Lotteries and rush are how locals sit in a $150 seat for a fraction of the price. The catch is that every venue runs its own system, with its own app, price, and window, and miss the window by an hour and you’re out. So here’s the whole thing on one page: who offers what, what it costs, and exactly when and how to grab it.
Bookmark it. The windows are the part people forget.
The cheat sheet
Lottery and rush are offered per show, not on every performance, so confirm your specific date in the app or with the box office. Prices below are typical and move by production.
| Venue | Route | Typical price | When and how |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Pantages | Digital lottery | About $10 to $40 | Broadway in Hollywood app, “Tickets” tab. Opens 11:00 AM two days before the show, closes 10:00 AM the day before. Must be 18+, limit 2. |
| Hollywood Pantages | Box-office rush | About $40 | In person at the box office, starting 2 hours before the show. First come, limit 2 per ID. |
| Ahmanson Theatre | TodayTix lottery and rush | Rush from about $46; lottery varies | TodayTix app, per show. Enter the lottery ahead; rush unlocks day-of. |
| Mark Taper Forum | TodayTix lottery | As low as about $15 | TodayTix app, season-long on many shows. Enter ahead, day-of draw. |
| Hollywood Bowl | $1 tickets (LA Phil) | $1 | Select LA Phil concerts, bench sections L to U. On sale 10:00 AM online, first come, limit 4 per household, non-transferable. |
| Hollywood Bowl | Cheap bench tier | About $15 to $18 | Same upper sections once the $1 tier sells out. Book early online. |
| Geffen Playhouse | Verified student pricing | $20 (fees included) | Any performance for verified college students, limit 2. Enroll free via VerifyPass or show a student ID at the box office. |
| Geffen Playhouse | College rush | Varies, day-of | First come, starting 1 hour before showtime, per performance. |
A few details that matter
Pantages is two different things. The digital lottery (random draw, can be as low as $10 on a given show) and the $40 box-office rush (first come, in person) are separate. Enter the lottery for the cheapest shot; the rush is your backup if you didn’t win and you’re willing to line up.
Center Theatre Group lives on TodayTix. The Ahmanson and the Mark Taper run their lotteries and rush through the TodayTix app, not their own site. The Taper’s lottery is the cheaper of the two on most shows.
The Bowl’s dollar seats are real but fast. They drop at 10:00 AM and disappear in minutes, so treat it like a ticket drop. If you miss it, the next bench tier is still one of the best live-music bargains in town.
Geffen rewards students. If you’ve got a valid college ID, the $20 verified-student price beats almost everything else in this table, and it’s good for any performance, not just day-of.
One app to keep
If you only download one thing, make it TodayTix. Beyond CTG’s lottery and rush, it runs $20 Pop sales (waves of $20 tickets across town) and a standing deals section. Note that Goldstar, the old discount-ticket site, has been folded into TodayTix, so that’s where those deals live now.
Make the windows automatic
The single biggest reason people pay full price is forgetting to enter. Two habits fix it:
- Set a recurring phone reminder for each lottery window you care about (Pantages at 11:00 AM, two days out).
- Turn on app notifications for rush drops so you know the second they open.
Enter for a few different dates in a run, not just one, and your odds climb.
Lottery rules, rush prices, and windows change by show and season, and not every performance offers them. This is a planning reference, not a guarantee. Confirm the current details in the venue’s app or with the box office before you count on them.
For the full strategy, including subscriptions, group rates, and how to dodge resale fees, see our complete guide to cheap LA theatre tickets. Not sure what to see yet? Check what’s on in LA theatre this month, then add up the night.
Frequently asked questions
How does the Hollywood Pantages lottery work? Enter the digital lottery in the Broadway in Hollywood app under the “Tickets” tab. It opens at 11:00 AM two days before the performance and closes at 10:00 AM the day before. You must be 18 or older, and winners can buy up to 2 deeply discounted tickets. Prices vary by show, sometimes as low as $10.
What are the cheapest LA theatre tickets? The Mark Taper lottery (as low as about $15) and the Hollywood Bowl’s $1 LA Phil tickets are the cheapest. Verified college students get $20 seats to any Geffen Playhouse show. If you can’t win a lottery, the Pantages sells about $40 rush tickets in person two hours before the show.
Do I need an app for rush and lottery tickets? Mostly, yes. The Pantages lottery runs in the Broadway in Hollywood app, and the Ahmanson and Mark Taper use TodayTix. The exception is the Pantages rush, which is sold in person at the box office.
Does every show have a lottery or rush? No. Lottery and rush are offered on a per-show and often per-performance basis, at each production’s discretion. Always confirm your specific date in the app or with the box office.
