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Theatre Development Fund, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, has announced that in cooperation with The Broadway League, it will test two new services at the main TKTS Discount Booth “under the red steps” in Times Square, which is now in its 40th year of operation. 

Beginning this week, on two-performance days, matinee and evening tickets will be sold simultaneously. For example: on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, when TKTS opens at 10am (or 11am on Sundays), patrons will be able to purchase matinee and/or evening performance discount tickets for that day. Previously, matinee tickets were sold only from 10am to 2pm and evening tickets sold only from 3pm to 8pm.

Additionally, Window #1 will also serve as a “Full-Price Ticket Window” which will allow TKTS ticket buyers to purchase full-price tickets to all shows for future performances  or same day full-price tickets to shows that are not available at a discount at any other TKTS Booth windows. 

“We’re exploring these options to see if it is feasible to give our customers the flexibility to get their tickets matinee and evening performances simultaneously, as well as give them the ability to purchase full-price tickets to future performances at the same time they are purchasing their same day discounts,” said Victoria Bailey, TDF’s Executive Director. “Our colleagues in Great Britain at the Society of London Theatres who operate the discount booths for the West End have been doing this successfully for many years. We’re curious to see if the Broadway and Off Broadway ticket buyers who come to Times Square will also find these services beneficial.”

TKTS Times Square hours will be as follows for same-day discount tickets:
Monday, Thursday and Friday – 3pm to 8pm for evening performances;
Tuesday – 2pm to 8pm for evening performances;
Wednesday and Saturday – 10am to 8pm for matinee and evening performances; and
Sunday – 11am – 8pm for matinee and evening performances

The Full-Price Ticket Window will be open on Monday – Saturday from 10am to 8pm; and Sundays from 11am to 8pm.

Currently, TDF is upgrading its free Official TKTS app to reflect these changes.  The upgrade should be completed and downloadable shortly for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7.

These changes in service will not affect TDF’s satellite TKTS Booths at South Street Seaport and Downtown Brooklyn which offer same-day discounts and next-day matinee discount tickets.

ABOUT TKTS:
Now in its 40th year of service, TKTS Times Square is open 365 days a year and situated in Father Duffy Square at Broadway and 47th Street. TKTS has distributed over 57.5 million same-day discount tickets to Broadway, Off Broadway, music and dance events in The Big Apple since it opened for business on Monday, June 25, 1973.  These ticket sales represent over $1.8 billion in revenue returned by Theatre Development Fund to thousands of stage productions. The current TKTS Booth, “under the red steps” opened on October, 2008 and has garnered multiple international design awards for its innovation and style. In addition to TKTS Times Square there are two satellite TKTS Discount Booths: at South Street Seaport and Downtown Brooklyn. These booths will continue to sell same-day discount tickets and next-day matinee tickets.

When Theatre Development Fund opened TKTS during the administration of Mayor John V. Lindsay, with the support of TDF’s Anna E. Crouse, The Shubert Organization and the Ford Foundation, its supporters did not know that they were creating a phenomenon that would be replicated worldwide. After TKTS’s amazing success during its first years, TDF advised other arts service agencies on the development of their own same-day discount ticket booths.  Using TKTS as a model, TDF was responsible for helping to develop booths in Boston; Washington, DC; Chicago; Denver; Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Toronto; London and Sydney.  For more information, go to: www.tdf.org/tkts.

ABOUT THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND (TDF):
Theatre Development Fund was created in the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. It is dedicated to developing diverse audiences for live theatre and dance and strengthening the performing arts community in New York City. Since being founded in 1968, it has become the largest nonprofit performing arts service organization in the United States, returning over $150 million annually to hundreds of productions through a variety of programs. TDF’s programs have provided over 83 million people with access to performances at affordable prices. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths, TDF’s membership, outreach, access and education programs — as well as its Costume Collection — help to make the unique experience of theatre available to everyone. Recent TDF honors include a 2011 Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture, a 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence for its Open Doors Arts Education Program and a New York Innovative Theatre Award for its support of the off-Off Broadway community. For more information about TDF, go to: www.tdf.org.