So what I'm saying is that what saddens me is that Hamilton seems to not care very much about anything but making the most possible amount of money at this point. There isn't much that I can do about is besides not buying a tickets for those prices, and expressing my feelings on the matter, in the hopes that, if enough people do the same, they will listen.
if they do not care, as you claim, why do they still offer discounted lottery and SRO tickets, and partnered with a charitable foundation to donate over 20,000 tickets at direct cost to NYC public school students? they did not have to do any of that but they did. who becomes the sole arbiter of determining what is considered "affordable" on broadway?
also. yes. they care about making as much money as they can because they are humans who like to make money but also use that money to invest in more theatre and mount new shows on broadway. which helps stimulate the local economy and employ hundreds. do you not understand that cycle and why it is so important for them to maximize their return on investment?
It should simply be illegal to re-sell tickets for a multitude of the face value.
I can't agree with this. Once I've purchased a ticket, you might say I "own" it, and it's mine to use or sell to another person for any price we freely agree to. That's how everything else works, and it's how it should work.
Would you apply your principle - that it should be illegal to sell something for more than the price one originally paid - to everything else? Houses, baseball cards, stamps?
Seems like fairness is at the root of what some here are writing about. You can have an AmEx card, three browsers open at the time tickets go on sale, flexible on your dates more than 9-10 months out, and still not get a decent seat at a reasonable price. That's when it seems like the odds are deeply stacked against the average theatregoer.
The truth of the matter is that the average theatergoer is not entitled to "decent seats" to Hamilton at "reasonable prices" no matter how far out they may be buying them. Fairness is relative. Fair is the price to which buyers and sellers can agree.
I think frustration would be a better term than fairness for describing what many of the posters here are experiencing. Many of us are frustrated that we don't have the resources to pay the prices that Hamilton is commanding. No one involved with the production is to blame for that. Blame the market.
indytallguy said: "Seems like fairness is at the root of what some here are writing about. You can have an AmEx card, three browsers open at the time tickets go on sale, flexible on your dates more than 9-10 months out, and still not get a decent seat at a reasonable price. That's when it seems like the odds are deeply stacked against the average theatregoer.
"
8 shows a week/52 weeks a year equals about 450kish seats a year once you remove house seats and charity donations. So even if you remove the resell problem, there's still more people than seats. In a messed up way, the scalpers allow those who can pay to get to the show. You're trying to demonstrate that no scalpers = real theater goers get decent priced seats but it's not true. Even if they disappeared, it's still supply<demand. Does anyone have an estimated guess what % are true scalpers on TM or SH vs those who bought tickets planning to go but figure "let's see if someone would pay $1500 for this?"
JM226 said: "to those complaining about prices: I am sincere when I say this but if it disgusts you that much, either move to a country that is not founded on free market capitalism or make a financial sacrifice to buy the ticket. if you want to see it bad enough and cannot wait, then spend the money. if not, then you have no right to complain. seeing theatre... and one show in particular... is not a right -- it is a luxury. "
You might be technically correct in your bitchy little post and subsequent bitchy posts, but that doesn't make you sound like any less of an asshole. Let me guess ----- Republican? Very wealthy? Producer? All three?
Cupid Boy2 said: "The truth of the matter is that the average theatergoer is not entitled to "decent seats" to Hamilton at "reasonable prices" no matter how far out they may be buying them. Fairness is relative. Fair is the price to which buyers and sellers can agree.
I think frustration would be a better term than fairness for describing what many of the posters here are experiencing. Many of us are frustrated that we don't have the resources to pay the prices that Hamilton is commanding. No one involved with the production is to blame for that. Blame the market.
The producers know what's going on and they could not let TM have permission to resell and they can probably fight SH to not allow postings. There's no sense in arguing with each other about what's moral and who deserves what. The producers can't stop brokers but they can get to SH & TM, but they won't bc they dgaf. Seeing people pay 1-2k for the show is great for them bc even though they aren't getting it, the fever and pandemonium benefits them bc it ensures that they are going to keep selling out for a long time.
Matt Rogers said: "So, Hamilton is for the wealthy only. How ironic."
And isn't Broadway as an institution generally catering to just the wealthy?
Forget all of the other more accessible, quality theatre, let's call for government intervention. Hamilton is a BASIC human right, damnit! Heck, I'm sure each and every middle class family around this great nation spends their days worrying about how they'll get their littles ones the Hamilton tickets their lives are depending upon. This has gone TOO far! Doesn't anyone think of the children?!
HelloB: How can they stop them? Sadly, what's happening isn't illegal. They'd have NO leg to stand on.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
dramamama611 said: "HelloB: How can they stop them? Sadly, what's happening isn't illegal. They'd have NO leg to stand on.
"
Iirc, TM resale requires approval from whomever runs the event and as far as SH, they may not force them into anything but they could intimidate them and/or possibly use the few fraudulent tickets they allowed to be sold. But like you said, nothing is changing so it's a moot dream
Cupid Boy2 said: "The truth of the matter is that the average theatergoer is not entitled to "decent seats" to Hamilton at "reasonable prices" no matter how far out they may be buying them. Fairness is relative. Fair is the price to which buyers and sellers can agree.
I think frustration would be a better term than fairness for describing what many of the posters here are experiencing. Many of us are frustrated that we don't have the resources to pay the prices that Hamilton is commanding. No one involved with the production is to blame for that. Blame the market. "
Guess I wasn't clear as I don't really disagree with what you're saying here and in no way do I believe nor did I suggest anyone is entitled to anything other than a fair system. Not speaking for everyone obviously, but many of my friends are frustrated and just feel like they can't even get a crack at the lowest price tickets. They feel the system doesn't allow for the average theatregoer to stand much of a chance without having access to presale or the like. They aren't complaining about the prices the producers are charging. They just feel lke the current system is a bit rigged ... hence my point about fairness.
You might be technically correct in your bitchy little post and subsequent bitchy posts, but that doesn't make you sound like any less of an asshole. Let me guess ----- Republican? Very wealthy? Producer? All three?
i'm sorry if it came across that way. i do not feel the way you have interpreted my posts and i am none of the three things you mentioned (i wish i was wealthy!). i just feel very passionately about the current economic model on Broadway, specifically, and know many of the investors and producers who take great financial risks every day to make the magic happen. i also have always felt that access to one particular show is not a right. there is incredibly brilliant, high-quality theatre that is either free or affordable all around us. sometimes we just choose to ignore it or simply don't know about it! that is all. thank you
dramamama611 said: "HelloB: How can they stop them? Sadly, what's happening isn't illegal. They'd have NO leg to stand on.
"
what about pricing the tickets higher (maybe like the most recent round of tickets, so the show gets more of the market price rather than rent-seeking scalpers) but making them not transferrable. ticket is printed with a name on it. you show your ID with that name and your picture to get in. end of story.
indytallguy said: "Guess I wasn't clear as I don't really disagree with what you're saying here and in no way do I believe nor did I suggest anyone is entitled to anything other than a fair system. Not speaking for everyone obviously, but many of my friends are frustrated and just feel like they can't even get a crack at the lowest price tickets. They feel the system doesn't allow for the average theatregoer to stand much of a chance without having access to presale or the like. They aren't complaining about the prices the producers are charging. They just feel lke the current system is a bit rigged ... hence my point about fairness."
I apologize, I misunderstood and can see now what you're saying. I mistook your post for referring to only the lower-priced tickets. I agree that it would be annoying to have difficulty accessing tickets even when you're willing to pay the production's full-price for dates that far out.
Unfortunately, to combat scalpers, the producers may need to raise ticket prices even more. I know that's not an ideal solution, but if scalpers can still make a profit under the pricing structure utilized for the new block of tickets, the tickets are still underpriced.
JM226 said: "You might be technically correct in your bitchy little post and subsequent bitchy posts, but that doesn't make you sound like any less of an asshole. Let me guess ----- Republican? Very wealthy? Producer? All three?
i'm sorry if it came across that way. i do not feel the way you have interpreted my posts and i am none of the three things you mentioned (i wish i was wealthy!). i just feel very passionately about the current economic model on Broadway, specifically, and know many of the investors and producers who take great financial risks every day to make the magic happen. i also have always felt that access to one particular show is not a right. there is incredibly brilliant, high-quality theatre that is either free or affordable all around us. sometimes we just choose to ignore it or simply don't know about it! that is all. thank you "
Ok, thanks for the response. I see your points. And apologies for the incorrect assumptions.
I gladly accept that we live in a free market society and Hamilton producers can do what they want. Hamilton can accept and live with the fact that they are turning many people off. Having tried to get a $200 or under ticket since shortly after it opened has turned me off completely. Ticketmaster and their scapling, the complacent rude box office staff who won't even look at the computer when you ask about tickets 5 months out, the never-ending press about a show that no one I know has even been able to see. It's all too much. I'm done.
Also, the tweets, instagrams of all the celebs filing through. Seems like they are only people seeing it. You realize the cancellation line is for when celebs decide "not tonight, I'll go next week."
I'm happy for the success but I'm burned out. I'll wait for the tour.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello