INTO THE WOODS Tour

[bear88]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 12:56am

Everyone can overrule me on this if they want, but I am starting a thread on the tour (instead of tagging along the "To Be Continued" thread). 

It took a while for the Curran Theater in San Francisco to start offering tickets to people who signed up, but that happened today and I managed to get tickets for the Saturday night show on the tour's one-week stop here from Tuesday, June 20 through Sunday, June 25.. People who signed up got the offer today, and sales are open to the public Friday morning. After that, the Into The Woods tour heads to LA for a longer stay.

The Curran has been essentially unoccupied since Harry Potter closed last fall, which has felt unfortunate, as it's my favorite of the large touring houses in San Francisco.

I either have seen or will see three Sondheim shows within a four-month span - a local production of Assassins, Sweeney Todd on Broadway, and the Into The Woods tour stop. For better or worse, I'm in the 5th row, stage left. Almost all the premium seats in center orchestra are gone already, so I assume scalpers (or someone) think they're going to make some money on resales - or the theater is holding back many seats. 

ETA: I didn’t try to do this myself, but I think the signup offer for pre-sale tickets could still work. You might be able to get tickets before they are available to the general public Friday morning. No guarantees. But the pre-sale is still in effect until Thursday evening.

Updated On: 3/4/23 at 12:56 AM

[SFCowboy]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 2:36am

Well, I am grateful bear88 started this thread. Without that post I would not have thought to check my spam folder for the pre-sale notice. I'm disappointed not to get my prime choice of seats, but I'm happy to have at least scored decent seats among the dwindling few remaining. I caught this in New York last summer and am so eager to see it again. It's a travesty that this is only running for one week in San Francisco. I continue to wonder what the story is behind that.

[inception]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 3:17am

Perhaps due to theatre availability & logistics.

If they were able to secure the theatre in LA for a whole month, I'm guessing they grabbed that opportunity first.  Afterwards they probably looked at where they could fit in San Francisco.  Perhaps Block & Arcelus didn't want to spend all of August in SF, so they had to go there before LA?

Before it plays SF it is in Orlando.  They had to give themselves a week between these locations just to ship everything across the country.

That didn't leave them anymore time than a week for SF.

Perhaps the tour will continue in the Autumn, with the opportunity for a return engagement - but if it does I would imagine there will be cast changes.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 6:26am

Lots of good seats available for most performances in DC right now and at very good prices compared to what the same seats were on Broadway.

[yyys]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 8:25am

Montego Glover as the Witch was great....did she play on Broadway? 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 8:28am

yyys said: "Montego Glover as the Witch was great....did she play on Broadway?"

 

She did! She was fantastic. 

[bear88]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 12:18pm

Tickets also went on sale yesterday for the LA tour stop, at the Ahmanson Theatre.

[TarHeelAlan]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 5:31pm

JasonC3 said: "Lots of good seats available for most performances in DC right now and at very good prices compared to what the same seats were on Broadway."

And TodayTix is offering 9am day of show rush tickets on their app for $35. We rushed on Tuesday and got Right Front Orch row Q. Excellent seats, regularly $89. 

 

Updated On: 3/2/23 at 05:31 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 3/2/23 at 6:45pm

The D.C. situation is interesting. I am a bit envious. This is the sort of bargain hunting I'm usually able to get away with. The theater there is larger (2,364 seats v. 1,667 seats at the Curran) and D.C. has thee weeks plus, as opposed to a single week in San Francisco. Maybe demand won't be as high in SF either, but I would be pretty surprised. In any event, I didn't feel like I could take the risk. Plus, whatever, I'm in the 5th row for Into the Woods. Who am I to complain?

The last few times I've been at the theater in the San Francisco Bay Area, there hasn't been many empty seats - not for Clyde's at the Berkeley Rep, or Great Comet at Shotgun Players in Berkeley, or To Kill a Mockingbird and Moulin Rouge on tour. 

We've all been a bit surprised about the whole one-week thing, mostly because SF area theatergoers have grown accustomed to being treated the same way as LA theatergoers - even though Los Angeles has the obvious advantage of being near Hollywood. And the folks running the San Francisco touring houses are more willing under new management to have one-week runs. That never used to happen. I suspect there is a story behind the one-week ITW run that is more interesting than simple travel logistics, but I doubt we will hear it.

Then again, maybe it's something about Sondheim shows. The San Francisco premiere of Follies happened... last summer, five decades after it was in Los Angeles.

Updated On: 3/2/23 at 06:45 PM

[Pasunepomme]

Posted: 3/3/23 at 11:51pm

TarHeelAlan said: "And TodayTix is offering 9am day of show rush tickets on their app for $35. We rushed on Tuesday and got Right Front Orch row Q. Excellent seats, regularly $89."

Thanks for the heads-up! I rushed today in DC and got F16 (right front orchestra). I see they've put the show on MYTIX for the rest of the run, so there should be rush available for most remaining performances.  

There was a sign at the Opera House stage door saying the company is not greeting or signing post-show due to health protocols. Has anyone had any luck leaving a playbill at the stage door desk for auto's and coming back for it later? I'm thinking of trying my luck since they're in town for another 2 weeks.

Updated On: 3/3/23 at 11:51 PM

[Pasunepomme]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 12:21am

yyys said: "Montego Glover as the Witch was great....did she play on Broadway?"

Indeed; she shared the role with Patina Miller, who is The Witch on the most recent cast album. I had a chance to see the production a couple times in NYC at the St. James but this was my first time seeing Montego - I agree she was very good! For me Patina played the comedic Witch bits a little better but I really liked the nuance in Montego's performance in the second act.

[defenses]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 10:27am

I saw the show last Tuesday. I was a little nervous because I'm not a big fan of minimalist sets. I was in the last row of the orchestra (HH) which was comfortable but I couldn't really see faces that well. But I loved it! I was singing "into the woods!" all night. Montego Glover and Katy Geraghty were standouts, and Forbach was a wonderful Baker. We got tickets to see it again (much closer) in Philly, hopefully with a recovered Sebastian Arcelus.

[yyys]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 12:40pm

Sebastian Arcelus was on for the first show in DC (first act) and was gone in the 2nd act.  I think he will be gone until Boston?

defenses said: "I saw the show last Tuesday. I was a little nervous because I'm not a big fan of minimalist sets. I was in the last row of the orchestra (HH) which was comfortable but I couldn't really see faces that well. But I loved it! I was singing "into the woods!" all night. Montego Glover and Katy Geraghty were standouts, andForbach was a wonderful Baker. We got tickets to see it again (much closer) in Philly, hopefully with a recovered Sebastian Arcelus."

 

[bear88]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 2:06pm

The show is definitely cheaper in D.C., In San Francisco, the Ambassador Theatre Group folks raised prices twice from when tickets were first available to people who signed up (Wednesday) to Friday's public sale. The orchestra seats I bought on a Saturday night for its one-week run at the Curran jumped more than $100 due to a combination of a $32 price increase in those tickets and an expansion of what is considered a premium seat.

There are still plenty of perfectly good seats available on most days, just off to the sides and further back in the orchestra and mezzanine, so I'm wondering if the pricing strategy ($235 for "premium" seats on the weekend, which is most of the orchestra section at this point) might prove to be too aggressive, but we'll see. The premium seats are selling; it's the price levels below, especially in the mezzanine, that are available. If not, "dynamic pricing" works both ways.

[yyys]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 2:45pm

wow, those SF prices are insane but rarely do musicals tour in SF these days, right?

[bear88]

Posted: 3/4/23 at 3:46pm

I don't know about that. Six is at the Orpheum Theatre now through March 19 and selling very well. The large touring houses have Fiddler on the Roof for a week later in March, Come From Away (again) in April, Pretty Woman and another round of The Book of Mormon later in the spring, Les Miserables (again), Tina on its first national tour, Aladdin and Hadestown on return visits later in the year. Those are the main touring houses, the Orpheum and Golden Gate. Last fall, Moulin Rouge! ran at the Orpheum for something like nine weeks.

The San Francisco Bay Area, aside from its host of regional and local theaters, also is a regular starting point for shows intended for Broadway, especially but not exclusively at the Berkeley Rep. (ACT has Soul Train this summer.) A local production of Great Comet, its West Coast premiere, sold out at a small theater in Berkeley for nearly four months.

There are a few things that have changed here. The Ambassador Theatre Group took over the Orpheum and Golden Gate (what used to be called SHN) along with running the Curran, San Francisco's other large theater, starting with the Harry Potter tour. They run things a bit differently, and are more likely to accept one-week tour stops or non-equity tours, as near as I can tell. 

The situation with the one-week Into the Woods stop is unusual enough to prompt some curiosity, although several other cities are only getting a week. It's at the Curran (the best of the touring houses for theatergoers) but only for a week before a five-week stay in Los Angeles. That's a somewhat unusual disparity and ATG is trying to charge a lot after getting a lot of demand (not many orchestra seats that are in the center or close to the stage are left and at prices above $200 now). But there are still good tickets remaining for most shows, and I wonder if the attempt to jack up prices will temper demand after the initial flurry.

The LA shows at the Ahmanson appear to be selling well, but $155 is the maximum price there. I paid $6 more for my non-premium tickets before the recent increases. I've been splurging lately due to our NYC trip this month (Funny Girl and Sweeney Todd, because there didn't seem to be a choice) and for Into the Woods. I was more in my comfort zone this morning buying tickets for next month's preview performance of English at the Berkeley Rep for $41 a ticket. Got a discount ticket for Cambodian Rock Band for $25, which I'm seeing tonight.

My guess with Into the Woods, and I could turn out to be wrong, is that I wouldn't be able to get away with my usual trick of getting day-of-show discount orchestra seats on TodayTix because a one-week window at the Curran would prompt too much demand. Due to circumstances, making a trip to LA and seeing Into the Woods while I was there isn't workable for me. In San Francisco, the ATG folks correctly assessed demand for people willing to buy premium seats, and I got good non-premium seats, but they may have overrated demand for mezzanine and balcony seats. Some people who wait may be able to get a good deal in June. I don't really care, but I'm very curious how it plays out.

Updated On: 3/4/23 at 03:46 PM

[Pasunepomme]

Posted: 3/12/23 at 9:00pm

Don't know how long this has been the case but Sebastian's back on as the Baker. Gavin is out tonight, I presume because of his solo show tomorrow night.

ETA:  Gavin's concert tonight (3/13) has been canceled, per the KenCen website.  I hope he's alright/wish him a quick recovery, as the case may be.

Updated On: 3/13/23 at 09:00 PM

[bholtzinger544]

Posted: 3/13/23 at 2:47pm

Saw the tour Saturday matinee and Jason Forbach was on for the baker and Eddie Lopez and Sam Simahk were on for princes. I was a little disappointed when I saw the insert as I was looking forward to seeing Sebastian but I have to say, Jason is a fantastic Baker. Sam and Eddie had great chemistry together and sounded great in Agony. I saw it on Broadway in December and honestly enjoyed this performance more. Montego has really grown into the Witch and seemed to be having a lot more fun in the role than I remembered. Such a delightful moment in the woods. 

[Pasunepomme]

Posted: 3/13/23 at 5:03pm

bholtzinger544 said: "I saw it on Broadway in December and honestly enjoyed this performance more. Montego has really grown into the Witch and seemed to be having a lot more fun in the role than I remembered. Such a delightful moment in the woods."

Was Sebastian in when you saw it last December? Having seen both he and Jason in the past week, I much preferred Jason. I agree he's a great Baker. I wasn't sure if SA was just rusty since he's been out for almost 3 weeks or if I just didn't vibe with his take on the character.

Aside from Jason, Montego has been a real highlight of the tour for me.

Updated On: 3/13/23 at 05:03 PM

[bholtzinger544]

Posted: 3/14/23 at 8:58am

I saw Brian D'Arcy James as the baker in December and he was also fantastic. Hopefully Sebastian was just rusty, I've heard positive things from others about him. Jason really seems to have a good understanding of the character and made a lot of small choices that I think worked really well for the character. He also sounded wonderful. 

[Pasunepomme]

Posted: 3/16/23 at 11:55pm

Took my cousin to the evening performance tonight -- Gavin was out again (still?). Not sure if he's been in at all this week. 

[MelissaF]

Posted: 4/17/23 at 10:41am

Is anyone aware of any discounts for the Nashville stop of the show??

[April Saul]

Posted: 4/17/23 at 2:21pm

Wow, this is a wonderful production. I caught it in Philly a couple of weeks ago and happily, won a Lucky Seat lottery for tickets, though I don't see other cities up there on the Lucky Seat website for this.  Highly recommend....

[bear88]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 1:38am

I remain amazed by the price differential for tickets almost anywhere else and prices for good seats in San Francisco. 

Premium seats for Saturday night in Chicago: $176.50, with prices going down to $116.50 in the rest of the orchestra and cheap seats in the balcony for $46.50.

Things are even less expensive in Nashville, where the most expensive seats are $129.

Even in Los Angeles, the most expensive seats are $165 at the Ahmanson on weekends. Tickets appear to be selling well there, although there are good seats available on weeknights during its five-week run.

But San Francisco remains in a world of its own despite all of its well-publicized problems (tech sector layoffs, banks blowing up, Nordstrom shutting down). At this point, you're basically paying Broadway prices. Prices shot up during the first week of sales (think of what happened to Merrily We Roll Along prices; it was like that, only I could act quickly for Into the Woods tickets because I live here and can plan). They dropped a little, with a few spare premium seats "dropping" from $355 to $329 on weekends this week. Other orchestra seats, even on weeknights, are $205. (Prices on weekends are $235.) Mezzanine seats aren't that much cheaper. I'm curious if they'll have to drop prices a little more if softness continues closer to the June run. 

[Kitsune]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 3:54am

bear88 said: "I remain amazed by the price differential for tickets almost anywhere else and prices for good seats in San Francisco.

Premium seats for Saturday night in Chicago: $176.50, with prices going down to $116.50 in the rest of the orchestra and cheap seats in the balcony for $46.50.

Things are even less expensive in Nashville, where the most expensive seats are $129.

Even in Los Angeles, the most expensive seats are $165 at the Ahmanson on weekends. Tickets appear to be selling well there, although there are good seats available on weeknights during its five-week run.

But San Francisco remains in a world of its own despite all of its well-publicized problems (tech sector layoffs, banks blowing up, Nordstrom shutting down). At this point, you're basically paying Broadway prices. Prices shot up during the first week of sales (think of what happened to Merrily We Roll Alongprices; it was like that, only I could act quickly for Into the Woodstickets because I live here and can plan). They dropped a little, with a few spare premium seats "dropping" from $355 to $329 on weekends this week. Other orchestra seats, even on weeknights, are $205. (Prices on weekends are $235.) Mezzanine seats aren't that much cheaper. I'm curious if they'll have to drop prices a little more if softness continues closer to the June run."

Sheesh. I'm glad I jumped on the priority sale. When I bought my non-premium weekday orchestra tickets back in March, they were only $129.