A Steady Rain Poster? — Page 3

They're only signed by Hugh & Daniel.

Look, I do understand where people are coming from re: the prices, but just because you may not be able to afford something doesn't mean they have to sell it for less. The price has fluctuated between $300 & $400. The first night, they were $300 and if they had only sold one or 2, they probably would have lowered the price, however they sold so many that they had to raise prices so they would not completely run out!

this is in fact what they are doing... I could maybe afford $50 for a poster... If i were to go up to them and say he's $50 1 poster please theyd say no sorry $400. In terms they are saying we don't want your cheap donation. In return perhaps their response would be... But you can give us the $50 and we'll keep it and you can go on your merry way.

But you can apply this to anything. What if a show sells a poster for $50, but you can only afford $20? Must they then be willing to sell it to you for $20?

I do think it would have been a good idea to sell the Playbills for $50 however. The posters sell like crazy, but the Playbills not so much. Had they been $50, I know I would be selling out each night, and it would give more people a chance to get something.

---

Yes, $400 for a signed window card of A STEADY RAIN to benefit BCEFA. They are not selling unsigned window cards for this show, so the only way to get one is to bite the bullet and pay $400...

If your theatrical experience is incomplete because you can't get a signed whatever, you need to re-evaluate why you go to see a show.

It's for charity, for Christ's sake! People are obviously willing to dole out that much (which I think is silly but whatever), and more power to those that can pay and more power to the production to be able to GET people to pay that much in these times. It's not like the money is going to line the pockets of the producers. It's going to Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS- an INCREDIBLE charity. CHARITY.

You don't NEED a signed Playbill or windowcard; your life will go on without it.

A lot of people can't even afford to go see the damn show.

---

I will say that I am surprised at the amount of people wishing to donate these amounts of money in exchange for autographs and photo ops.

I suppose that, from a business standpoint, it does make sense.

And they do call it show business, not show art.

Nonetheless, as I stated before, my point - my concern - is that this business of expensive autographs and photo ops only serves to obscure the most important thing - the play. With circumstances as they already were for "A Steady Rain," it was already obscured enough by fan frenzy outside the stage door.

I can't see anything that serves to diminish the salience of the primary focus of what is going on - staging a play - to be a positive thing. There is a definite compromise.

To thieve a little bit from one of my favorite writers, Walker Percy, it is now inevitably more difficult than it was before to "find" the play amid the commotion.

I'm beginning to feel like a beatnik.

---

Updated On: 11/2/09 at 12:24 AM

". . . they're charging $400 for a windowcard?"

No, they're ASKING for a donation to charity, and that's what they're using as incentive - which is in direct response to an observable demand, and is having a tremendously positive result.

At least it is seen as positive by those who have even a rudimentary sense of what constitutes an appropriate priority.

Those who can't see that need to step back and re-evaluate.

Feng - the only way I would buy your analysis is if they were lining their own pockets. But they're not - it's for charity! They're cashing in on the insane interest they generate to raise THOUSANDS of dollars - and if you think they could do that without creating the limited supply then you're nuts.

What's truly insulting is that you seem to think they should abandon what obviously works just so you can have your precious little autograph. YOU'RE the one saying "Screw you!" to people who need these funds to try and have a more comfortable existence while they deal with being ill.

You want 'straight to the point and simple'? here you go - you're a pathetic slimeball with an outrageous sense of entitlement.

Having a friend who runs an AIDS organization, I know that their state and federal funding was cut 20%. That is a lot of money. I am thrilled that BC/EFA is getting these dollars at this point in the economy.

"To thieve a little bit from one of my favorite writers, Walker Percy, it is now inevitably more difficult than it was before to "find" the play amid the commotion. "

The only people having trouble finding the play are the ones hung up on getting a signed Playbill or windowcard to complete the experience. I know plenty of people who saw the play, loved it, and left the theatre without incident. It's only the rabid, single-minded fans at the stage door who are complaining. Get over it.

Seriously, these items are not necessities.

---

BB, I'm sure many people have been able to find the play. What I'm saying is not that it is impossible, but that it is made particularly difficult and that this exorbitant charity business only aggravates that further.

You people who keep bringing up the entitlement point have no credibility in my eyes because you are so high on your horses I cannot even find you. It's clear that you are either not reading what anyone else says or feel free to gloss over or generalize our points to something we do not intend to say.

I agree with Fengshui. I do not give a flying **** about getting an autograph from either of these men. However, part of the Broadway experience is the *possibility* that you will get something like an autograph. To have the possibility *forcibly removed* is not only classless but unsettling.

Some things just do not have the right ring. This does not. The end does not justify the means here because the means interfere with the show by creating a caste system within the theatergoers - when they should all be equally part of the show they are seeing, and like it or not this changes that - and cashing in on the celebrity frenzy. Encouragement of the celebrity frenzy only helps to obscure the show, which is always a negative thing.

It's great that they can raise this kind of money for a charity, even if the prices are tasteless and greedy and the means to do so obscure the show. However, to striate the fans this way is to divide them. To tell people (amount of money OR ELSE) is unsavory.

And, by the way, there is a convenience to buying pre-autographed items and photo sessions. People who have the kind of money to buy these things usually have enough disposable income as it is. I strongly disbelieve there would be a significant reduction in the amount of purchases of these things if the actors still signed a few autographs and took a few pictures outside - especially the pictures; there's a big difference between a quickly snapped photo in a rushed situation and a nicely choreographed photo session with a professional photographer. Also, we all realize by now that not all people who stage door this show are successful - these two guys are hard to reach.

The fact is that at the end of the day the celebrity rules the show, not the show itself, and that's bad enough, but that this is being exploited so belligerantly and crassly is worse. The prices serve to obscure the play and make theatregoers anxious, and the act of refusal outside will inevitably make Gloria from Peoria, anxious to get Hugh Jackman's autograph and with no idea what BCEFA is, leave with a negative experience.

There's a difference between an actor slipping out an alternate exit because he or she is tired and walking right past you and saying "sorry, I can't sign, but there are posters for (amount) in the lobby." Even the simplest person can understand that.

It should also be clarified that I'm sure we can all agree that it is lovely that these actors continue to take time to do these things sans profit. It says a lot about them, and I'm sure they believe they are doing the right thing by the outside refusal, even though they will likely soon regret it. It is obvious that they warrant more commendation than criticism. It is rather the concept itself, the prices, the striation and the overall way this charity effort is being conducted that sits painfully wrong with many of us. It inevitably mars the theatrical experience for many because the theatrical experience is different for everyone. The possibility of an autograph means a lot to people, particularly at a show like this one where people are coming to see the celebrities, not the play. To take it away from them forcibly is crass. It's not the same thing as Morgan Freeman sneaking out the stage door of another theater. The play suffers as a result, and likely so too does the vigor and performance of the actors who are out in the middle of all this.

---

Updated On: 11/2/09 at 08:54 AM

I just have to laugh at this supposed 'caste system' being created by these evil people denying equal access to scribled names. Obviously, the fact of different price levels for different seating in the theater - which actually DOES have an effect on the 'show' you experience - doesn't qualify.

It's all rationalization for a completely inappropriate - and yes, ENTITLED - point of view.

I think you should start a YouTube account, and start posting videos for us all to learn from. May I suggest 'FoolOfBroadway' as a screen name?

Yes, sir.

Twirl, save for the caste system and obscurity remarks, especially the obscurity remark, I agree with you. I find it mildly distressing that you don't seem to recognize or acknowledge that.

Bottom line, I believe that the staging of a play is compromised by all these add-ons and ensuing palaver. I haven't attended this show so I cannot talk from specific experience as far as "A Steady Rain" is concerned - I am talking more about overall principal and precedent.

I can't see the continuation of something like this becoming a positive thing. I view this not unlike how I view buffalo chicken strips being served at the cinema. It's just a basic opinion.

---

Updated On: 11/2/09 at 12:32 PM

Nevermind, the rant was just a few posts higher up...

Nobody is buying a f*c$%^&* thing!

People are making a donation and receiving goods as an incentive to increase giving.

Show me where on your ticket you are purchasing anything more than the show you are going to see? Where does it promise the opportunity to stage-door and seek an autograph?

It is not a right. It is not an entitlement.

---