The recession may have roiled Wall Street and thumped the media, but there is at least one street in Manhattan where the neon lights are still bright.

Theater box office sales for the 2008-09 season, which ended in May, brought in $943 million, up slightly from $938 million in the previous season, according to the Broadway League, a theater trade association. Attendance dropped just 1%.

The secret: a longstanding tradition of deep theater discounts that have kept shows affordable even when consumers are cutting back.

These deals extend beyond New York. Savvy theatergoers across of the country can easily save 50% off the cost of tickets, if not more.

Here s how to pay less to see a show:

Check with the venue

At The Rio in Las Vegas, headliner magicians Penn & Teller aren t the only ones making things disappear. The casino knocks 25% off the $75 show tickets when you call its ticket booking line and mention code PTIN2. Many theaters also give discounts to consumers who sign up for their email newsletters or connect with them on social networking sites. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts recently offered its Facebook fans $5 tickets to see Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women (regularly $29).

Visit same-day discount booths

The worst-kept secret for cheap theater tickets is also one of your more reliable options, thanks to the economic downturn. We sell almost every show in Vegas, says Mitch Francis, the president and chief executive of TIX Corporation (TIXC), which operates Las Vegas-based Tix4Tonight. Tickets to most shows are sold for half their box-office prices. In New York, there s TKTS; in Boston, BosTix, and in San Francisco, Tix Bay Area.

Some booth locations offer better deals than others. In New York, the TKTS booths in South Street Seaport and downtown Brooklyn sell matinee tickets for the next day s show, but the Times Square booth sells them only for the performance that day. Their lines are shorter, too.

Many shows let consumers submit their names for same-day ticket lotteries of prime seats. The musical "Wicked" (playing on Broadway, in San Francisco and in select cities on tour) holds daily raffles of front-row seats (regularly $75 and up, depending on the city) for just $25 in a daily ticket lottery. You really do have to play the odds, says Ken Davenport, a Broadway producer whose shows have included Speed the Plow and Will Ferrell s You re Welcome, America. You re more likely to win on a Tuesday night than on more popular Wednesday matinees and weekend showings.

Become a patron

Avid theatergoers might consider a paid membership to an arts group. New York TDF members pay an annual $30 fee in exchange for discounts of up to 70% off tickets to a variety of live productions. Another option: seat-filling services, which pass along free tickets from producers who want their houses to appear full. Play-by-Play and Theater Extras charge $99 a year.

Buy online

Why wait in line when you can go online? Davenport says. Using the Internet, you can easily save 50%, he says. For example, buy one ticket for "Shrek the Musical" at TheaterMania.com, and you can get up to three more for half the price. Or look up box office coupon codes at BroadwayBox.com. A quick search revealed that using code 44SEA at checkout on TicketMaster.com can yield up to $30 off tickets to "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway through Aug. 30.

Go through your wallet

Like concert tickets, discounted theater seats are a perk for many credit cards. Alumni associations, unions, professional organizations and other membership groups also offer deals. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada offers 30% off "Blue Man Group" tickets to members of its free Club Ride Commuter Services program, which helps people find carpools and other environmentally friendly ways to commute. And graduates of John Jay College in New York are entitled to discounts of 50% for Broadway and off-Broadway productions when they book through an affiliated ticket site.