El Mago Pop - Odd Ticket Situation

It looks like a scam....did you have to put any of your billing info (credit card, etc).??

Sorry about the ticketing headache.

May I ask what the other 2 shows were that you attended in the past?

I’m supposed to go to the 2 PM show tomorrow, but I’m gonna be in the city this afternoon. I’ll swing by the box office and verify my tickets.

Wick3 said: "Interesting part is on your ticket it states the ticket price is $287. If it were truly free and from the box office, it would have stated $0.00 or COMP."

Not necessarily. During the last few days of AIN’T NO MO, the tickets they gave away at the box office had the face value printed on it. But I have a value printed on my tickets and they look like screenshots of Google Wallet tabs

This is really bizarre. I don't know what the scam would be if they didn't ask for any info, so maybe it was an extreme case of miscommunication between the show's team and the box office?? I also wonder what the house staff would have done had you gotten your ticket scanned before the people who paid.

Fwiw I got comp tix to Once Upon A One More Time a few weeks ago and they had their values printed on them ($199)

Maybe? But giving out other people's tickets to just get my email feels odd... But maybe it's something I'm not understanding...

Given that this el mago pop dude steals tricks I wouldn't be surprised at all about shady ticketing. Try to pump the crowds with free tickets and then take the money when someone shows up and is actually willing to pay that much. He won't be on Broadway long enough for anyone to really care.

This guy just uses a bunch of audience plants in his show anyways. He's a hack with good marketing.

I went this afternoon for the 2pm show.

- The free tickets my friend and I had worked fine.

- It was hard to understand him at times, because does talk a mile a minute. The majority of the audience was definitely Spanish-speaking. Lots of kids and families (expected for 2pm on a Tuesday in summer).

- As for the rumors of “plants”, hard to tell in a dark theatre, but I did see quite a few people go into the stage door who didn’t look affiliated with the show, only to have them come out and join the line.

- Contrary to appearances on Telecharge, large swaths of the orchestra were EMPTY, giving credence to the theory of someone buying up the tickets and giving them away.

- There was about maybe 50 minutes of magic and about 30 minutes of self-aggrandizement disguised as storytelling and videos, including a very extensive curtain call that felt unearned.

- Good God - the amount of confetti and pyrotechnics feels like a fire hazard waiting to happen.

Overall, it was a nice diversion that is NOT for the discerning or budget-conscious theatregoer. He also does stagedoor and zig-zags down the barricades and signs/pictures with everyone.

What's the story with the tickets for this? Telecharge shows virtually sold-out shows the whole run, with the tickets that do remain being obscenely-priced ($240 rear orchestra, $371 premium). I personally find it hard to believe these are legitimately sold out and suspect that blocks have been pre-purchased and are being distributed through all sorts of weird channels we're hearing about in this thread.

So, how can I get in on that? (lol)

I'd love to see a short, mindless magic show but not at the prices they're asking. Asi Wind is worth it, but I can't justify this.

Apparently those tickets are all sold to Spaniards but due to an airline strike over there a lot of them can’t get here. It’s a huge bummer for them. Nothing shady going on there just a lot of disappointed fans.

Ensemble1692729508 said: "Apparently those tickets are all sold to Spaniards but due to an airline strike over there a lot of them can’t get here. It’s a huge bummer for them. Nothing shady going on there just a lot of disappointed fans."

Can you explain how you know the tickets were sold to Spaniards? And why you created an account today just today to defend the scammy things going on with the show.

Also by a quick google search, there was an airline strike earlier this summer but it seems to have ended now.. Additionally, if the airline strike was SO BIG - how could the show have gotten here?

Finally, if there was an airline strike wouldn't people get refunds? not giving away free tickets they can't use to random people on the street and thru ads etc.