If you'd prefer to get your tickets ahead of time, the best place to purchase discounted show tickets is at the website Broadway Box. The site combines all the recent ticket discounts to give you the best possible prices on any given day. Best of all, Broadway Box offers discounts to almost every show available on Broadway right now. You can purchase tickets online for any day you would like, just make sure you have a credit card ready.
To purchase discounted tickets on the day of the show, TKTS is your best bet. Operated by the Theatre Development Fund, TKTS is available in three locations throughout the city: Times Square, the South Street Seaport and Brooklyn. To purchase tickets at TKTS, the best option is to arrive early and wait in line to see the show of your choice. Tickets range from 25 percent off to 50 percent off. TKTS accepts cash only, so be sure to pick some up on your way over to the booth.
Another way to get discounted Broadway tickets on the day of the show is to find shows that have a rush ticket policy. Many shows on Broadway have a rush policy, although sometimes it is limited to students only. Rush tickets are either first-come, first-served, or offered in a ticket lottery. Check out the Talkin Broadway website for information about rush ticket policies.
The best way to get tickets for a specific or important show (like closing night, the last performance of a particular performer, or opening night) is to check Craigslist or eBay for tickets. Sometimes people will purchase extra tickets in order to turn a profit, but you can often get a better deal than the purchase price, especially if the show turns out to be less popular than expected.
If you are absolutely desperate for tickets to a particular show, hang around outside the theater of the show about half an hour before the show starts. Because box offices don't accept returns, sometimes people will try to sell or give away remaining tickets if a member of their party was unable to come. Be careful, however. Scalpers often hang around the theaters too, and the tickets they will try to sell you are usually at an inflated price and sometimes forged tickets.