The new and improved TKTS booth opens next Thursday at 3 p.m. - and not a minute too soon. ... The booth is back at 47th St. and Broadway ... For the first time in 35 years, credit cards will be accepted, along with cash and travelers checks for tickets for same-day performances, usually at 50% or 25% off the full price. RELATED: FALL BROADWAY PREVIEW ... There are other ways to score day-of-performance discounts:BE IN IT TO WIN IT Feeling lucky? "Hairspray," "In the Heights" and "Wicked" have an in-person ticket lottery. You sign up 2 to 2 1/2 hours before showtime and names are drawn 1 1/2 to 2 hours before curtain. Winners can buy two tickets, generally front-row, which go for $25-$26.50.
BE THE FIRST Many productions ... offer a limited number of rush tickets that are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. (Two per person, generally $20 each, cash only). Some rush programs are only for students and require a valid student ID.
STAND AND BE DELIVERED Other productions offer standing room, with tickets starting from $20-$27. You can watch from the back, but only when the show is sold out. To find out if a show offers rush or standing-room tickets, call the box office or go to "On the Boards" at www.talkinbroadway.com.
JOIN NOW, SEE LATER Many shows offer reduced-rate tickets (up to 70% off) to members of the Theatre Development Fund (www.tdf.org ), the group that runs the TKTS Booth. The annual fee is $27.50. You can join the service if you're a full-time student or teacher, a union member, 62 or over, a civil servant, a performing-arts pro, work for a nonprofit or a member of the armed forces or clergy.
TAKE YOUR CHANCE ONLINE Theaters continue to get creative in ways to drum up business and reach out to people who might not be able to afford pricey tickets. At Playwrights Horizons, the LIVEforFIVE program makes $5 tickets available for the first preview performance of each show through an online lottery. The lottery for Craig Lucas' "Prayer for My Enemy" with Victoria Clark will begin the week of Nov. 5. Go to www.playwrightshorizons.org for details.
