Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the “VIP Access” column will serve up advice on how to make your theater-going experiences cheaper, easier and more fulfilling with inside scoop from the experts. This month, we’ve got the secret to getting your hands on cheap tickets to sold-out shows…

Hugh Jackman. Photo by Joan Marcus.

It seems that Hugh Jackman likes ‘em young.

The producers of Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway have announced a lottery system for last minute tickets to the show, but you’ll need to be a student to enter the drawing. Three hours before showtime, people with valid student ID can put their name into the hat at the Broadhurst Theater box office. Two hours before the show, an unspecified number of “winners” will get a pass for single tickets at $31 each (recipients must be present, subject to availability, etc.). The pass can then be exchanged for tickets no sooner than 30 minutes before curtain (ID must be shown again so don’t think about doing a trade). Got all that?

While it may seem like a lot of hoops to jump through just to ogle the boy from Oz, the policy is actually quite normal and is a great way to make a last ditch play for hard to get seats. Generally, “day of” Broadway tickets are available through one of three possible scenarios:

• Lottery: Like the policy above. Names go in a “hat” and everyone has an equal chance of getting seats. Luck be a lady tonight.

• Rush: A select number of discounted seats are made available when the box office opens each day. First come, first served so you’ll need to prepare to wait outside, deal with weather, and guess how early you want to show up to get near the front of the line (the more popular and younger-skewing the show, the earlier the line forms). Patience is a virtue.

• Standing Room: Doled out in a similar fashion to a rush policy, but seats are standing room (yeah, you figured out that part) and often distributed closer to curtain time when they know if they’ve sold out regular seats or not. No sell out, no standing room. And bring your comfy shoes because, if it’s a long show, you’re going to feel it.

Let’s take a look at the current Broadway top five grossers and see what their websites are saying, legalese and all (be sure to check with the box office just to be sure; policies do change):

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