CNBC Article: Nobody wants to see a Broadway show — Page 3

JennH said: "joevitus said: "JennH said: "bway0 said: "Amtrak is awful. I have many horror stories. But the worst was when the train’s engine died and we were stranded in NJ, got in NYC at 2:30 (arrival should have been 12:49), and missed half of Hadestown. On the train home, I find out Rob McClure was in the quiet car with me and experienced the wonderful Amtrak experience of that afternoon and he had to miss the Beetlejuice matinee."

I can fully agree that Amtrak is ridiculous mostly from thestoriesI hear, even though I've been lucky as hell to never have experienced one of them myself. Too many horror stories to not believe that Amtrak is terrible. ButI have to wonder why he uses/used Amtrak when there's NJT that's cheaper and ggeeennnerally more reliable...note that I say generally.

That said...yeahthat article is somewhat ridiculous, but I imagine there'll be many day of,last minute purchases fromthose who feel comfortable. I DO agree with theassessment that tickets are just as expensive as ever and just like the industry itself, it's like no one used this long pause to rethink how to make pricing more accessible."

I'm baffled that orchestra seats for The Music Man are going for $500 a pop (according to comments on othr threads here). I mean, how many people go to the theater alone? So it's $1,000 for just two people, and presumably they are going out to eat before or afterwards. I'm not knocking the material, the stars or this production. I just don't know who can afford this, no matter how good it is."

Exactly. Now the answer you're lookingfor is...richpeople. That's who can afford it. I go to shows alone most of the time actually.I can only think of twotimes in thepast 5-ish years I went to a show of anykind with someone. In a city that seems to be as busy as ever now that we're not a pandemic hot spot anymore, it's just as much of effort to get someone to go to show with you as it isto get someone to come see YOU in a show. But I digress. I get needing to make a profit and pay off a shows' investment, but even rear mezzanine seats are ridiculous. I dropped a bit over 100$ to see Waitress the second night back. I did try reopening night itself, but thosetickets were generally significantly higher and I just shook my head and gave up hope to see any shows' reopening night. I would have loved to certainly, but not as those prices."

I believe Rob McClure lives in or around Philly so it was probably easier to grab a train at 30th St Station and ride up with Amtrak. I’m not too familiar with NJT but I’m assuming if he were to take it to NYC, he would have to transfer at some point- Camden or Trenton? - to get on a line that goes direct to NYP (again, not familiar so it’s my best guess!)

I had planned a few day trips to NYC this fall but had to cancel for various reasons. But looking at costs of everything, I have no desire to go to NYC right now anyway. Transportation is more expensive- train is now $100 round trip to NYP and the bus is $62 (increase of $12 pre covid). Between transportation, food, and show ticket, I’m easily spending up to $300 per day trip and only in the city for over 5hrs. I go alone to almost every show and knowing how expensive it is, it’s a crime to ask someone else to drop $300+ for a very short day trip. So rightt now that’s not worth it to me. I’ll come back but not until prices are more affordable again. So I’m going to check out tour stops near me and save some money doing it. 

Nope, it's not "literal craziness". 

We are waiting to see what shows up on TDF. Have been helping a friend book stuff for his visit in Jan. based on our searches for seats, lots of empty seats for weekday shows, not so much on the weekends.

 

gracie61 said: "Well I'm coming back. Bringing my daughter and 9 yr old granddaughter to NYC in June. So not right awayI guess. But we have tickets to Music Man, and had conflicts in the spring, so summer it was for the best seats! Waiting yo see what else will be playing that will be family friendly to add one more show. While I've taken my granddaughter to regional and touring shows, it will be her first trip to Broadway. I'm a subscriber to the local theater here in Austin that hosts the touring companies, so we will see Lion King and Willie Wonka that way, it's in the tour package starting in Dec.
Was thinking about Aladdin since we had tickets for the touring show that got canceled, but we will see.
Hopefully they will have the vaccine for her age group by then. My daughter is a huge Huge Jackman fan, so this is her bday present."

Will be there,too, in June 2022, hoping to catch Tony time. Tickets for The Music Man for 2 tuesdays after first 2 Sundays set  - I usually get tickets for 2 dates a week apart in case of absences. Intend to see other shows but will book when closer to spring 2022. Also looking forward to see NYC fully re- open! Will be flying from halfway across the world. Surprisingly, airline tickets seem to be moving fast!

I don't know about y'all, but I literally can't wait to see a Broadway show. I have tickets to three shows for the week of September 14 already and I'm going to literally lose my mind.

joevitus said: "veronicamae said: "I don't know about y'all, but I literally can't wait to see a Broadway show. I have tickets to three shows for the week of September 14 already and I'm going to literally lose my mind."

LOL Being a Texan, I love a good "y'all."

There's no room in my budget to fly to New York and afford decent lodging, let alone take in a Broadway show. Which is frustrating as hell. My cousin (who prior to COVID spent all her money on trips to New York seeing all the shows) and I were planning on going up together once the pandemic passed. It will have to wait.

Will try my best to avoid Sally Plummer-esqe mind loss."

I spent a decade in Texas before moving to NYC; "y'all" is vital to communication.

I'm sorry that it's outside your current means. Not knowing how far off you are from affording such a trip, you could take a look at Airbnb rather than hotels, as they may be more affordable. I also wonder what hotels will do in general with their prices in the coming months; so many of them in Midtown temporarily closed due to zero tourism. We're certainly not at pre-COVID tourism traffic. Maybe prices are or will be more forgiving? If not, it will be worth the wait (as you well know)! 

Updated On: 8/16/21 at 11:46 PM

veronicamae said: "joevitus said: "veronicamae said: "I don't know about y'all, but I literally can't wait to see a Broadway show. I have tickets to three shows for the week of September 14 already and I'm going to literally lose my mind."

LOL Being a Texan, I love a good "y'all."

There's no room in my budget to fly to New York and afford decent lodging, let alone take in a Broadway show. Which is frustrating as hell. My cousin (who prior to COVID spent all her money on trips to New York seeing all the shows) and I were planning on going up together once the pandemic passed. It will have to wait.

Will try my best to avoid Sally Plummer-esqe mind loss."

I spent a decade in Texas before moving to NYC; "y'all" is vital to communication.

I'm sorry that it's outside your current means. Not knowing how far off you are from affording such a trip, you could take a look at Airbnb rather than hotels, as they may be more affordable. I also wonder what hotels will do in general with their prices in the coming months; so many of them in Midtown temporarily closed due to zero tourism. We're certainly not at pre-COVID tourism traffic. Maybe prices are or will be more forgiving? If not, it will be worth the wait (as you well know)!"

The Airbnb is a good suggestion, thanks. Yeah, my years as an adjunct prof were not remunerative, surprise surprise. But I had great students, and that was its own kind of payment. 

Now to scrape the money together for a New York trip...

 

Who'd have thought telling someone that their behavior is bothersome could be considered unwanted, unwelcome, or possibly even hurtful? My stars.

Anyway, back to the topic:

I think the industry as a whole, and that includes the casual consumer and the "superfans" as we are here will need to adjust to what the new normal of Broadway is, whether it's atypical pricing, fewer shows running, or something we can't yet predict. I'm definitely interested to see how it plays out in the next few months.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "And to anyone who disagrees that the New York theatergoing audience hasn't changed, just look at Encores: they haven't had a sellout in years and have practically had to abandon their mission to survive."

I missed this when you posted last night. Could you elaborate on this? I've noticed that they aren't preserving old/potentially forgotten shows anymore, but more reviving scores that are already very well known and have been recorded/produced time and again. How does the change in the face of the New York audience play into this?