CHICAGO — An app designed to find discounted theater tickets on short notice officially launched in Chicago Wednesday.
TodayTix has partnered with more than 20 theaters around Chicago, including Blue Man Group, Second City, Stage 773 and The Neo-Futurists, to offer cheap last-minute tickets.
"The Chicago theater market is huge — previous research showed that nearly 40 percent of Chicago residents already attend theater, resulting in an average of $120 million in gross ticket sales. Not to mention, there was a recent New York Times piece about how major Broadway shows are being test run in Chicago first, as a testament to the weight Chicago holds in the industry," said Angela Peterson, a spokeswoman for the company.
The app was launched by two longtime friends and theater enthusiasts in 2013. In addition to Chicago theaters, the app also has partnered with theaters in New York, London, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Today Tix bills itself as "the first and only mobile app that provides access to the best prices on last-minute theater tickets" and "aims to make theater and performing arts a readily available and exciting option for everyone."
Since its launch, the app has more than 1 million users, according to a news release.
There are other websites, however, that offer discount theater tickets in Chicago, including hottix.org.
During the first four weeks of beta testing, user growth in Chicago was three times more than any other city. During the run, Chicago also doubled the number of tickets sold in New York, Peterson said.
The app was founded by Merritt Baer and Brian Fenty. Merritt worked for viagogo, "Europe's largest ticket marketplace" and later produced "Death of a Salesman" in 2012, which won him a Tony Award, according to the app's website.
Fenty became one of Broadway's youngest producers at the age of 23.
"Frustrated by the lack of innovation in the theater industry and the challenges they faced as producers selling tickets, they decided to come back to theater full-time to launch TodayTix," the website said.
Here's a full list of the Chicago theaters that will offer tickets through the app:
• About Face Theatre
• American Theater Company
• Blue Man Group
• iO Theatre
• KoKandy Productions
• Porchlight Musical Theatre
• Profiles Theatre
• Stage 773
• Stage Left
• Steep Theatre
• The Annoyance
• The House Theatre of Chicago
• The Hypocrites
• The Neo-Futurists
• Theater Wit
• Windy City Playhouse
• Northlight Theatre
• Under the Gun Theatre
• Victory Gardens Theatre
• Shattered Globe
• Second City
• Chicago Children's Theatre
• Chicago Theater Works
• Giordano Dance
• Metropolis Performing Arts
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