It's the secret weapon of the spontaneous theatergoer. For the past three years, Playhouse Square Center's Ctix booth (located on Star Plaza, near the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street) has provided discounted show tickets similar to Times Square's famed TKTS, which allows theater fans to snap up open seats on the day of a show for less than face value. "On Tuesdays, midafternoon, call the hotline, see what we've got on offer for the week," suggests Ctix supervisor Joyce Noss, when asked how to score the best deals. We visited on four consecutive Thursday afternoons last summer to see what kind of discounted, day-of-show deals the spontaneous theater fan looking for a pair of seats together would find.
July 29
Show: "Oliver!," Palace Theatre
Price: $22.50 per person (50 percent off face value)
Seat Location: Two seats together closest to the stage: Row EE on the side;
closest to the center: Row FF
Aug. 12
Show: "The Taming of the Shrew," Ohio Theatre
Tickets: $22.50 (50 percent off face value)
Seat Location: Two seats together: Rows A-D on the side
Aug. 19
Show: "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," Ohio Theatre
Tickets: $20 to $22 (43 to 47 percent discount)
Seat Location: For two $22 seats together: Rows L-P and L-M on the side; two
box seats or rear orchestra tickets together $20; full-price tickets Row N on
side and Row R in center
Aug. 26
*No discounted tickets available. First-come, first-served vouchers were available
for the Sept. 4 Three-For-All Ohio Ballet, Cleveland Opera and Great Lakes Theater
Festival showcase and $5 coupons for "Menopause The Musical" were free.
