It’s that time of the year again! Forget itchy, lumpy sweaters and overpriced pumpkin spice lattes (which totally aren’t even made with pumpkin) – the real magic of fall is the triumphant return of the theater season.
Philadelphia is one of the best cities in the entire country for delivering top-notch plays and musicals, not to mention dance and other professional performances. If you’re looking for something new to do with friends or on a date night, why not grab a seat at one of these local venues? The following organizations host stunning productions with regionally and nationally recognized actors, directors and producers, showcased with the same quality and caliber of a New York show for a fraction of the price. Even better? These companies offer discounted student and community rush tickets!
Community Rush: Rush tickets for Broadway shows are $30, and $10 for Kimmel Center Presents performances. Rush begins two hours before the show starts at the venue’s box office (can be for Kimmel Center, Academy of Music or Merriam Theater shows). Side note: Tickets must be paid for in cash!
KimmelSTIX: For high school, college and grad students ages 17 to 30, $10 student tickets are available to select Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway performances. You have to register as a member here. Coming up this season? Newsies, Kinky Boots, Annie and The Lion King, plus Jason Mraz, Neil Young, PHILADANCO and Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Day-of-Show Tickets: Anyone can purchase tickets for half the price on the day of the performance with the promo code found on their website. Tickets can be bought via Ticketmaster, phone, or in person at the box office. The discount is good for all mainstage shows (including Mary Poppins and Memphis), although a separate day-of-show code can be used for $20 tickets to Independence Studio on 3.
Youth Tickets: Bring a form of ID with your date of birth to the box office, and anyone under the age of 24 can score a $20 ticket (unless you’re a little kid, obviously you don’t need ID!)
Student Rush: Snag $10 tickets to performances like Macbeth, The Jungle Book and Great Expectations 30 minutes before the show with your student ID. If you prefer to reserve tickets ahead of time, students are offered a $2 discount on all shows.
College Student Rush Tickets: Use the promo code STUDENT to purchase $10 tickets online, and then pick them up at the box office with your student ID! These can be bought as early as one week before the show, whether it’s dance (BalletBoyz, Pilobolus Dance Theater), jazz and live music (Zakir Hussain, Marcus Roberts Trio), or another special performance (MUMMENSCHANZ, African Children’s Choir, King Lear).
Student Tickets: You can buy $10 tickets to shows at the Wilma with a student ID at the box office. Thanks to their new ticket subsidy program, Wilma WynTix, all tickets to every performance this season are only $25! That goes for Rapture, Blister, Burn and the much anticipated Hamlet directed by Blanka Zizka.
Rush Tickets: All are welcomed to discounted tickets on the day of the show. Half-off tickets are available at the box office 1-3 hours before curtain. Students get the same deal but for only $10 a pop – 1-3 hours before the show starts, as well as all day on Fridays. If you want cheap tickets in advance, the last row of the mezzanine is $25 anytime, for any 2014/15 show including Detroit, Mothers and Sons and Murder for Two.
College Students: A free college concert kicks off the eZseatU program each year. With the eZuSeatU program, students can get unlimited access to concerts all season long for just $25! Otherwise, you can buy $8 student rush tickets 90 minutes before the show at the Kimmel Center box office with a valid ID to catch performances led by musical director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Student Rush Tickets: College students can grab $15 tickets at the box office one hour prior to performances. This discount cannot be used for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, but you can get cheap seats at every other performance year round, like Swan Lake and A Tribute to Jerome Robbins.
Student Rush: Discover some culture with 50% off of tickets two hours before the show starts, or with $10 ampitheatre seats. These must be purchased in person at the Academy of Music Box Office. The same goes for Opera Philadelphia performances at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, with half off and $10 tickets in the 2nd Balcony Boxes. This season features The Barber of Seville, Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD and Don Carlo.
There are dozens to hundreds of performance venues and organizations in Philadelphia not included in this list! Not to mention, all of these spaces offer group discount rates. Be sure to check out their individual websites to learn more, or connect with them on social media to hear about upcoming shows!
