Broadway Ticket Refunds - Can You Get A Refund?

Broadway ticket refund rules depend on one crucial question: Was the performance cancelled, did you buy the wrong date/time or can you simply no longer attend?

If the Broadway performance is cancelled, you are generally entitled to a refund from the authorized ticket seller. If the performance goes ahead but you cannot attend or bought the wrong date, the official line is Broadway tickets are generally non-refundable, but that is not always the case.

That does not necessarily mean you are stuck with unwanted tickets. Depending on where you bought them and how early you act, you may be able to get an exchange, persuade the box office to make an exception, resell the tickets or make a claim through ticket insurance.

Broadway Ticket Refund Quick Action Checklist

If you cannot attend your Broadway show:

1. Act before the performance – Your options become much more limited after the show has taken place.
2. Identify who sold you the tickets – The theatre, official ticket seller, resale marketplace and ticket broker have different procedures.
3. Check for ticket insurance – Your reason for missing the performance may be covered.
4. Ask about a refund or exchange – An exchange may be available even when a refund is not.
5. Resell the tickets if necessary – Do this early enough to give yourself a realistic chance of finding a buyer.
6. Consider donating them – If the tickets cannot be refunded, exchanged or sold, donation may be the final option.

The basic rule: start with the company that actually sold you the tickets. If you accidentally bought the wrong Broadway performance date, contact them immediately rather than waiting until the performance date.

What Happens If A Broadway Show Is Cancelled?

Tickets purchased from an authorized seller are generally refunded to the original method of payment when a Broadway performance is cancelled.

If you purchased through a ticket broker or resale marketplace, follow that company's cancellation procedure.

Buying Broadway Ticket Insurance

Ticket insurance can protect you when the performance takes place but you cannot attend.

Depending on the policy, covered reasons may include illness, certain travel disruptions or other unexpected circumstances.

Ticket insurance can be particularly useful if you are traveling from out of town, flying to New York City, attending with children or elderly family members, or spending a significant amount on tickets.

Coverage varies considerably. Ticket insurance does not necessarily allow you to cancel for any reason, so check what circumstances are covered and the deadline for making a claim.

Getting A Broadway Ticket Refund Or Exchange When You Cannot Attend

Even when your tickets are officially non-refundable, the theatre or ticket seller may sometimes make an exception or allow an exchange.

Visit The Broadway Box Office

Going directly to the theatre box office before the performance will often give you the best chance of getting help, particularly if you purchased from the box office or the show's authorized ticket seller.

Explain the situation and ask whether they can refund the tickets or move you to another performance.

If you accidentally purchased tickets for the wrong date, say so. Broadway box offices will often exchange tickets for another performance when contacted before the original performance, subject to availability and the production's policies.

The popularity of the show may make a difference. A sold-out Broadway show has a better opportunity to resell returned seats than a production with substantial unsold inventory.

If you purchased through a resale marketplace or independent broker, the theatre may not be able to refund the transaction because it did not sell you the tickets.

Ask For A Broadway Ticket Exchange

If a refund is unavailable, ask whether the tickets can be moved to another performance.

An exchange may be easier to obtain than a cash refund, particularly if you accidentally selected the wrong performance date. Even if you have already missed the original performance, it can still be worth asking whether the production will accommodate you at a future show.

If they provide another date, make sure you can attend it. Do not assume another exchange will be allowed.

Call The Broadway Box Office

Many Broadway theatre box offices do not have a public telephone number.

The number associated with a Broadway show may instead connect to the production's official ticket seller or a call center. Those representatives generally follow the published ticket policy and may have less flexibility than personnel at the physical box office.

If you are already in New York City, visiting the box office in person may produce a better result.

Email The Broadway Box Office

Emailing the show or ticket seller is another option.

Explain your circumstances clearly and include your order number, performance date and ticket information. Customer-service representatives may have limited discretion, but it is still worth asking before giving up on the tickets.

What To Do If You Cannot Get A Broadway Ticket Refund

If a refund or exchange is unavailable, the next step is to try to recover some of the ticket value.

Sell Your Broadway Tickets To A Ticket Broker

A ticket broker may buy tickets for a popular Broadway show.

Expect an offer below the ticket's expected resale value. The advantage is speed: once the broker buys the tickets, you no longer have to find a buyer yourself.

Sell Your Broadway Tickets On StubHub

You can also list Broadway tickets on StubHub or another resale marketplace.

You may recover more money than selling directly to a broker, but there is no guarantee the tickets will sell.

Price and timing matter. List too high or too late and you could still be holding the tickets when the curtain goes up.

Electronic tickets are generally easier to resell and transfer than physical tickets.

Selling Broadway Tickets Outside The Theatre

Be careful about selling Broadway tickets on the street outside the theatre. You can usually get away with it, but New York has laws regulating ticket resale, including restrictions concerning resale near entertainment venues. An established resale marketplace is generally a more straightforward option.

Donate To Ronald McDonald House

When you have exhausted all these routes and still have come up wanting, you may consider just donating the tickets.

The New York City Ronald McDonald House charity will happily take unused Broadway tickets right up to curtain time. You get to take a nice tax deduction and get to feel good that you helped a family in need take their mind off the stress that they are going through.

Broadway Ticket Refunds: The Bottom Line

If you cannot attend or accidentally bought the wrong date, act before the performance and start with the company that sold you the tickets.

Broadway box offices will often work with customers who need to move tickets to another date, while resale marketplaces such as StubHub typically will not exchange tickets simply because the buyer selected the wrong performance. In that situation, you may need to resell the original tickets and purchase tickets for the correct date.

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Broadway Ticket Refunds - Can You Get A Refund?

We list the official policies for Broadway ticket refunds, but there seems a few ways to get around them. 

Broadway ticket vendors often state "All ticket purchases are final and tickets may not be exchanged or refunded" but this is not totally accurate. There are a few things you can do to get a refund or an exchange on Broadway tickets.

Tickets Are Refunded Automatically If The Show Is Cancelled

In the case of a show cancellation, all Broadway tickets are automatically refunded and you do not have to do anything to get refunded. If the buyer purchased from a ticket broker, they sometimes will make the buyer apply for a refund, but that is highly unethical and only the most egregious and peripheral ticket brokers would ever do that.

Buying Broadway Ticket Insurance

Many shows now offer Broadway ticket insurance that offers a full refund if you cannot make the show for any reason. This is a great idea if you are dealing with kids, elderly or coming from a long distance to the show. Flights are often cancelled and this insurance makes sense for people from out-of-town.

Most ticket insurances do not require that you tell them ahead of time that you cannot make it, you can do it after the show - but check with your own insurance to make sure of their policy as they often differ.

The other ticket refund/exchange options below will assume that you did not buy ticket insurance.

Getting A Refund If You Cannot Make The Show For Legitimate Reasons
 

Visit The Box Office:

Visiting the box office at the theatre well BEFORE the show will reap the best outcome as they will often exchange or refund tickets on a case-by-case basis, although they are not legally obliged to do so, but usually will.

Going to the box office AFTER the show has already performed, has a less strong chance of getting a refund, but a high chance of ticket exchange for another date in the future. If you do not make it to that new date that they give you, then they will do nothing more for you and you will have to eat the loss, despite whatever excuse you may provide.

The more popular the Broadway show, the more likely they are to offer a refund before the show, as they can easily resell them to another customer. The top 5 Broadway shows will offer refunds all day long, as there is always a line of people waiting to buy them. The bottom 5 Broadway shows, not so much.

Call The Box Office:

Unfortunately you CANNOT call the theatre box office as they do not have phone lines for the public to call on. Their ticket phone lines go to call centers that will do nothing for you and just recite the age-old policy of "No Refunds" and will just hang up on you.

Email The Box Office:

The same can be said of emailing the show, they will do nothing for you except recite the policy of "No Refunds or Exchanges of Tickets"

Other Solutions For The Worst Case Scenarios

If you cannot do any of the above, then the only option left is to sell your tickets privately or give them away to someone.

Sell Tickets To A Ticket Broker:

This is always good option for popular shows, as they will be happy to buy them from you, but they will often only offer 50% of the price of tickets, but the transaction is over quickly and you can move on with your life.

Sell Tickets On Stubhub:

This option means that you will get much more money, but will have to manage the ticket sale and you could be left holding the tickets if you price them too high or leave it too late to list them. Electronic tickets are a lot easier to sell than physical tickets.

Sell The Tickets Outside The Broadway Theatre At A Deep Discount

New York City law says that you cannot do this, but people who cannot get a ticket refund will often dump their tickets to people waiting outside theatre or at the TKTS line at a steep discount to get rid of them. Typically this is done an hour before the show curtain. Price is dependant on the show, in some cases you may get more than you paid, in others less.