51黑料

We talked to theater companies large and small across 51黑料 to get you the best tips for discount tickets and how to find the best seats. While being front and center is certainly great, every theater has some underrated gems.

Season tickets

For theater companies that offer them, getting season tickets is the best way to save money. At Stray Dog Theatre, for instance, you get tickets to six shows for the cost of only five with the season ticket package. At the Repertory Theatre of 51黑料 you can get a season ticket package to the five main stage shows starting at just $150 鈥� regular single tickets can start at $46.

For those of us who don鈥檛 want to commit to dates and shows months in advance, but also don鈥檛 want to forget to go to some shows each season, a lot of theaters also offer flex passes. Stages, for instance, is a three-show season, but you can still get a deal on tickets through a two-show subscription. The Black Rep offers a five ticket flex pass that can be redeemed throughout the season. You could use all five tickets at one show, one ticket at five different shows or any combination in between.

Since it鈥檚 September, many theaters are starting their seasons. If you buy a ticket to a show in the next month or two and see that the company is mounting other productions you鈥檇 be interested in, inquire with the box office if you can get a discount on a season ticket package. At the Rep, what you paid for your single ticket will be applied to your season ticket package.

Finally, season tickets are not written in stone. If you book a package and realize that some of the dates you selected won鈥檛 work out, every theater company told us they鈥檇 switch your nights for free. (Though, when you switch nights your seats may change.)

The Fox

What it is: The Fox is known for its over-the-top decor style called Siamese Byzantine and bringing the big Broadway touring shows to its 4,252-seat theater.

Where to sit:聽Be warned! At the Fox there are seats with limited view (noted when you鈥檙e purchasing them). The theater is also quite long, so seats start to get far away from the stage. If there are no heads in front of you, you get a great view of the whole stage from the back, but if there are heads in front of you, they can block quite a bit of action. Unfortunately, the Fox doesn鈥檛 have a very steep rake (the incline that lets you see over people鈥檚 heads). That being said, the best seats are at the front of the balcony for a bird鈥檚 eye and unobstructed view. Also side seats here aren鈥檛 bad in sections 2 and 5.

Cheap tickets: Visiting the Fox box office to buy your tickets will save on fees. (Otherwise, you purchase tickets through Metrotix.) And the box office is open on show days from 4 p.m. until a half hour after the show begins for evening performances. It opens at 11 a.m. and noon for 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. shows respectively.

The Fox often has ticket lotteries that are announced one week prior to a show. Not every show has a lottery, but when one does you can sign up for a chance to get a ticket for as low as $10-$40. To be notified, sign up at .

Other tips: If you’re lucky enough to sit in a box seat at the Fox, you might think that you get a chance to dine on the theater’s iconic grand staircase. But you actually have to be a member of the Fox Club, which is currently full. With a membership, you can either get a luxury box or be seated in the first five rows of the orchestra. You can sign up for the wait list to see if a spot opens up at .

The Fox, 527 N. Grand Blvd.,

Stifel Theatre

What it is: The Stifel is an opera house with great acoustics that occasionally brings in touring shows for a night or two.

Where to sit: The Stifel is a little smaller than the Fox at 3,100 seats, and has a more intimate feel. That鈥檚 because there鈥檚 less than 100 feet between the stage and the back of the orchestra. The Stifel told us per email that some underrated seats are 鈥渢he back of the orchestra in the left and right sections seats 1-6 in particular.鈥� These seats 鈥渙ffer an amazing view of the stage and often times are priced lower than other seats on that level.鈥�

Cheap tickets: Unlike other major theaters, the Stifel doesn鈥檛 offer season tickets. The closest you can get is buying a Loge Box for three, five or 10 events.

Still, you can save on ticket prices by signing up for emails about any special deals at and buying tickets at the box office will save you some fees. The box office is open only on event days beginning at noon and closing one hour after the event has started.

Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St.,

Repertory Theatre of 51黑料

What it is: Located on the campus of Webster University, this theater company produces a lot of plays in the Loretto-Hilton Center main stage聽and studio and usually does one musical a season.

Where to sit: There is no balcony at the Rep, but there is a back orchestra section that is immensely popular. These are rows AA-DD. Row AA is beloved because of its unobstructed view of the stage.

"No seat is more than 20 rows back from the stage," says Kate Bergstrom, artistic director for the Rep. "Every seat should have an extraordinary experience."

Cheap tickets: The way to get cheap Rep tickets is to go on preview nights, that's the Wednesday and Thursday before opening night.

For those who like to fly by the seat of their pants, there are rush tickets to every show that are offered two hours before curtain for $20 for certain groups like students, and for those under 35, there are $30 tickets.

Additional tips: New this year is the ability to reserve your seat in the studio series when you buy season tickets. Since two of the shows will be interactive, you can also pick if you want to be involved or a wallflower in the show.

The Rep, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, 

Stages 51黑料

What it is: Stages 51黑料 is another summer stock theater whose season veers a little into fall. (You can catch the last show of the season, 鈥淏eautiful: The Carole King Musical鈥� Sept. 19-Oct. 19.) Known for staging musicals, the company performs at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, an intimate theater that can seat 529 and has an excellent rake.

Where to sit: Candy Hageman, the director of box office operations, has a system for choosing her seats. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 me and a girlfriend, I choose the orchestra down front either on the left side or the right side,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 love rows E and F for some reason.鈥�

But if she鈥檚 going to Stages with her 6-foot-7-inch husband, she sits in orchestra rows N or P, the very last row in the back, because he doesn鈥檛 want to obstruct anyone鈥檚 view. But Hageman says sitting in the back offers a broader view of the stage.

She also says that the mezzanine is a good view. 鈥淚 like to sit in the very back row of the balcony because the view is just absolutely spot on,鈥� Hageman says.

Cheap tickets:聽Stages offers rush tickets. You can head to the box office starting at 10 a.m. the day of the performance and get a rush ticket for $40.

Plus, Post-Dispatch readers have a special for 鈥淏eautiful.鈥� Just type in Post50 at checkout, and you can get any seat in the house for $50 for any Tuesday, Friday or Saturday performance at 7 p.m.

Other tips: Stages has two box offices, one in Chesterfield, where its offices are, and one at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. You can get tickets at either, though the one in Kirkwood isn鈥檛 open during the offseason.

Stages 51黑料 at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 201 E. Monroe Ave., Kirkwood, 

The Muny

What it is:聽51黑料' Tony Award-winning outdoor summer stock theater mounts seven musicals in 10 weeks at a theater that can seat 11,000.

Where to sit: Like with a lot of theaters, sitting off to the side at the Muny can be beneficial. Despite how steep the climb feels when you鈥檙e entering the theater, the rake doesn鈥檛 get heads out of your way, and the closer you sit to the center, 鈥渢he more aligned the seats are to the stage,鈥� says Jane Schell, group services and community engagement manager for the Muny. That means that if someone sits in front of you, they鈥檙e going to block more of your view. If you sit off to the side, you sit at more of an angle. 鈥淎lso, we鈥檙e in the summertime, and sitting off to the side gets you a little bit closer to the fans,鈥� Schell says.

Schell also recommends sitting near the inside aisle (the aisle that is closest to the center). That way, when you鈥檙e looking at the stage, you鈥檙e looking across the aisle and heads aren鈥檛 obstructing your view. (This is a pro-tip for any seated event.)

The final tip is that Muny shows generally run one week, but a few shows run a little longer. This year "Frozen," for instance, ran over two Sundays and two Mondays. Season ticket holders went the first Sunday and Monday of the run, and the second Sunday and Monday all of those seats that season ticket holders usually occupy, are available.

Cheap tickets:聽You may have heard the Muny offers up 1,500 free seats for each show. They鈥檙e the last nine rows in the theater, first come, first served, and you have to enter through the Muny鈥檚 upper parking lot. If you see a long line of people waiting, that鈥檚 the free-seats line.

Other ways to get cheap seats include going to the box office to avoid extra fees from purchasing online and joining the Muny Young Friends (for those between 21 and 40) to not only do activities with other musical-loving young adults, but also to get discounted tickets to a particular night. Students and teachers can get 20% off, and there鈥檚 a military discount. Plus, for those of you in the free seats, you can keep your fingers crossed that you鈥檙e one of 10 lucky patrons every night to randomly get bumped to terrace A thanks to the Patricia Wolf Gould Memorial Endowment Fund.

There are also community-access programs where service organizations get free seats for their clients. These are closer than the free seats, and the Muny gives away nearly 100,000 seats through the program each year.

Other tips:聽Probably the coolest insider information about the Muny is that if you purchase group tickets (15 or more) then the Muny will offer you a backstage tour before the show. Plus, the tickets are all discounted. While the tour is short, it is memorable. 鈥淚f we can, we take people on stage to get a picture with the seats behind them,鈥� Schell says.

The Muny, 1 Theatre Drive, Forest Park,

Stray Dog Theatre

What it is: Stray Dog Theatre is a great neighborhood theater, in south city in a former abbey. It stages musicals and plays, during a season that runs a calendar year.

Where to sit: Stray Dog is open seating, so get there early. The best seats are toward the back by the sound booth on the shorter pews. The sound is better back there and because the stage is elevated, sightlines are never really a problem.

Cheap tickets: Group tickets (10-12 seats) will get you a $5 discount per ticket, plus there is a senior and student $5 discount.

Other tips: Yes, Stray Dog Theatre has pews, which Gary Bell, artistic director for the theater, considered removing. But "we are a community organization, and we really wanted to make sure that everyone felt like a community sitting together," Bells says.

Stray Dog Theatre, 2348 Tennessee Ave., 

New Jewish Theatre and black box theater tips

What it is: New Jewish Theatre does plays (and the occasional musical) related to the Jewish experience. It stages its shows in a black box theater at the Jewish Community Center.

Where to sit: While the nature of a black box theater is that the configuration changes every time, Rebekah Scallet, artistic director for New Jewish Theatre, had a few tips for figuring out the best place to sit. Black boxes almost always have open seating, so arrive early and ask the house manager or an usher for where the best seats are.

Cheap tickets: New Jewish Theatre sometimes offers deals via its social media. You can find it at: or .

New Jewish Theatre at the JCC, 2 Millstone Campus Drive, 

51黑料 Actors' Studio

What it is: 51黑料 Actors' Studio stages intimate plays and a LaBute New Theater Festival that showcases one-acts from various playwrights and one from known playwright Neil LaBute.

Where to sit: The 51黑料 Actors' Studio owns the Gaslight Theater, a storefront theater that actually may really not have a bad seat, even in the balcony. "You're right there in the action in the balcony," says William Roth, artistic director for 51黑料 Actors' Studio.聽

Cheap tickets: Just 10 minutes prior to curtain, you can get $20 rush seats to the balcony. Also there are two Thursday performances during a run, and those are pay-what-you-can nights.

51黑料 Actors' Studio in Gaslight Theater, 358 N. Boyle Ave., 

Other theaters

There are other theaters throughout 51黑料, but many of them don't have theaters where they always stage shows. While advice about where to sit will vary from show to show and by location, many of them still offer fantastic ticket deals. Upstream Theatre (upstreamtheater.org) always offers a "Bohemian Thursday" where a ticket is just $15. The Black Rep (theblackrep.org) offers student rush tickets 45 minutes before the show for $15 (you must have a valid student ID). Tickets to Wednesday performances are always $20 and tickets to the first Thursday run in the performance are always $30. Midnight Company (midnightcompany.com) often offers comp tickets for people in the industry. Every Contraband Theatre聽(contrabandtheatre.org) show is pay what you wish.

So what are you waiting for? Go see a play.