BosTix

Nothing like getting cheap and good (!) tickets for a show :) We got orchestra tickets for Book of Mormon for half the face value. We couldn’t see all the entrances and exits on stage right, but it didn’t really matter knowing that we were able to save the money and use it for dinner :)

There are two BosTix location, the one on Copley Square, and this one at Faneuil Hall, which I personally find more convenient to visit. I’ve been aware of Boston’s source for ½ price day of show tickets for a long time, but only finally became a patron for the first time.
CATS was here for a single week at the Colonial Theatre and a friend from work was a willing accomplice, as we had both never seen this popular award-​winning musical. I made a quick visit to Bostix shortly after their 10am weekday opening and was offered 2 $ 80 tickets at $ 45.50 apiece ($ 40 for the ticket and a $ 5.50 service charge). While they were Orchestra seats in the front half of the theatre, unfortunately they were as far left as you can go and still stay in the room. (I thought I was being silly when I brought a printed theatre chart with me… but they didn’t offer to show me where the seats would be, so maybe it wasn’t so silly after all.) They were the only seats the Bostix guy could offer me as his computer system would only show us the current «best» seats for the number of tickets I was interested in buying. Yep… half price = no choice.
PS — Cash only
PPS — The day’s show availability is listed on their website —
I wish the price range per show was posted as well, so I would have had an easier time approximating the cash I needed on hand, but oh well.
PPPS — The price you pay is emblazoned on the pre-​printed ticket. Just FYI in case you intend to give it as a gift that you can’t get away with pretending that you paid full price.

I almost don’t want to put this up, but if you can beat me there before it opens you earned it =P
Half-​priced day-​of tickets for any number of arts events going on in Boston. I use them mostly for theatre tickets… well I use them a lot for theatre tickets, but they also have museum passes, music events, dance, etc. Cash only, no returns/​exchanges, which can be a little stressful, especially if there’s a long line of eager tourists waiting behind you, but soooo worth it. Check their site the night before to see what’s offered the next day. It’s not unusual for the seats to be pretty good, so expect about $ 50 a ticket (incl service charges, most of which benefit Bostix since they’re a non-​profit).
You can also get discounted advance tickets on their site for a lot of shows if you catch them before they sell out: some productions will reserve a section of the theatre to sell on Bostix advance; they’ll often tell you what the section is but you wont know where your seats are until you pick up the tickets.