Telecharge is being very fickle this morning. I had to call, so I recommend doing the same. Also, FYI: after Opening Night, only the last two rows of balcony are $27. Before opening, the entire balcony is $27.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
^ I've gladly sat in the last rows of theatres (including the Cort) if that was all that fit into my budget, but I'm a little bothered by the fact that the press release said there would be 10,000 seats sold for $27 and it turns out they're all in the balcony. $27 last row seats should be standard practice, not something you brag about in your press release.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
I agree that the whole balcony, for the entire run, should be $27, if the production really wants to trumpet affordability. And of course, Row B in the orchestra, as Twelfth Night did!
That said, I ended up buying center mezzanine seats for $62 (plus fees). I called on the phone.
Currently, for No Man/Godot, the Balcony is on sale for $70-$50. Would you prefer that?
I sat in the $50 seats for both of those shows and, while I wish they were a little less expensive, the producers also didn't talk about having less expensive seats to provide access to a wider audience. With the wording of the Inishmaan press release, I was expecting something like what was done for the Shakespeare Plays, with $27 seats scattered throughout the theatre.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
The offer at the Shakespeare Plays is quite extraordinary and I hope more shows follow that lead, especially in the tricky-to-sell two balcony playhouses, like the Cort, Belasco, Longacre and Lyceum. But the producers of Inishmaan are still selling 10,000 seats at $27, when they could probably price them at two to three times that amount, if they were so inclined, so they have every reason to trumpet that fact.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
How does the last two rows of the balcony for this limited run add up to 10,000 seats?
Maybe they're also selling rush seats for $27?
I probably will wind up taking advantage of the $27 balcony seats, but the wording of the press release got my hopes up for something else. And Smaxie, you're right that they are charging so much less than they could, and that's more than can be said for a lot of other producers.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Someone on All That Chat worked out that considering the entire balcony at $27 for the previews, and then the last two rows of the balcony at $27 for the rest of the run, it does work out to 10,000 seats.
For Twelfth Night, on the other hand, fully a quarter of the seats sold for $27. And I'm very grateful for that.
It's a great show (of course I'm a McDonagh GFB, just look at my name/icon). Too bad they need a big name to get him to B'way. After Behanding, though, I'm not at all surprised.
I have to agree. The balcony seats at the Cort are not great, so they shouldn't be much more than $27 anyway. To trumpet it so boldly really was very misleading. I think we were all expecting to have a shot at GREAT seats today...
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
Considering that the Shakespeare plays recouped rather quickly, while also offering such a high percentage of affordable tickets, I really can see no viable argument against a wider implementation of such a strategy, especially for plays.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
The Shakespeare plays recouped in week 12 of an 18-week run. Their recoupment is a laudable accomplishment, no doubt, but I daresay it's not "rather quickly" and, had they not offered the $25 seats, there is a reasonable argument to be made that they might have recouped a week or two sooner. So they get all due credit for their generosity, but extrapolating from their success that all plays should do it is not a responsible recommendation.
Also FYI, Radcliffe is only doing 14 weeks and though he is well-known, it's not a natural fit like Rylance in Shakespeare nor does it have the gimmmick of two plays in rep and/or the gender reversal (in "Twelfth Night"). Indeed, it's a terrible title for commercial ticket-selling purposes in New York.
So...instead of lambasting the producers for not being generous enough (!!), can't we be pleased that they are offering regular price $27 tickets to the general public at all? The level of entitlement/expectation is really quite mind-boggling. FindingNamo's point is spot-on.
"No matter how much you want the part, never let 'em see you sweat." -- Old Dry Idea commercial
There was also marvelous revival of the play at the Atlantic about 5 years ago. A funny and deeply moving play. I'm excited to see this.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/