To save money on professional theater in town, consider a little-known option: Volunteer ushering. Many theaters use regular folks to help rip tickets, hand out programs, or guide people to their seats. In exchange for your services, you can watch the show for free. Responsibilities are light: Dress nicely, arrive a bit early to learn the layout of seats, and then go to it As soon as the show begins, find a seat for yourself and enjoy the show you’re all done. Ushering can even make a fun cheap date it’s a guaranteed conversation starter afterwards! Best of all, you’ll save yourself some cash and help that theater out at the same time. Call ahead to find out if that show you’ve been eyeing uses volunteers, and when they have slots available.
If that’s not for you, but saving money is still important, here are Boston’s leading players for ticket discounts:
ARTS/Mail
100 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116; (617) 423-0372
Become a member of this mail-order organization and you’ll receive their monthly newsletter filled with dozens of opportunities to see plays, dance, music, and more, usually at half-price or thereabouts. They’ve even had Phantom of the Opera and The Nutcracker.
If you can schedule your culture in advance (there is generally a choice of dates for each show), you can save money big-time. Write for information.
