The West End vs Broadway? How much do you want to pay?

Interesting topic, Mardee! I don’t see plays on Broadway but I do sometimes go in Seattle and I really like to have a nice seat, up front, with extra leg room, if possible. These seats are often hundreds of dollars - so I tend not to go that often.

I just bought tickets to two West End plays for September. I got a seat for the Lion King - Row 2, last seat on the left, tons of extra leg room. $52 dollars.

I bought for The Play That Goes Wrong as well. Row 6. Last seat on the left, tons of extra leg room. $33 dollars.

It’s quite a stark price difference in my opinion. And there are no additional fees like in the US - the ticket price is the full price.

Here is the print version if you prefer to read it rather than watch a video:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/theater/tickets-theater-broadway-west-end-london.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XFA.BiF-.sE50tHks_a53&smid=url-share

I read that article the other day. The only thing I didn’t like was that they compared the top prices rather than providing a range for each production. The average person doesn’t buy $900 seats so it would have been more fair to also show the least expensive seats. While one of the writers says that they don’t need celebrities, there are plenty of London performances with celebrities and sometimes those tickets are priced higher.

I typically see a show every night when I am in London. I buy about half of the tickets at a discount. The prices in London have been creeping up but they are still less expensive than NY or even DC. I’ve been able to see a range of well-known actors (Judy Dench, Helen Mirren, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Sally Field, etc.). London theatre is really first rate.

Last spring I saw Hamilton in London. I paid £75 for first row of Royal Circle for a matinee performance. Hamilton is playing in Chicago right now. I just checked for similar seating, but not quite as good, for a matinee and the ticket price if $200. I'm sure ticket prices are even higher in New York.

It seems also that for symphony and ballet performances, London is more affordable than New York City. Once you can get to London, you’re practically saving money every moment that you’re there :-)

I had heard this anecdotally, but interesting to see it written out. Just in general, every time I am in NYC I am incredibly shocked at the prices of things. Meanwhile here I recently paid £35 each for tickets to see Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I can't imagine spending close to $1000 USD on two hours of entertainment, I'm sorry but that is mad.

Something else to note is that the National Theatre is government subsidised, which is why you can see excellent productions there for relatively low cost. That is always a good one to check if you're travelling here on a budget.

Just in general, every time I am in NYC I am incredibly shocked at the prices of things.

As I am just now leaving London on my way to France, I was struck by this. Good grief, is London ever expensive! Every meal ended up minimum $30, and many way north of that. I can eat in Manhattan for less, certainly. No comment on theatre pricing, as I don't partake.

With that said, my 9 nights at Bermonds Locke (a suite hotel, with rooms even bigger than at Locke at Broken Wharf) were extremely reasonably priced. Highly recommended, and very convenient to London Bridge tube and railway station. Some cool little coffee shops and small restaurants along nearby Bermondsey Street, too.

I think it is inappropriate to compare the cabaret (in the middle of the action) seating for Just In Time (JIT) with a conventional seat for Paddington. It’s also probably wrong to compare a show where the star is, in effect, a puppet or a team mascot costume, with a live action saga (yet again) of Italian-American dolor. (Haven’t seen Paddington.)

I think I paid about $160 for JIT.

My spidey-senses were tingling from the first speech of JIT, when the shouting narrator urged me to “Give it up for … … Jonathan GROF!!!” I spent the rest of the musical trying to determine just “who” I was watching - an actor, or someone being a famous lounge singer? A Pirandellian problem.

The West End is lower priced than Broadway. That’s well established. It’s significantly cheaper to stage a show in London than in NY for various reasons, and it’s why a lot of new shows open in London first and then transfer only if they’re successful. The West End is also thriving with no dark theatres and very high seat occupancy. It’s doing much better than Broadway in this regard.

Celebrities really do sell tickets so I think that’s a bit misleading to say the West End doesn’t rely on them. Paddington may not star a celeb but the score is by a famous pop singer, although not known in the US he’s been on TV a lot here promoting the show.

I wasn't aware of this. But recently (in last few days) read an article about musicians/groups etc and their tours. It referenced the recent Taylor Swift tour and some upcoming Harry Styles concerts (among others) and the fact that quite a few of the UK attendees are from the US. Apparently because of pricing, it was cheaper for US fans to head to London/Manchester/etc than attend in the US. It was an article about ticket resale sites here, which can be an issue because of huge mark-ups (and many other problems). And also referenced a possible new law to limit/stop these mark-ups.

My experience, at venues like the Royal Albert Hall, is that I've sometimes come across other attendees who have flown in from the US - and this London trip is all about seeing a particular act, they may only be in London a few days. (eg Eric Clapton, David Gilmour concerts, which are - for me - pretty expensive events.)

Isn't Paddington a celebrity? :-)

Excessive pricing also seems to have hit sport. Ticket prices for the 2026 Football World Cup are much higher than at previous competItions. And now train tickets to the stadium in Boston will increase from $20 to $75. Daylight robbery!

I'm only mildly exaggerating when I say that it was cheaper to fly to London to see Hamilton than it was to see it in NY.

Broadway prices are out of control.

Fortunately, I can walk to world class theatre. For this summer's season I shelled out a total of about C$450 for six performances for the missus and me. Decent seats.

Two tickets to a performance in Stratford, Ontario, C$90.

World Cup on the box.

We are going to NYC in May and London in July and I noticed this also. London tickets were/are significantly cheaper than NYC. That tracks with everything else though too: hotels, transportation, most tourist sites, and food are all cheaper in London. We are a family of 4 with 2 older kids so taking advantage of the family/kid discounts in London that NYC just doesn't offer for kids that aren't toddlers helps with London feeling cheaper also.

I think it is inappropriate to compare the cabaret (in the middle of the action) seating for Just In Time (JIT) with a conventional seat for Paddington. It’s also probably wrong to compare a show where the star is, in effect, a puppet or a team mascot costume, with a live action saga (yet again) of Italian-American dolor. (Haven’t seen Paddington.)

Well, they didn't try to say that the first example was an average, but just something to show a huge difference. And of course they did go on to show the average pricing, which was much less of a stretch between the two.

Also, the seating was somewhat comparable in that it wasn't necessarily a conventional seat for Paddington either. He had a second row center seat, which is obviously one of the highest priced seats for that show.

Cyn, I like your idea that it's going to be cheaper to go to London to see a show than go to New York. Really, if you could get a really cheap flight and hotel room, you would absolutely be correct.

It’s significantly cheaper to stage a show in London than in NY for various reasons, and it’s why a lot of new shows open in London first and then transfer only if they’re successful.

Helen, That's a good point about shows opening in London. I'm curious how the actors are paid in the West End. Most of the big New York theatres are Lort-A, which means that they're paying the highest prices for Equity (union) actors. And of course, celebrities get even higher $$ than base Equity pay; probably a lot more than actors in the West End. I saw on Reddit that the highest paid ones probably get an average of $30-50k a week. Someone like Hugh Jackman can receive up to $100k a week or even more.

And then, of course, all the stagehands and wardrobe crew are members of IATSE, the labor union, which means that they are all very well paid. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be paid well. I'm just pointing out that this is one factor that leads to higher prices, besides a quest for profits, of course. I'd be curious to know how much the actors and stagehands in London are paid and what determines their salaries.

Just saw The Producers last week (Richard Kind is excellent, as is the rest of the cast), and this very topic came up (& we later saw the NYT video!) as we chatted outside the theater with a young couple. The young man, who said he had been a child actor in the West End, and had been in a musical with Imelda Staunton, said that cast members in London are paid a fair bit less than the same role would fetch on Broadway, so they can charge less in London and still make a profit (he said). He also said that when a star comes on stage in London, people don't roar with excitement like in the U.S., but are more reserved :-) – which is our experience as well.

Adding a recommendation – there is a short run of Marie and Rosetta right now, with Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu. It was sooooo good; I'm even going to try to see it again before it closes on 11th April. Speaking of ticket prices, they start at £30, and there isn't a bad seat in the house!

Edit: oops, I fell asleep last night mid-post (jet lag!) and then finished this reply this morning, then saw that there were a lot of new posts early this morning (I'm temporarily back on Pacific time, haha, so I'm late to the game).

• The young man (former child actor in the West End) mentioned the current trend of shows running first in London, then moving to Broadway. And he threw out some sample cast earnings for both, with NYC being substantially higher.
• Prices in London have gone up since the real bargains 10 or 20 years ago, but are still a good deal. My hunch is that in NYC – along with the overall high prices mentioned above – Broadway takes advantage of tourists from, say, the Midwest for whom a trip to NYC is a once-in-a-lifetime splurge. ("$300 per ticket? well, okay then!")
• Yes, Paddington is a star in his own right :-) We saw that show last month, and when the Browns put the blue duffel coat on him, the entire audience of 1000+ gave a collective sigh of delight. A cultural icon to Brits, with a fondness we from North America share, but not to that degree :-)
• Shadowlands was also amazing. I knew Hugh Bonneville only from (ha) the Paddington movies, and an occasional episode of Downton Abbey, but he is a gifted stage actor (how does anyone memorize 2 hours' worth of lines?!) and as someone behind us said, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

California native who has lived in LA for nearly 30 years. Have been to 2 plays: Hughie will Al Pacino and Death of a Salesman with Brian Dennehy.

However, on each sojourn to London theatre is a must!! Privileged to have seen Maggie Smith, Judy Dench, Charles Dance, Ian McKellan, Mark Gatiss, Daniel Craig and others.

For me there’s nothing like a London theatre experience. Especially love the ice cream cups.

We will be in London next month and have tickets for the Trafalgar Theatre, the National and the Globe. We go to quite a few plays here at home and find the ticket prices in London are comparable to DC. Of course I did shell out an extra 10£ for seat cushions at the Globe. Worth every penny.

I still remember when I saw Billy Crudup in Harry Clark at the Ambassador Theater in London. I booked it at the last minute because it was my birthday and I wanted something fun to do, and I got a 4th row seat, dead center for around $40. I was agog at the price.

Paddington is a star to me! I still have the Paddington book my grandmother gave me in the 1970's. I've planned a London trip especially to see Paddington The Musical & leave for London next week. Bought tix for 2 other shows - The Mousetrap & Six. This will be our 1st time seeing shows in London & I thought the prices were very reasonable.

Laura: I would love to see Marie and Rosetta! We arrive on 4/9 & already have theatre tix on 4/11, so that only leaves 4/10. I'll have to take a look & see if any tickets remain.

Tina

Tina – last month was our first time coming just to see a show, and it was for Paddington :-)
It did not disappoint. My husband even liked it more than I did (which surprised both of us, haha). Let me know how you like it!

I was glad I had ear protection, though (I always carry musician-grade ear plugs now). I didn't need them for Shadowlands, haha, or even Marie & Rosetta.

& I hope you can get tickets for M&R! It was so good. I'll be back in England next week but probably too busy to fit it in :-(
I had seats in first balcony row A and they were fantastic. First balcony row B would be fine, too – it's raised up quite a bit behind row A.
My seat was close but not too close (stalls would be too close to the action for me!). I was looking right down on the piano player (seat A45). The bass guitar player was diagonally across from me.

btw I was in Buffalo last weekend! So fun to be back. I love WNY. Even had a few snow flurries.

This is somethng I know nothing about. I enjoy the theater but have been to neither. So, the discussion has been city vs city. Does the individual theater not matter at all? They all have the same quality of production, comfort I guess, atmosphere maybe, so one is not worth more than another?

Theatres aren't always the same. Some are older than others. Some are newer. Some are larger or fancier, So in that respect, ticket pricing might be affected by how much it costs for maintenance and upkeeps.

But most of the ticket pricing depends on the show. A new West End or Broadway musical with a "name" performer, a large cast with dancers and an orchestra will be priced much higher than a small small play written by an upcoming yet relatively unknown playwright, simply because it costs more. More actors, stagehands, wardrobe people, and an orchestras contribute to a higher cost. And Broadway theatres must use equity actors, IATSE stagehands and wardrobe people, and then there's the musicians' union as well, which controls the orchestras. Plus special effects if used, and so on. So I'm sure you can see why there's such a huge differential in some shows.

I should also mention that location can make a difference. For example, a theatre located on Broadway or technically in the Broadway area will be priced much higher than an off-Broadway theatre and that will be priced higher than an off-off-Broadway theatre, which are smaller theatres that are scattered around other areas. I'm sure the same thing applies to the West End. There are smaller theatres that are maybe more avant-garde or not in the actual West End area where you can find much lower price tickets.

Does the individual theater not matter at all? They all have the same quality of production, comfort I guess, atmosphere maybe, so one is not worth more than another?

Some of the London theatres are pretty uncomfortable. For example, Operation Mincemeat is playing at the Fortune Theatre and the Dress Circle had extremely tight seats with very limited legroom. It still was a great show. I choose based on the shows and reviews, not the particular venue.

I love to go to the theatre. I don't often go to Broadway as I don't like the city or its airports as much as I do other locations. We are lucky to get such good theatre in MN, especially Minneapolis. As you probably know, several plays use our MinnieApple for their pre Broadway run. Prices in any largish city in the U.S. are usually much higher than in London. That's why I try to always see a show when I visit. My last visit I saw "Six" and really loved it: 90 minutes with no intermission and great music.

If you are travelling around the UK it’s worth looking at what is on at local theatres.
Theatre isn’t really my ‘thing’ (l think I was traumatised by pantomime!) but I can think of:

The Festval Theatre in Chichester, it gets some big names there throughout the year as well as during the festival. https://www.cft.org.uk/

Theatre Royal, home to the the Bristol Old Vic, it’s the oldest theatre in the English speaking world and is a good few years older than the USA! I saw a piece on the TV that it still has the original sound effect equipment in the roof to make thunder, stone balls that roll across the ceiling. https://bristololdvic.org.uk/

For something more modern the Everyman in Liverpool has been going since the 1960s and has been the training ground for many of the award winning actors of the last 50 years. You’d go here for modern and political rather than a west end musical :-) https://everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/

Theatre Clwyd in north Wales has also been going since the 1960s. As well as the usual roster of shows it is one of the homes of the new Welsh National Theatre established by Michael Sheen.

https://www.theatrclwyd.com/
https://www.welshnationaltheatre.com/

Even the relatively new theatre in my hometown the Storyhouse in Chester gets a lot of touring productions as well more local stuff. Although I wish it was still the Odeon cinema!

https://www.storyhouse.com/

Emma, I agree that it's always worth an effort to see productions at small local theatres. We have the same types in the US, and some of those productions are wonderful. They can afford to be even a little bit more avant-garde than the more expensive ones, and you can find some amazing productions there. As Laurie Beth mentioned, there are a number of them in Minneapolis and really all over the states. I've worked at more than my share of them, and they're filled with dedicated actors, staff and crews who want nothing more than to bring theatre to the public.

We always go to West End shows when we are in London. We always get seats in the stall a few rows from the stage, we always get tickets a lot cheaper then Broadway shows.

Hi Laura:

So glad to hear you & your husband liked Paddington! We can't wait! Wanted to re-watch Paddington Movie #1 last night but couldn't find it anywhere to stream. Watched Paddington in Peru again instead.

I did purchase tix for Marie & Rosetta! On your advice, I did get tix in first balcony row A. I'm looking forward to this show. My husband doesn't know anything about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, so I may have him watch a few YouTube videos before we go just so he can get a feel for her.

How neat that you were back in Buffalo recently & got to see some snow. With the wind chill today, it feels cold enough to snow & we're supposed to get some tomorrow, but I'm sure it won't amount to much.

Have a nice weekend!