Anyone know how to get a “papered ticket” to Paradise Square?

[nativenewyorker2]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 6:39pm

[trpguyy]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 7:02pm

Rush tickets are $39 at the box office. No need to get there early. 

[expectingtheworst]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 8:30pm

Join play-by-play or theater extras but also if you enter the lottery there is zero chance you will lose trust me on this…  

 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 9:21pm

You shouldn’t have to worry, as others have said - also, unless their grosses have magically skyrocketed since the Tonys, you can easily move to better seating. 

I’ve seen it twice from papering and twice from paying for a ticket, which are rather cheap as is. Felt too guilty to paper again.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 9:02am

You just have to join the papering services they are using. 

[David10086]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 11:05am

dramamama611 said: "You just have to join the papering services they are using."

Can you please provide links to any papering services for this show and other shows ?  I'm not at all familiar with 'papering' but I know it's the way to get free or discounted tix for certain shows and would like to check it out in the future !  (I tried Googling but the results weren't what I was looking for as far as getting tix). 

Thanks in advance !! 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 12:55pm

David10086 said: "dramamama611 said: "You just have to join the papering services they are using."

Can you please provide links to any papering services for this show and other shows ? I'm not at all familiar with 'papering' but I know it's the way to get free or discounted tix for certain shows and would like to check it out in the future ! (I tried Googling but the results weren't what I was looking for as far as getting tix).

Thanks in advance !!"

The names of the papering services were just mentioned 3 posts above you.

People don't even want to drop $39 for a rush ticket and then they'll be the first to comment every Monday on how terrible the grosses of these shows are. SMH.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 1:00pm

Yeah, it's remarkably sad that people want free tickets to a struggling show. "I want to go but I don't want to pay for it!"

Support it fully or don't go. 

[PeterC6482]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 1:20pm

I said a few weeks ago that there is too much discounting going on for this show.  As a result, no one wants to pay even half price for a ticket.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 5:39pm

I saw it through the lottery and I thought it was definitely worth the $41.

[expectingtheworst]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 8:27pm

Sutton Ross said: "Yeah, it's remarkably sad that people want free tickets to a struggling show. "I want to go but I don't want to pay for it!"

Support it fully or don't go."

I promise you - a few comps will barely make a difference to the grosses or the trajectory of this show.

[David10086]

Posted: 6/19/22 at 9:33pm

UncleCharlie said: "

The names of the papering services were just mentioned 3 posts above you.

People don't even want to drop $39 for a rush ticket and then they'll be the first to comment every Monday on how terrible the grosses of these shows are. SMH."

 

Thank you ! My apologies - I think I inadvertently skipped right over that response  

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 12:17am

Sutton Ross said: "Yeah, it's remarkably sad that people want free tickets to a struggling show. "I want to go but I don't want to pay for it!"

Support it fully or don't go."

Nobody is forcing Drabinsky et al to make all of those free tickets available. The strategy has not had its desired effect after quite a while, and it may raise a lot of questions, but there is nothing wrong with seeing  a show (especially one that you would NOT see at a higher cost) at the best deal you can get.

And if the only people who saw New York theater were those who buy tickets at the prices that actually underwrite a run, this board would be a ghost town, no deserving shows would have a chance to build organic word of mouth, and we would have a Broadway scene so artistically conservative that it would make what we do have look like a season at La MaMa. 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 3:22am

Scarywarhol said: "Sutton Ross said: "Yeah, it's remarkably sad that people want free tickets to a struggling show. "I want to go but I don't want to pay for it!"

Support it fully or don't go."

Nobody is forcing Drabinsky et al to make all of those free tickets available. The strategy has not had its desired effect after quite a while, and it may raise a lot of questions, but there is nothing wrong with seeing a show (especially one that you would NOT see at a higher cost) at the best deal you can get.

And if the only people who saw New York theater were those who buy tickets at the prices that actually underwrite a run, this board would be a ghost town, no deserving shows would have a chance to build organic word of mouth, and we would have a Broadway scene so artistically conservative that it would make what we do have look like a season at La MaMa."

Yes, you're right in that the papering tickets are being made available and that's a choice they're making so one could logically argue why not take advantage of it? And I'm the first person to look for the best deal I can get. But this isn't about wanting to get a good deal so you don't have to see it at a higher cost. This is about wanting to go completely for free because you can.

I guess it all boils down to one's value system. Some may have no issue with it and may feel if the free tickets are out there, why not get one. But whatever you do or don't think about the producer, you've got a dozen people up on that stage busting their ass to entertain you for 2 1/2 hours. With rush and lottery tickets so easy to get, if you are interested enough to want to see the show, is it really going to break anyone's budget if you throw a couple of $20's at them to show you place a value on their effort even if their own producer may not? As the old saying goes, just because you can, doesn't mean you should..

[BJR]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 7:43am

Y'all sometimes forget how the market works. People want to pay what the show is worth to them. Rinse and repeat.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 11:54am

I guess it all boils down to one's value system. Some may have no issue with it and may feel if the free tickets are out there, why not get one. But whatever you do or don't think about the producer, you've got a dozen people up on that stage busting their ass to entertain you for 2 1/2 hours. With rush and lottery tickets so easy to get, if you are interested enough to want to see the show, is it really going to break anyone's budget if you throw a couple of $20's at them to show you place a value on their effort even if their own producer may not? As the old saying goes, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

100%. Thanks, Uncle Charlie. 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 12:12pm

The show is selling much better after the Tonys and they are not offering comps or papered tickets anymore.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 12:13pm

The actors are getting paid the same no matter how empty the house is or whether you paid $0 or $500 for your ticket.

If free tickets are available, there’s no reason not to take them- and it doesn’t make anybody morally superior for declining them. If they’re available, that means they’re off the market and will not be sold anyway.  Besides, a house with people who paid $40 for their tickets is, functionally, no better than a house with people who paid nothing. 

Updated On: 6/20/22 at 12:13 PM

[trpguyy]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 1:36pm

Kad said: "The actors are getting paid the same no matter how empty the house is or whether you paid $0 or $500 for your ticket.

If free tickets are available, there’s no reason not to take them- and it doesn’t make anybody morally superior for declining them. If they’re available, that means they’re off the market and will not be sold anyway. Besides, a house with people who paid $40 for their tickets is, functionally, no better than a house with people who paid nothing."

There are a limited number of rush tickets, fyi.

And while actors’ salaries may not depend on how well the house is sold, the production has financial obligations to other individuals and vendors - which very much do depend on how the house is selling - and have not been necessarily met to date. 
If you like theatre and want to support theatre, you need to support the people who make it happen, by spending money. It’s that simple. 

 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 3:31pm

trpguyy said: "Kad said: "The actors are getting paid the same no matter how empty the house is or whether you paid $0 or $500 for your ticket.

If free tickets are available, there’s no reason not to take them- and it doesn’t make anybody morally superior for declining them. If they’re available, that means they’re off the market and will not be sold anyway. Besides, a house with people who paid $40 for their tickets is, functionally, no better than a house with people who paid nothing."

There are a limited number of rush tickets, fyi.

And while actors’ salaries may not depend on how well the house is sold, the production has financial obligations to other individuals and vendors - which very much do depend on how the house is selling - and have not been necessarily met to date.
If you like theatre and want to support theatre, you need to support the people who make it happen, by spending money. It’s that simple.

"

TOTALLY RIGHT! The actors will eventually lose their job, but not only the actors, the ushers, the musicians, the entire production team will. So if you think that by not paying for tickets, you're supporting theater just by showing up, well, think again. You're wrong Kad. 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 3:38pm

BJR said: "Y'all sometimes forget how the market works. People want to pay what the show is worth to them. Rinse and repeat."

So according to that logic, if someone wants to pay nothing, that means the show is worth nothing to them, correct? If it's worth nothing to them, why would they want to waste 2 1/2 hours of their valuable time watching it in the first place? Are they unable to think of a more valuable use of their time?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 3:57pm

Broadway needs audiences. However people show up, whatever they pay. I was recently dubbed a hypocrite for using TDF for 11 of my 17-18 performances this season. I went to TKTS for Company, Funny Girl, and the box office* for discounted seats to Mockingbird and Girl From the North Country. Telecharge, 4 months in advance, to see Chicago on the historic relaunch night of 9/14.

People who saw none of those shows - or Flying Over Sunset, Dana H, or Trouble in Mind, which I also saw in half empty houses - believe it’s “hypocritical” for me to “brag about supporting Broadway.” As if paying full price makes “support” more validating, especially in a season when Covid protocols are still keeping some people away.

Go however you can go. Spend what you can afford. Even nothing. That is support for the art/entertainment form you care about. No other yardstick exists.

*was also given a full price ticket for a surprise return to Hamilton for my birthday last October. The ticket purchaser and I both “supported” Broadway with my (joyous) attendance.

 

Updated On: 6/20/22 at 03:57 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 4:09pm

I admire those who are trying to look out for the industry, and I do agree that if you have the means, and if a show means a lot to you, it's definitely very nice of you to pay it forward. I admire that choice, but everyone has to make their own decision based on their own financial situation, and also gauging how much each experience is worth to you.

I'm on a relatively limited income, but theatre is important to me, so I set aside a monthly budget of about $300 for all the shows I see that month. Some months I go a little bit over, some months I come a little bit under, but for the most part I have to roughly stick to that number if I don't want to break the bank.

But of course, $300 is not enough to pay for all the shows I'd like to see - not even if I only paid rush/30u30 prices. So yes, I make use of papered tickets where I can get them. I personally don't feel bad about it because if I didn't buy papered tickets, I'd have no choice but to see fewer shows. So they can either have me in their seat, or not. UncleCharlie, there are many, many things in this life that I'd be happy to do for free, but that don't mean enough to me to pay for. That's a very normal thing.

I got a papered ticket to Paradise Square because I could, and because the show didn't mean very much to me. I don't regret seeing the show, but neither do I regret choosing not pay for it. There's a very wide spectrum between those two things.

And since my theatre budget is the same either way, the papered ticket saved me money to spend at another show/theatre - very likely a non-profit, since I go to way more non-profit shows than commercial, and I consider that a better use of my money anyway. And either way you slice it, roughly $3600 of my hard-earned money is going into the live theatre industry every year. That may not sound like much to some, but it's a lot for me.

So, while I do agree people should pay for as much theatre as they can, I personally don't feel remotely bad about making use of papering services, because I already AM paying for as much theatre as a can.

Updated On: 6/20/22 at 04:09 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 5:34pm

UncleCharlie said: "BJR said: "Y'all sometimes forget how the market works. People want to pay what the show is worth to them. Rinse and repeat."

So according to that logic, if someone wants to pay nothing, that means the show is worth nothing to them, correct? If it's worth nothing to them, why would they want to waste 2 1/2 hours of their valuable time watching it in the first place? Are they unable to think of a more valuable use of their time?"

People generally pay about $10 a month for a streaming service. Depending on how many things you're watching, the cost per movie can be less than or equal to the $5 fee paid for a papered ticket. No one's saying it's not a valuable use of their time to watch a 90 minute to 2 hour+ movie or binge a show because they weren't willing to pay more. 

That said, I don't consider my physical presence to be supporting a show. Rather, getting a papered ticket is betting with my time to see if the show is worth supporting (e.g. seeing again at a higher ticket price, recommending to others, buying merch from, etc.) Often the gamble doesn't pay off because there's a reason for most of these shows to be papering. 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/20/22 at 6:05pm

If a show is papering, those tickets being offered are off the market. They are set aside and will not be sold. The production has said “we are allocating X amount of tickets to give away.”  The unused tickets don’t go back into the pool to be sold, they get killed and the seats remain empty. 
 

Nobody is denying the production income by taking a comp. The loss has already happened, authorized by the production itself. There is literally nothing unethical about taking a comp.