Book of mormon raises prices AGAIN — Page 3

I have tickets from TKTS that I just found from 1999 (only 12 years ago) where half price 5th row orchestra seats cost $35 meaning full price was $70. So in 12 years we've jumped almost $100 which is very scary.

As has been pointed out, it's almost universally standard for any actor in a principal role in a new Broadway show to have a "Tony clause" in their contract. Usually, this entails a one-time bonus payment for a Tony nomination and a mutually agreed-upon weekly raise for a Tony win that continues through the duration of the contract effective the performance following the ceremony. There's no re-negotiating involved.

Because she's been involved with the show since the very beginning of the developmental phase, though, James will be entitled to a shared portion of the show's profits forever. The same can be said for others like Rory O'Malley and Josh Gad who participated in previous workshops and readings prior to the Broadway incarnation. I think the Equity rule mandates that all those actors collectively share one percentage point, no?

---

Updated On: 6/14/11 at 01:26 AM

Portal -- I'm sure you have a point to make, but I'll be darned if I can find it!

Jordan -- I don't think it's fair to compare a 1/2 tix from a show that is not selling well to the hottest ticket on Bway to do a price comparison. A hundred dollar increase is also comparing it to the HOLIDAY price -- which is also a relatively new thing (I think).

Compare it to, for example Mamma Mia -- which you can get every day at TKTS -- and its a more fair comparison: 130 bucks. SO, the increase is really only 60 bucks in 12 years. (I use ONLY in comparision to your claim of a $100 increase.)

That isn't to say that the prices are not out of control. As I said, I won't pay the full price they are asking now, but there are plenty of folks that will!

---

Updated On: 6/14/11 at 06:51 AM

How is it less expensive than The Producers?

---

I was looking for a motel near the Jersey Shore for next weekend. Even Holiday Inn Express which normally goes for about $99 a night is $239 a night for Friday or Saturday in the summer. Same idea. They charge that because they can. At least Book of Mormon didn't raise their prices 139%!
It's a business folks. You don't want it, you don't pay it. Why do people not understand that an investor has every right to earn back as much money as possible when he has a hit?
Why on earth would anyone sell anything for way less money than people are willing to pay? If you were selling some item you wanted to get rid of and people were offering to pay you $200 for it, would you honestly say, "no, I don't think it's worth that much, so I'll only take $100 for it -- even though you're willing to pay $200". How daft is that?

as long as people make the purchase, prices will continue to go up.As Patash said, it is a business.
Why do you think that Theatre Refreshment can charge $5 for water, or $15 for a liquor drink, or $10 for a coke you can bring to your seat? Its because its a business and people will pay that money just so they can get the non-souvenir cup and bring it to their seat, or in this case, so they can say they saw the latest hit show. They have something you think you need or want,and you pay for it.

"How is it less expensive than The Producers?"

I believe Mel Brooks started a premium ticket price at $1,000. Someone correct me, if I'm wrong, though...

I think there is a difference between premium ticket prices and the ticket prices that most people will pay to see a show. Book of Mormon appears to be the most expensive show ever on Broadway, for the average theatre goer...I think?

Not that I necessarily disagree with the prices they are charging, although agree it probably doesn't encourage regular theatre-going.

---

"How is it less expensive than The Producers?"

I believe Mel Brooks started a premium ticket price at $1,000. Someone correct me, if I'm wrong, though..."

OK, I'll partially correct you. The Producers did set some new records for pricing on Broadway, but the premium ticket prices were not $1000 -- at least for regular performances. I do seem to recall that there were a couple of special Christmas week performances and perhaps New Year's Eve with even higher prices, and I won't insist that those prices might not have been $1000 for some limited seating, but that was not the regular premium price.

And yes, overall, the prices for Book of Mormon are higher than those for The Producers.

I think the reason why so many people are up in arms about this is because this was a totally unwarranted price hike just for the sake of a price hike. The show has already been sold out for months before the awards. The nominations and other minor awards already secured it into next year. The Tony win was really just icing on the cake, a multi-year run has been a given for months now. The majority of people buying these newly priced tickets won't even be seeing the show in the next 3 months. So this is just being greedy because they can.

I'm sorry but I have no sympathy for the fact that producers don't make their investments back. One, many of the big Broadway productions are produced by corporations, not individuals. Studios like Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal (all of whom have produced Broadway shows in the last decade) see $10 million as a drop in the bucket as far as a loss. Two of the Book of Mormon producers work almost exclusively in film (one of them is actually the producer of South Park) these people are millionaires. Theatre production is a gamble and everyone knows that going into it, it's not something they're not ready for or don't have the financial means to deal with. If that were the case then 1)no one would want to be a producer and 2)there would be no Broadway shows currently running.

And yes, other shows WILL grab onto this price hike. I remember I saw The Boy From Oz from the orchestra and I don't remember that ticket being more than $100 and this was AFTER Hugh had won the Tony in 2004!

I have no problem with them raising prices. If people will pay, then so be it. Eventually prices will come down...and NO, not everyone will rise their prices to match....only the shows that feel their audience will pay it.


Here is the pickle: didn't they rise prices the MORNING of the Tonys -- so before they even knew for sure they had won???

---

Oh, Little Lotte, there are so many things wrong with what you've written above I don't know where to start.

Get back in that damn mirror, please.

Going off what the other two people said, not to get too blah but we have to account for inflation as well. What cost $70 in 1999 would cost $90.71 in 2010. Probably not the most reliable source I got that from, but what was $100 jump became a $60 jump and accounting for inflation, is really only $40.

At the end of the day it is a business and they have the right to raise their prices. Not seeing Book of Mormon doesn't mean you'll never get to enjoy theater. You may have to wait longer than you'd like but if you want something faster or better, in the society we live in, you pay for it. To me it's almost like complaining that first class is so much better than coach. If you want a more comfortable plane ride, you pay infinitely more. So if not, sit in a crappy seat. Or you don't get a direct flight (wait til the hype around the show dies down).

It's not just tickets that have gone up - the cost for putting a production has gone up and so has the risk of investing in a Broadway show. It isn't wrong for people to want to make a profit. If no one took a risk, nothing would ever make it to Broadway ever... and we'd have nothing to bitch about the prices for.

Just my take.