Discount Tickets for Partial View Seats to Broadway shows. Discounts on seats that are obstructed or have limited views of the stage.
Partial View Seats Locations May Have Visual, Audio or Other Impairments
Many of the top Broadway shows offer significant price discounts on partial view, obstructed view, limited view and poor audio seat locations in the theatre. These are seats that may miss some of the action on the Broadway Theatre stage due to the stage scenery or physical theatre restrictions like support columns, mezzanine overhangs or box overhangs as seen in the photo to the right.
Some Broadway shows offer these discount tickets at the very front and sides of the orchestra, where audio is sometimes inferior and the sight lines to the stage are often impaired, as you may have to have to turn your head to see all the stage, or activity of the other far side of the stage . Other theatres offer this ticket discount on some of the rear mezzanine tickets as they may not be able to see things that are high up, or even above, the stage.
The words "PARTIAL VIEW" are always printed on the ticket, so you'll know you haven't purchased a full-view ticket and this will affect resale value is you cannot make it to the show.
Partial View Prices Are Not A Bargain, But Still Good Value While most ticket buyers are initially resistant to the idea of getting partial view tickets, in cases where you stand to get a good discount, buying them is often a smart move. The truth is, many of the partial view seats at Broadway shows are still very good, and you miss a relatively small amount of the action. Most Broadway shows are very up front about telling you exactly what you will miss or what the problems and/or obstructions are with regard to the partial view tickets.
Broadway Producers Often Make Wrong Call On Partial View Tickets
Some enterprising Broadway producers will actually sell partial view or obstructed view tickets at the regular full ticket price. They don't hide the fact that these tickets are obstructed, they just take the stance that if the show is 100% sold out, they can afford to sell you their worst tickets for the same price of a good seat as they are the only tickets available - so you have no other choice other than to purchase these or after-market ticket broker Broadway tickets - that are always 50-300% more expensive than their own face value.
This is only happens in the case of a sold-out hit Broadway show where they feel they can get away with it on account of the ticket demand. Just be sure that if you are purchasing partial view tickets that they are being sold to you at a discount.
Because sales of that particular show are strong they can get away with it, but as the show wanes, they will discount these tickets rapidly, otherwise they will be constantly left with unsold ticket inventory as the ticket buying public gets wise to their strategy and ticket brokers will steer clear.
What is interesting to note is that a "partial view" ticket at a theatre for one show, may not be "partial view" for a different show at the same theatre. This is because the content of the show may not require you to look in that particular direction EG. Looking upwards.
Ebay & Craigslist Sellers Sell 'Partial View' Tickets As 'Full View'
You should be aware that there has been a spate of ebay sellers offering partial view tickets as regular tickets, with a fleeting reference that these tickets may miss part of the action - a clear indicator that these Broadway tickets are partial view and will be labeled such on the ticket. The tickets are not necessarily bad, it's just that you have to factor in that these seats are initially cheaper than their full price cousins and therefore their resale value should reflect that.
