The organization also assists Broadway with complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), provides educational outreach programs to secondary and college students, and rents out costumes to productions and other non-profits.

It was founded by Anna E. Crouse,[2] John E. Booth[3] and August Heckscher,[4] with Harold Clurman vetting the works supported.

The organization first bought 1,112 seats to The Great White Hope and gave them away to students for free using grant money from the Rockefeller Foundation.

[6][7][8] After this first initiative was successful, the organization launched its TDF membership program in 1971,[9] selling deeply discounted tickets to audiences who were eligible to join, such as teachers, students and retirees.

Subsequently, TDF set up the TKTS booth in Duffy Square in 1973 to sell even more discount tickets without the barrier of membership.

This includes offering open captioning, discounted seats that are closer to the stage, as well as live description of the performance (introduced in 2008) to the deaf and blind respectively.

[29][30] The TKTS booth itself also receives unrelated criticism because of its marketing tactics, specifically over its claims of whether the tickets it sells are in fact sold at a 50% discount.