CHORUS LINE Tickets - $301.25. DISGUSTING!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:37pm

I'm not sure if this has been talked about, but I went by the CHORUS LINE box office today and saw the sign saying their "premium seats" were now $301.25. In all my years of theater going I don't think I've ever been as disgusted as I was when I saw that.

I don't even know what else to say.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:39pm

*waits for Namo*

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:43pm

Yikes. That's even more depressing since I recently went through my basement and found a 1980 Playbill from the original production of ACL. The tickets still inside: $15.

[Flaunt It]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:45pm

I don't see why this is an issue. If they can get that price.. good for them. Theater is a business... let them make money. There are less expensive seats. Buy what you can afford.

[Horton]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:49pm

Its a big deal because I view theater as an art, not a business

[luvliza89]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:50pm

Who do they think they are, Streisand?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:50pm

So all artists, producers, techies, designers, etc., should work for free, Horton?

Interesting.

Updated On: 10/7/06 at 07:50 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:58pm

Looks like these guys take their lessons from Gordon Gekko

They will not be content until they make it so expensive no one will go either because they cannot afford it or are simply disgusted.Premium seating removes seats that normal theatergoers would get so it does make a difference

$300 is not enough but they still have to tack on the facility fee. This went beyond greed a long time ago

[theatrelovr]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:03pm

You know, the only problem I have with this is that every year they end the Tony's with go out and see a show. Thats fine and dandy, however and I am only speaking for myself, but at prices like that, it is just not feasable. I try to make it to the theatre several times a year, but even the mezzanine seats are not cheap anymore. I can remember getting front row orch seats for $50 and thinking that was expensive. I was just at Jersey Boys last week and 2 tkts cost me over $300. They want everyone to enjoy and experience the theatre, but who the hell can with these prices?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:04pm

"This went beyond greed a long time ago"

No, it's smart business - if the ticket buyers will pony up, and THE PRODUCERS proved that they will. Wealthy foreign tourists and Americans with hefty expsnse accounts buy these tickets. Let's not forget that most Broadway shows never make their money back. The investors and producers more commonly lose money than make it, so to keep their business going, and to be able to produce more shows in the future, they need to do what they can when they have a hit.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:09pm

I don't think I'd be as upset about this if they also didn't raise the cheapest seats (which were already $86.25!!) to $111.25, so there ARE no "affordable" seats in the house.

Correction, the partial view seats were reduced to $86.25. What a bargain!!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:12pm

Seriously. There has to be some way to deal with the scalpers/ticket agency problem without charging $300 a seat for the poor suckers, I mean theater goers, no, actually, I mean SUCKERS, who want to see the show. It's a shame that instead of thinking creatively the only way they could think to stop the gouging of the customer is to gouge the customer.

It's a serious miscalculation for this production. Every single replacement and tour cast member will be doing the exact same movements as these actors who slavishly recreate the moves from 1975. So why clamor for tickets that aren't even in demand except for the false scarcity the producers attempt to create by witholding the best seats and pay those outrageous prices? To see Michael Berresse?????? For 300 bucks Val should be giving personal lap dances and reach arounds.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:13pm

Difference of opinion on the greed question but everyone is entitled to their opinion

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:18pm

If they are not purchased, don't they release them for regular price right before the show?

[justafan2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:18pm

I just looked at the Jersey Boys premium prices and they are now over $351. per ticket.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:22pm

RENT has $200 premium tickets too. RENT!

And this is why regional theatre is where the action is, pomp and circumstance and Broadway extortionism not withstanding.

[Luckydave14]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:24pm

Chorus Line premium seats used to be $201.25 other than Friday/Saturday nights when it was $251.25. It is disgusting that they raised the premium price.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:32pm

If no one bought the premium seats, they would be forced to discontinue them. However, people with disposable incomes think they're special if they have "premium" seats and so are stupid enough to pay the prices. The rest of us pay the real price, which is fewer seats at affordable rates.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:44pm

If I remember correctly, premium seats were $480 for THE PRODUCERS when Lane and Broderick were in it -- and it STILL sold out.

As Rath put it, if the demand is there and people are willing to pay that price -- and apparently there are lots of them out there who are -- then the producers have no incentive to charge less. That's show biz.........

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:45pm

And how many people do you suppose are ACTUALLY buying those $200 RENT premium seats? They don't discontinue those...

[Flaunt It]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:47pm

Look. If you want the seats you pay for them. I wanted to see BOY FROM OZ in premium seats so I worked hard, saved money and bought them. Seeing theatre is not a right. Sorry. If you can't afford to see A CHORUS LINE then you cant afford to. That's that. I can't afford a Cadillac .. no mater how much I love and want one.. so I drive what I can afford! That's America.

It really makes me a little ill when peple bitch about the price of things like this. Even more so when they bitch about the price of tickets for these benefits. That is just selfish to want cheap tickets to be part of something special like that.

Updated On: 10/7/06 at 08:47 PM

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:56pm

For 300 bucks Val should be giving personal lap dances and reach arounds.

Haha. Sad thing is, you don't even have to exaggerate with that one.

No, it's smart business

Then so was the Stamp Act. I understand that theatre producers make the magic and they often lose money on it, but that doesn't mean charging $300+ (especially for a show like ACL, where you don't exactly see the money onstage) is smart business or that we should be grateful they're doing what they can to keep their shows open for us. Like Namo said, they need to start thinking creatively because this is outrageous.

I grew up in the NY area loving theatre (duh). I would consider my family fairly well-off, but not rich, and there was never a time in my childhood when Broadway ticket prices were reasonable enough to be able to see Broadway shows more than maybe once or twice a year, maybe less. Luckily it's a great area for the arts, so we've seen plenty of other productions...but Broadway is Broadway. Broadway is exciting. Broadway is where the experience feels most complete. And it's frustrating knowing that now, more than it even was for me, kids like myself are growing up thinking of theatre as this once-a-year thing that you have to fork over your wallet and a kidney to see. That creative, spontaneous spark that makes seeing a show so exciting has lost a lot in the past few years thanks to insane ticket prices like these premium seats.

Even more frustrating is seeing a lot of my friends from filthy rich families sitting in those premium seats once a month, some of them not even appreciating the things they're being dragged to see, while I scrounge for student prices when I'm able to make the train ride into the city. Just because those discount options exist, though, doesn't make the shocking cost of full price tickets right or fair. It doesn't even make it "smart business". Discounts are an exception to the trend, and that trend has been turning Broadway into a playground for the rich for a decade or two. This argument isn't new, but I'm bringing it up again because it surprises me that on a board full of such artistically-minded people, some still consider the "needs" of the producers before the art itself. I understand that sometimes business is business, and the bleeding-heart artsy types just don't think realistically. But it's impossible for me to look at a price like $301.25 (with that awful facilities fee adding insult to injury) and not think that something is seriously wrong and in need of change. I know no one is forcing me to buy that ticket, but if that's where Broadway is headed, I feel sick.

Seeing theatre is not a right. Sorry. If you can't afford to see A CHORUS LINE then you cant afford to. That's that.

You're correct, seeing theatre is not a right. Our only true rights are our rights to things that are necessary--food, shelter, etc. But then why care about art? I understand that artists need to make money--I'm not saying theatre should be free. But I think we all believe that art should be accessible, and I just don't want people to get deluded into thinking that Broadway is still greatly accessible simply because things like rush and lotto are offered for $20-something. They probably won't be for much longer. It's a fact that Broadway ticket prices have gone up far faster than the actual rate of inflation, and at this rate there really will be no option in a decade or so for theatregoers on a budget. That shouldn't happen is all I'm saying. Think bigger than what's going on today--producers might be satisfied with selling a few premium-price seats for now, but if no one calls them on it, prices like that might be the norm throughout the theatre in the future. Who would have believed $300+ tickets just fifteen years ago?

Updated On: 10/7/06 at 08:56 PM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 9:03pm

"some still consider the "needs" of the producers before the art itself."

The "needs" of the producers are to pay the bills. That means, rent the theaters, pay the actors, directors, designers, authors, staff, publicity costs, etc., etc., etc. Broadway is not the Fringe Festival.

[kyle.]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 9:24pm

They also rope in ignorant tourists that have money with Premium seats. An older friend of mine from Michigan wanted to see Sweeney Todd and wanted the best seats possible. When she said that to the person at the box office the first thing they said was "Well we have these special Premium seats...." and she snatched up 2 faster than you could say Fleet Street. She was quite upset a few days later when I informed her she could have payed $100 or less for seats only a few rows behind where she sat.
Updated On: 10/7/06 at 09:24 PM

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 9:25pm

that IS disgusting!
Jeez, its not like its Jersey Boys or something. lol