Rush tickets are not affordable anymore- Page 3

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/14/16 at 11:40pm

Theater3232 said: "If Hamilton can charge $10 for rush, so can every other show."

If Hamilton wasn't on the $10 bill, it would cost more. Their SRO was $40.

[Kinky Boy]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:01am

ok fine then. let Broadway be only for the elites.

[IlanaKeller]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:10am

"Hamilton" does not offer $10 rush tickets, FWIW. That's their lottery price. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:13am

Kinky Boy said: "ok fine then. let Broadway be only for the elites."

 

How old are you?

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:15am

You can blow $40 on two drinks in Manhattan if you're a civilized tipper. Would it be lovely if rush were still $20? Sure. But I'm extremely grateful that most Broadway shows can be seen for $30-40, and as said before, Off-Broadway rush prices average even lower. Grateful, grateful, grateful, is the word of the day on $40 Rush prices for a Broadway show! Ditto for TDF, TodayTix, AudienceRewards, etc. For the great blessing a theatrical experience can bring into my life, $40, while not as ideal as $20, is a small price to pay!

[caskey]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:15am

Kinky Boy said: "ok fine then. let Broadway be only for the elites."

Have the prices gone up over the years? Yes. You've made your point, but you just sound silly with all this elitist talk. $40 is a reasonable price for a rush ticket. Gap sells jeans for $45, so I guess pants are only for the elite. A vial of insulin costs $85, so I guess diabetes is just for the elite. Checking a piece of luggage costs $35, so I guess bringing underwear home when you visit your parents is for the elite. 

We get your point. Your hyperbolic insistence that $40 is an unfathomable amount for a night of live entertainment by world class performers is overkill. 

Updated On: 12/15/16 at 12:15 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:34am

This thread appears to boast all three of the basic BWW classes: the trolls, the self-entitled and the substantially sane.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 12:36am

LizzieCurry said: "GreasedLightning said: "hanabana said: "While I do agree that the price for rush tickets have increased in the last few years (I actually did not find out about rush/lottery until like 2011, so I think I missed rush in its lowest priced years), I think it is still affordable and reasonable.  I could not agree more with the movie analogy.  If a movie costs $10-20 (depending on the theater and time of the showing), I think a live performance is definitely worth much more.  So to pay around $40 for a rush ticket is still a great deal in my opinion.  But of course, the increase in price has definitely affected how frequent people can go see a show (there are shows that I would have rushed had the rush price been cheaper).  So I would be ecstatic if the rush prices were like they used to be, but still think that they are reasonable as they are now.
 

"While I agree with some of this, I can't fathom how you'd skip seeing a show if the rush price was too expensive? Let's say your ideal rush price is $25... and the rush price for said show is $40 - if you want to see the show you can't garner up a mere fifteen dollars? It just seems silly. "

If I'm on the fence about a show, the small difference between those figures is enough to push me to one side. Usually I'll opt not to bother if I feel I shouldn't have to pay that much and it's a show I don't care about that much anyway. I'm lucky enough to not be in any financial straits, but most of the time, I'd rather spend that money on something extra delicious at the farmers market and go rush something cheaper that I already know I like. Or maybe spend that $40 rush amount on TodayTx and see something adventurous off- or off-off-Broadway.

 

"

Not to offend, but if you simply feel that you don't have to pay for an afternoon or evening of world class entertainment that doesn't interest you, than so be it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But that, in my opinion, is the problem with what we are debating in the first place. The entitlement of feeling that you don't have to spend the extra $15 to see something (that is ALREADY being discounted when it doesn't have to be) so you don't. Okay. So be it. Someone else will probably take your ticket. 

Updated On: 12/15/16 at 12:36 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 5:14am

Hamilton can charge 10 bucks because others are paying 500+ for seats.  And lots of them. And they don't have a rush, they have a lottery that's open to everyone...not just students.

 

How often can you win Hamilton? Not often, and for many, not at all.

We don't get to set prices, they do.  There is fair.  It's too expensive? Don't go.  Life goes on.  

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 10:49am

^ Agree with this. I haven't seen Hamilton yet because I personally don't want to spend so much money on seats that are no ideal and can't afford the more ideal ones.  It's disappointing,  but not the end of the universe.  I have seen plenty of wonderful shows though,  so I am very fortunate for that.

If you want cheap Broadway,  go join some of the non profit theater's ticket programs for young people,  if you are eligible.  You have to be 18-35 for Roundabout's Hiptix and Linctix . And under 30 for Manhattan Theater Club. I feel lucky that these groups do that because they could just focus on subscriptions,  which probably brings in more money than these programs.  

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 2:04pm

If Hamilton can charge $10 for rush, so can every other show. 

Is every other show making as much money from full-price ticket sales and attendance?  

ok fine then. let Broadway be only for the elites.

$40 rush tickets for a Broadway show are only for "elites"?  How rich do you think people are if they pay $40 to see a Broadway show?  I'm genuinely curious to hear your bizarro thought process that leads to this unlikely conclusion.  Does it involve Mel Gibson and a tinfoil hat?

 

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 12/15/16 at 6:21pm

On Sunday I was in line at Starbuck's across from TKTS listening to two millenial morons kvetch about $40 SRO for Dear Evan Hansen. They were so busy lamenting the price of their tickets that they failed to realize they were spending about another $10- $15 a piece for stupid coffee drinks and "heated, please" pumpkin bread. It made me giggle. Priorities...

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 12/16/16 at 6:37am

Two points. I don't think rush needs to be in the $20-$30 range but above $30 I start to consider other ways of getting tickets. I think that's a valid criticism. If there's TDF and discount codes or just other means of getting somewhat affordable tickets then it decreases the need for rush if you can pay a little more and save yourself a lot of hassle. Personally, when it's not freezing out, I like the rush experience. Sometimes you find someone to talk to who also loves theater. Sometimes you get to finish a book.

At some point you can't expect people to feel "grateful." It's one thing if you wait an hour or two and get an amazing seat you otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford without saving up. It's another thing if you're waiting in the freezing cold for four or five hours out on the sidewalk and then you pay $40 to sit in a partial view seat or to stand in the back for 2 hours. I'm not saying the theater is at all responsible for the lengths people will go to for tickets. I'm just pointing out that you can value the work of artists and the opportunity to see a show without groveling for the privilege of a non-ideal viewing situation after the ridiculousness that some rushes have morphed into. 

Personally, I just know my limits. I know how much I am willing to pay for a ticket (factoring in the means it may involve to obtain one) before a bad audience experience (which is sadly always a looming concern) would really upset me. 

[10086sunset]

Posted: 12/16/16 at 7:38am

HogansHero said: "This thread appears to boast all three of the basic BWW classes: the trolls, the self-entitled and the substantially sane."

 

Hogan, well said...

[Melissa25]

Posted: 12/16/16 at 6:57pm

Just thought I'd post that there are $15 and $25 tickets on stubhub for Comet's matinee tomorrow...in case anyone is looking for a bargain.

[ukpuppetboy]

Posted: 12/16/16 at 7:15pm

With the average student loan debt in America of approx $35k for grads in 2015 (and in New York likely to be significantly higher) perhaps if you can afford a higher education at all you're in that much maligned (and misused) 'elite'. Maybe this thread should be "education is not affordable anymore".

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/16/16 at 11:58pm

Is the rate of actors and crew salaries below, at or above inflation?