38 pm EST 12/24/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is Music Man doing rush? - FinalPerformance 11:40 am EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| Some of the professional line sitters are known to the management of the Winter Garden. This is one theater that has a good track record at refusing to sell rush tickets to known rush line violators. I have seen this done in my presence -- it happened for a performance of Rocky. Many of the people I know who do rush all the time are wise to the way of the violators and have no problem calling 911 when they see an obvious violation. I've actually seen a squad car pull up. Cops get out, handcuff, and arrest a violator, and toss the perpetrator into the back of their SUV. This happened for a performance of the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof revival with Anika Noni Rose. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: Guillaume 04:33 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: Rush Violators on Broadway - BroadwayTonyJ 07:38 pm EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| I find this story hard to believe. I think its more likely the cops recognized someone waiting in line who was wanted for something else. There is no way NYPD is going to handcuff and haul away someone standing in a line to buy a ticket. On what charge?? They just don't want to do that much work over such a menial thing. Furthermore, no 911 operator is going to dispatch NYPD to investigage someone standing in line to buy a ticket. NYC just doesn't work that way. 911 would tell you to call 311 and you'd be on hold for 20 minutes, then it would take anotehr ten for the 311 operator to fill in their form for your complaint. And then NYPD ignores the complaint anyway or send an email saying they will "investigate" within 8 hours. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 09:50 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 09:45 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - Guillaume 04:33 am EST 12/26/21 | |
|
|
|
| The incident occurred on Sat., June 21, 2008. I posted about it in full detail here on ATC at some point after it happened, possibly in response to someone who had started a thread about problematic experiences in rush lines. I guess you didn't read my post back then. Here's the full story. I got to the Broadhurst at 6:00 AM and was the first to arrive. By 6:30 there were about 4 of us in line. Around 7:00 AM, a large vehicle (either a station wagon or a van) pulled up to the curb in front of the theater. A lady got out, opened up the rear, took out a hammock, and set it up on the sidewalk in what was the 5th spot in line. She then proceeded to carry her sleeping male child (who looked to be about 8 or 9) out of the car and deposit him in the hammock with a boom box, some candy bars, and a couple of cans of pop. Without saying a word to any of us, she got back in her car and drove off. We were all dumbfounded and couldn't believe what we had just seen. The kid continued to sleep and more people began joining the line. As you can imagine, there was considerable discussion among a lot of us about the situation. At some point (maybe around 8:00 or so), the kid either wet or soiled his pants and began crying and then screaming. It was apparent he was special needs or possibly autistic. The guy who was next to me in line was from New York City and was an experienced rush liner. He called someone -- I assume it was 911 or perhaps he knew a cop in the area. Anyway a police SUV showed up within minutes. The cops began talking to the kid, calmed him down, and got the mother's cellphone number from him. They called the mother and told her in no uncertain terms to get back to the Broadhurst Theatre ASAP. When the lady arrived, a heated confrontation took place. She was a very big woman. She resisted arrest, kicked, and punched the cops, but finally was subdued. They eventually had to slam her down on the sidewalk and handcuff her behind her back. The lady, the kid, and the hammock were driven away. One of the cops stayed for awhile and questioned us about the whole incident. I was there. I saw it. It happened. When I posted about this years ago, no one challenged my story. My original post in this thread was in response to another poster. I made a reference to the incident but did not think it necessary to go into detail about it. Back on 6/21/2008 I got to the Broadhurst around 7:15 for an 8:00 show. Some of the people from the morning's rush line were there also. We had quite a conversation. BTW the price for my standing room ticket was $26.50 -- times have certainly changed. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: Guillaume 01:15 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - BroadwayTonyJ 09:45 am EST 12/26/21 | |
|
|
|
| Quite an incident! But it's what I suggested it was - she was arrested for child neglect or similar charge, not for standing in a ticket line (which she wasn't doing anyway). This had nothing to do with standing in line, it had to do with mistreatment of a child, no? | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| Completely agreed, this is NOT about rush violators | |
| Posted by: skier74 06:18 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - Guillaume 01:15 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
|
|
|
| There are many reasons someone might abandon (even temporarily) a child, and even if flipping a rush ticket was the motivation, that's totally besides the point. I can't even believe there needed to be any discussion over calling 911. They should have been called the second the mother was observed leaving a 9-year old child alone on the streets. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| Really? | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 04:09 am EST 12/27/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 04:05 am EST 12/27/21 | |
| In reply to: Completely agreed, this is NOT about rush violators - skier74 06:18 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
|
|
|
| The woman was well dressed and was driving a fairly luxurious SUV. It appeared that she deposited her sleeping child in the line so that she would not have to stand there herself for 3 hours. I was first in line and was a tourist from Chicago. In 2008 I would not have been carrying a cellphone around with me. If the kid had not woke up, soiled himself, and begun to cry, I doubt if any of us would have done anything. The lady most likely would have returned shortly before 10:00 AM to purchase the tickets. A 9-year old child in a rush line holding a spot for an adult is an obvious violation of any sane box office policy. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:08 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - Guillaume 01:15 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
|
|
|
| The lady was a grifter. She put her special needs child in a rush line to score 2 inexpensive tickets to a hot play and then resell them. It was reprehensible behavior. It was a very unusual, extreme case. I wasn't the one who made the call, but all of us who were in line agreed that the authorities had to be notified. What else could we do? Years ago there were a whole group of ATC-ers who were frequent rush line attendees. I was friends with them and some of them would post on the board. I met a few of them at the annual Tony parties that Ann organized. We would occasionally swap stories about some of the crazy things we experienced while standing in rush lines. Over the years I heard some pretty wild tales. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 05:10 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 05:10 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: Rush Violators on Broadway - BroadwayTonyJ 07:38 pm EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| That's fascinating. I didn't know that the box office was keeping tabs on these professional line sitters. Good! I've done rush many times in the past, and I enjoyed the camaraderie of chatting with other theater buffs in line. I once took it to the extreme and did an overnight rush for ''Sunday in the Park'' with Jake Gyllenhaal (and it was worth the wait!). (However, I hate the new digital lotteries. Obviously, tons of people enter, so they're nearly impossible to win. ... Or at least I've never won!) |
|
| Link | BroadwayWorld.com: 'Sunday in the Dark' for Rush or How Fans Slept Their Way to See Sondheim |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 08:39 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:35 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - WaymanWong 05:10 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
|
|
|
| Most of the time the box office/theatre management prefers not to get involved with the rush lines. Generally, it is up to the people in line to maintain discipline, establish rules and protocol, and also deal with professional grifters and line cutters. I started coming to New York in '93 with my partner, but didn't discover rush, standing room, and cancelation lines until '97, when The Lion King opened. Back then every time I did rush, there were always several ATC-ers in line with me. It was much easier to manage things when you're part of a united group. I became close friends with several of them. They taught me the tricks of the trade. When I was planning a trip, I would e-mail them my list of shows, and they would advise me what time to get in line for each of them. Eventually I learned how to do this on my own. Like you, I love doing rush because I meet a lot of friendly people, and the time just flies by. I'm not sure why this has happened but today almost none of the people in rush lines are ATC-ers except me. The last time I encountered an ATC-er in a rush line was for the off-Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along in Feb., 2019. The earliest I ever got in line was 2:00 AM for Bette Midler in Dolly and for Ben Platt in Evan Hansen -- I was the first person there both times. I got in line at 3:00 AM for Mean Girls but was the 2nd one there. I can only think of a handful of times when the Broadway theatre management got involved in maintaining discipline and warding off violators for rush/standing room lines. Specifically, for La Boheme ('02 at the Broadway); Next to Normal ('09 at the Booth); How to Succeed (with Radcliffe -- '11 at the Hirschfeld), (with Criss -- '12 same theater); Newsies ('12 at the Nederlander); Rocky ('14 at the Winter Garden); Hedwig ('14 at the Belasco); Evan Hansen ('16 at the Music Box); and possibly a few others that I can no longer recall. I should mention that every time I did rush at off-Broadway theaters like the York, the Public, CSC, and the Vineyard, the lining up has been indoors, very organized, and completely under the control of the excellent customer service of these theaters. I agree with you about digital lotteries and digital rush. While it was fairly easily to get digital rush or win lotteries in October and November of 2021, pre-pandemic it was almost impossible to get digital rush tickets for very popular shows like Soft Power, American Utopia, and others. Physical rush lines are a guaranteed thing if you know how to do it. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: mikem 06:50 am EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: Rush Violators on Broadway - BroadwayTonyJ 07:38 pm EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| It's not clear to me what law they have broken, especially if they haven't actually bought the tickets yet. I guess they are loitering, but so are the other people in line. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:21 am EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - mikem 06:50 am EST 12/25/21 | |
|
|
|
| Obviously, the NYPD thought otherwise. However, it was an extreme case. The lady who was arrested was definitely breaking the law. A consensus had been reached among a large group of the people in line that the authorities should be notified and 911 should be called. The gentleman who placed the call was a New Yorker and much more knowledgeable than I was about these matters. I was just a tourist from a suburb of Chicago. Since 1993 I have gone to about 680 shows on a New York stage. I've stood in rush lines at least 400 times so I've seen everything. I generally don't post about rush line experiences unless an ATC-er posts something that may be misleading or false. Beginning in 2008, I have actually been asked by the personnel of at least a dozen Broadway and off-Broadway theaters to make such remarks on ATC. I know that other ATC-ers besides me have likewise been requested to do the same thing. However, the individuals I knew (who had been similarly recruited) no longer are active posters here. I thought it important to respond to FinalPerformance's statement "There are some individuals that are paid to wait and then turn the tickets over to others. That's how things work now a days." I just think that was a careless remark. It's much too general, and while it probably has some truth to it, it does not really represent what 99.9% of people in rush lines do. I thought a challenge to his remark was called for. If FinalPerformance would like to elaborate on or provide some concrete data to back up his post, I would certainly be willing to engage in a respectful conversation with him. Merry Christmas, everyone! |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| Rush Violators on Broadway Reply | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 11:42 am EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - BroadwayTonyJ 11:21 am EST 12/25/21 | |
|
|
|
| No after reading your post I agree with your statement. There is nothing concrete to add. Thanks for your commentary. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Violators on Broadway Reply | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:11 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: Rush Violators on Broadway Reply - FinalPerformance 11:42 am EST 12/25/21 | |
|
|
|
| No problem. Have a great holiday! | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Broadway | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 12:23 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway Reply - BroadwayTonyJ 12:11 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
|
|
|
| Lately I only do rush on line. Lotteries also make life easier. In the past I've been going to London and stay on an average of two weeks. The rush or day seats are easier for me because I stay in the West End. I see about 20-25 shows and venture all around the city. The St. Giles hotel around the corner from The Dominion theatre costs about $130. a night. A walk or bus around the corner get me all around. Hope you travelled there too. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Rush Broadway | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 10:51 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Broadway - FinalPerformance 12:23 pm EST 12/25/21 | |
|
|
|
| Given the Covid situation, lotteries and digital rush are certainly safer and easier than the traditional rush of getting in line outside the theater as early as possible. On the 2 trips I made to New York (in October and November), I was very successful with both lotteries and digital rush. However, most likely that was because all the theaters are desperate to put butts in seats no matter what the cost. That situation will go away when we make more progress against Covid and the crowds return. The reason I have been a fan of the traditional rush is that I became good at it, and it's a sure thing if you know all the angles. I've been to London twice, in '96 and '97. I went with my partner. We enjoyed it a lot, did a lot of sightseeing, and saw a lot of great theatre. I would love to go back some day. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Is Music Man doing rush? | |
| Posted by: mlop 03:04 pm EST 12/24/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is Music Man doing rush? - FinalPerformance 11:40 am EST 12/24/21 | |
|
|
|
| some have gotten there at 4:30am and was second on line. wonder how many tickets are Rush tickets | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.053802 seconds.