Times Square, January 4, 2018 at noon.

When snow begins to fall, New Yorkers ask one question — how bad will it get? — and New York theatergoers ask three more:

Will the shows be canceled?

Will shows offer a snow day discount?

What if I can’t make it to a show that hasn’t been canceled?

Here are some answers:

1. How bad will it be?

Check online at the National Weather Service and/or Weather.com. The National Weather Service, a government agency, also has a good Twitter feed specifically for information about the New York region, @NWSNewYorkNY.

Also check out the NYC Severe Weather page, with helpful links, from the City of New York.

2. Will the shows be canceled

In general, it is rare for The Broadway League, the trade association of Broadway producers and presenters, to cancel shows on the Great White Way. However, for two Januarys in a row — in 2015 and 2016 – Broadway was shut down completely for a day because of a blizzard. In 2015, it was a false alarm — there wasn’t that much snow — but the governor had shut down the subway system, so the League was worried about both theatergoers and casts making it to and from the shows. In 2016, there was more than TWO FEET of snow.

In other words: For the quickest gauge of whether shows will (soon/eventually) be canceled, check out the subway system alerts – on Twitter @NYCTSubway, (or go online,  where you can sign up for real-time service updates direct to you via email or text message, customized by line and time of day, via MyMTAAlerts)

Or just wait for word from the Broadway League.

The best way to track actual cancellations of individual New York shows is to check their Twitter feeds or their websites.  Theater news sites (such as this one) and theater Twitter feeds also keep up on the latest information.

A newly created three-minute MTA video which is about two minutes longer than it has to be:

3. Will shows offer a snow day discount?

Sometimes some do; sometimes they don’t. The best way to check this out is on Twitter. The shows themselves Tweet about it, and enterprising Tweeters (such as myself) often post their offers using a hashtag like #SnowDayDiscount. (Broadway shows are unlikely to advertise their snow day discounts on their websites. ) I have seen several hit shows, with impossible-t0-get-tickets, for steep discounts because I braved the elements to get there, when many ticket-holders didn’t show up.

4. What if I can’t make it to a show for which I have tickets? For information about refunds and exchanges, please contact the point of purchase. Here is the list that I compiled during previous blizzards. (If these do not work for the tickets you have, please contact the theater’s box office directly):

Telecharge: 212-239-6210 or 800-543-4835 or online at telecharge.com

Ticketmaster: 877-250-2929 or Ticketmaster.com)
Disney on Broadway: 866-870-2717
Roundabout Theatre: 212-719-1300

TDF Advisory/Advice  (mostly about “past dating”)

If your show is at:

1.   City Center please call (212) 581-1212
2.   American Airlines or Laura Pels Theatre please call (212) 719-1300
3.   Nederlander Theatre please call (212) 921-8000
4.   For Jujamcyn Theatres, including the Eugene O’Neil, Al Hirschfeld, St. James, August Wilson and Walter Kerr Theatre, please call (212) 205-1645 or email PastDating@jujamycn.com
5.   Marquis Theatre please call (212) 382-0100
6.   Palace Theatre please call (212) 730-8200
7.   Hudson Theatre please call (646) 975-4620

Broadway during the blizzard of 1978. It was definitely insane out there, but that sign is from the advertising slogan from an electronics retail chain called Crazy Eddie: “Our prices are insane.”

Broadway during a blizzard in 2000

Times Square during Hercules snowstorm, January 3, 2014

Times Square, January 23, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.