1st People at Spider-Man Box Office refused to buy tickets

[ALittlePriest]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 10:42am

I came by the Foxwoods Theatre box office at 10 am to buy Spider-Man Turn off the dark tickets. There were only about 5 people in line. I talked to the first people in line as they came out, and asked what they got and they said "Everything from row A to S is premium." When I got to the window, the lady told me the same thing (center orchestra). That's over 400 tickets (the new center section is 22 seats wide). She also said house seats were aisles. I didn't get tickets either. Going to wait it out.

Don't you think its a bad sign if the first people to show up at the theatre, the day the box office opens, aren't buying tickets?? Ha, it's laughable.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 10:45am

I think the saddest thing is that the first day tickets go on sale there were only 5 people in line.

Posted: 9/13/10 at 11:39am

Wow the most expensive show ever mounted has PREMIUM tickets? I can not believe it!

[Tom1071]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 12:07pm

Did they eliminate the first three rows that were AA, BB, CC?

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 12:10pm

That's absolutely absurd. There's no way they're ever going to sell out ONE performance.

And I don't think they've eliminated any rows, because I found out recently that they ADDED 200 additional seats in the orchestra. They basically reconstructed how the aisles are set up and lay out completely of the orchestra.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 12:12pm

Looks like student rush tickets will be $60 then...

[Baileyboo]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 12:13pm

absurd? Yes True? Absolutely not.

[denali.fire]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 12:51pm

I hope all the premium seats have bed-bugs. They can all go scratch their a$$e$.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 12:55pm

The sad thing for all of us is, I'm entirely certain they will never report their grosses.

[barcelona20]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 1:09pm

Who cares if they report their grosses?

[JMPlayer6]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 1:15pm

I bought on Day One of the AMEX pre-sale. I have something like the 4th row center for Jan 9th. I paid regular full-price, and not premium.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 1:34pm

I care. Their grosses could be more entertaining than the actual show.

[tazber]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 1:42pm

Trust me, Reidel will get the scoop on the grosses. Especially if they elect not to report them.

[vodkastinger]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 1:44pm

I don't understand the anger at premium ticketing. No one is entitled to a certain seat or section. Broadway, like any business, is priced at what the market will bare. Either people will be willing to pay that kinda of money for those seats, or they won't, and they will be released back to full price. Similarly, the same concept is what gives us discount codes, rush tickets, etc. Everyone enjoys the premise of capitalism when shows are on TDF for $38, but not so much when they sell premiums for $300.

If there weren't people willing to pay this kind of money, very little theatre would ever recoup their investment. Non-profit theatres need patrons and donors to produce shows, they save their best seats for these people. For-profit theatre needs premium ticket buyers. You will get the seats you pay for.

On a non-venting note, I got Row C center online on Sunday.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 2:16pm

"te same concept is what gives us discount codes, rush tickets, etc."

Which existed decades before premium seating was invented.

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 2:25pm

Commercial theatre NEEDS premium ticket buys to recoup?! Holy christ on a raft, how did shows before The Producers EVER recoup their investments?! I'm so sad to hear that no. show. ever. recouped their investment before 2001.

I echo the sentiments that someone in this thread wrote earlier: Premium tickets exist because people are stupid and desperate enough to buy them. Same goes with expensive purses, shoes, etc. If no one bought them, they wouldn't exist.

Broadway isn't just supposed to be for the super rich. I remember seeing GREASE in '94 in the fourth row of the orchestra and I think the price on my ticket was $60, and that was full price, no discount. Oh, the days!

Updated On: 9/13/10 at 02:25 PM

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 2:38pm

The rows A-S designation strikes me as a bit excessive but not altogether surprising. We'll see if people are willing to pay it.

What I find far more interesting about this is the report that they have been permitted to have 22 seats across in the center. If this is indeed true, I'm curious to know how that is possible.

To my knowledge -- and perhaps there are those out there with far better knowledge of the NYC building and public assembly codes -- the law requires no more than seven seats between the patron and the aisle of egress. Theatres like the Minskoff were grandfathered in when the new law took effect but certainly any new theatres or new seating configurations would be subject to this law. If the folks at the Foxwoods were able to seat 22 across, they will do doubt be the envy of the three major theatre chains -- and I'd be fascinated to know how they were able to do it.

[JRybka]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 2:54pm

This show is either going to be a massive flop or will shock us all and be this amazing peice of work. I am looking forward to finding out.

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:12pm

I just punched up two tickets, looks like the fifth row of the balcony, all service charges, $160. Full price, no discount.

I'd have to think a bit if it's worth it. Maybe I'd decide to wait, see what's on TKTS that day. Or maybe I'd decide everyone's going to be talking about this I want to see it. No one has a gun to my head.

You don't have a right to cheap theater tickets. Nobody is making you spend $250 a ticket. But I'll tell you this- When I saw Lion King after it opened, I think the top tickets were $70 something bucks a piece and scalpers were EVERYWHERE getting $200 or more a ticket.

[vodkastinger]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:19pm

Wow, some people (sundaymorning) have a talent for hyperbole.

Of course shows recouped before 2001, however, a lot of recent hits have recouped largely due to premium ticket sales. For a quick example, Red and Fences. The premium pricing system for Spiderman is likely how they attracted enough investors to finish the project. When your running costs are close to a million dollars a week, they have to at least try bring in as much income as they can, otherwise that investment would never pay off. It probably won't anyway, but if they can get enough curious onlookers to cough up $300 a seat during previews, why wouldn't they take that money. I doubt they will sell that much in premiums, and when they don't, they'll release them.

While I would love for theatre to be more a populist art form, it really isn't. Live theatre costs a lot of money to produce, and since most shows flop, investors want to know that their gamble could pay off big time (Wicked, Phantom, et al). There are plenty of non-profit theaters in NY with missions that include making theatre more accessible to wider audiences. For-profit theatre doesn't have that mission, their mission is to make as much money as humanly possible to pay off their investors. It's a business. If you don't want to pay a ton of money to have good seats, look beyond the $50m superhero musical on 42nd Street, there is plenty of theatre out there that might appeal to you with tickets for around $20.

[Baileyboo]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:23pm

Such silliness. I would say most shows, if not all shows, have more premium seats than Spider-Man. I believe they have around 50 seats per show. I bet Pee Wee Herman has more.

[Gary Indiana]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:35pm

Averagebwaynut,

I don't know about the regulations, but the American Airlines mezz has more seats per row. I know the first few rows have 40ish seats, and there are no center aisles. I believe that this theater's seating was recently renovated (recently as in the late 80s or later).

[Elke]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:40pm

Strange, I got A101 (4th row on the aisle) for the standard price. Still way overpriced, but oh well... At least it wasn't premium, I wouldn't have paid that much.

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:47pm

Hey, Vodka, sit down and have a drink. I was exaggerating, obviously. I guess the sarcasm didn't come across to you?

The Producers started premium seats to fend off the scalpers, now they've just gotten greedy. There is no show, anywhere, ever, that is worth $300 a ticket. I don't care who is in it.

I don't see how telling your investors you're charging upwards of $300 a ticket in certain areas of the theatre is reassuring to them in the sense that they're more likely to recoup. Nothing is for sure when you're investing in theatre. Just because you're selling $300 tickets doesn't mean people are going to be dumb enough to buy them (of course, there are always a bunch with deep pockets who are).

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/13/10 at 3:49pm

I just did a craps and giggles search for two tickets to a Saturday matinee in early February and got row A, with fees and service charges, and the tickets were $150 each.

That's what it costs for 90-minute sit-down Cirque spectaculars in Vegas, which I think is more the model for this show than, say a John Doyle Be-Your-Own-Band (tm) Edition of Teeny Todd.

Whether or not there are enough tourists with deep enough pockets to sustain that and the premium prices is another question. Unlike Vegas, ain't no hotels in NYC that give away their rooms just to get you there.