Dumb Question about Broadway Grosses

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 12:23pm

At the risk of sounding stupid, how can THE PAJAMA GAME be 'sold out' and yet have grosses of 'only' 99.4%? WICKED consistently posts 100%, which to me means every seat is sold and THE ODD COUPLE posts 101+% which must mean standing room, right? Do comp seats for Tony voters not count? Or are there really scattered singles available?

The reason I am asking is that I have a friend in Dallas who is willing to take a train, steal a car, hop a freight, or grab a star to get to NY if I can get her a ticket to see Harry in TPG.

Updated On: 3/29/06 at 12:23 PM

[MissNY]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 12:45pm

It's sold out meaning you can't buy tickets in advance. However they do have a cancellation line which is usually house seats that they hold onto in case they need them for a VIP. They are released day of the show and sold to people waiting on the cancellation line. If PJ game was at 99.4% it probably means that for one or more performances, there were more cancellation tickets than people waiting.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 1:41pm

Actually, "grosses" strictly refers to the revenue that is associated with seats sold. A show's official "potential gross" is the total number of seats that can be sold during the week times the full retail price of each of those seats. So if a show, as in the case of THE PAJAMA GAME, the show is "sold out" meaning all available tickets have been sold and it is posting a weekly gross of 99.4%, that most likely means some of the seats sold went for less than full retail price, like to Roundabout subscribers.

Shows posting grosses over 100% are indeed a result of standing room sales, or re-sales of cancellations.

[anne3]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 3:03pm

I believe Roundabout subscribers can cancel up until that day, so that can leave alot of Cancelation tickets.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 4:32pm

100% means all the seats were sold for some amount of money no matter how high the premium price or how low the discount. Over 100% means that standing room slots were sold. In Pajama Game's case, the subscribers get a substantial discount built into their ticket price, but that subscription ticket still counts in the percentage of tix sold.

When a show sells 99.4% of it seats, yes there are some empty seats someplace at some time. However they are probably side mezz on a Wednesday afternoon or some other inconvenient time and/or unappetizing location.

If your friend wants to try to see this show, she may have to be very flexible about time and be ready to come to town the next day. She has to call every day to Roundabout ticket services or go online every day.

Ask them if the theatre has standing room and if they will sell it over the phone. Most theatres do not.

Roundabout is kind of known for its occasionally snarky ticket services reps (Sorry.) so if she gets a nice one, ask the rep for strategies. Maybe a subscriber returned a ticket that they cannot use.

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 4:38pm

Thanks for the advice. Actually, I am a Roundabout subscriber and, due to my job, oftentimes find the need to exchange my subscription tickets for another day and I can't say enough nice things about the Roundabout ticket agents, both in person and on the phone. I'll give them a call.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 4:39pm

If i buy a ticket today for a performance next month, on which date does the sale count?

Updated On: 3/29/06 at 04:39 PM

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 4:44pm

i would have loved to see this...

but anyway, can you subscribe to Roundabout on their website?

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 4:48pm

The ticket 'counts' for the performance, not the sale date.

The daily 'wrap' is another figure and rarely gets revealed to the public mostly because they are rather dull--unless there is a 2 million dollar day, but then that is not dull.

I have always thought the percentage of seats sold is misleading because a show can theoretically sell out without selling one ticket at full price, and still be way under the weekly nut. I'd rather have the potential gross listed like they have in Variety.

A 500k gross with a 90% capacity looks good until you discover that there is a million dollar potential.

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 3/29/06 at 5:18pm

Advance sales are not given to the production until after the performance, as the theatre holds all advance monies in its own account.