The tickets to the Spokane engagement of "Wicked" goes on sale March 5, and the people at WestCoast Entertainment want to warn people about the perils of third-party tickets.

Ticket agencies and brokers will probably snap up a number of tickets right away. So then, when people search for tickets online, they will often be shunted to those third-party sites. The problem: These brokers often sell the tickets way above face value.

A number of people were burned by this problem during the run of the Spokane Symphony's "Nutcracker" in December. Some people bought tickets that were twice as expensive as they should have been -- for not very good seats. Other people bought tickets that were completely bogus.The Symphony was able to get those people into the ballet anyway, but only because the show wasn't sold out.

So the WestCoast Entertainment people want to remind people that the only legitimate source for tickets are: TicketsWest outlets, and the WestCoast Entertainment Best of Broadway website.

Also, tickets go on sale first, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on March 5, in person at the INB Performing Arts Center box office. At 10 a.m., on the same day tickets go onsale online and by phone through TicketsWest.

At that point, beware of any other site, even one that has made itself to look like a site for the INB or the show itself. Stick with TicketsWest.

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