AUGUST 29, 2009 -- When the sun sets, the curtain rises at theaters throughout downtown. Their marquee lights are even brighter for savvy theatergoers like me, who usually strut in smug with a half-off ticket in hand. Don’t want to be the full-price fool I sit next to? Read on to pay less:
Lamb’s Players Theatre (www.lambsplayers.org), next door to the Horton Grand Hotel, and their Under 30 program allows 20-somethings to purchase up to two tickets at half off. The same discount is given to active military and students with valid ID. With some seats priced at $20, you’ll end up paying as much as you would for a movie. Plus, an hour before the show, they sell all remaining seats for just $25. Call ahead of time and ask for the probability that these rush tickets will be available for the next performance.
The secret to snagging the coveted discounts to any Broadway San Diego (www.broadwaysd.com) show at the Civic or Balboa Theatres is to…. wait. Arrive an hour and a half before the show to purchase rush tickets for any remaining seats. Tickets can go for as little as half-off, but be prepared to pay in cash. Rush tickets are not available for every performance, so call ahead to save yourself the drive. Best times to try are Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
At the Lyceum Theatre, home to the San Diego Repertory Theatre (www.sdrep.org), anyone with a valid student ID can purchase play tickets for a mere $18. Price includes parking validation for six hours at the Horton Plaza.
Tickets to It’s the Housewives (September 4-27) at the downtown Tenth Avenue Theatre are half-off ($15) for seniors, students, and military and their spouses. Pay-What-You-Can tickets go on sale 10 minutes prior to each show for students with a valid ID.
The San Diego Performing Arts League runs the tried-and-true Arts Tix (www.sandiegoperforms.com) booth at Horton Plaza, a small hut with fat half-off deals for a wide range of live performances including theatre, music and dance. Visit their Web site first to see what’s for sale that day.
Another sweet site for deep discounts is Goldstar.com (www.goldstar.com), which has a large collection of half-off tickets for theatre performances, as well as sports events, tours and other San Diego events.
(An avid urban explorer and writer, Junvi Ola devotes her time discovering the undiscovered ways to maximize San Diego for less. She pushes aside her innate selfishness and shares her finds with the rest of us on her Web site www.diegoonadime.com.)
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