I don't know about that. Six is at the Orpheum Theatre now through March 19 and selling very well. The large touring houses have Fiddler on the Roof for a week later in March, Come From Away (again) in April, Pretty Woman and another round of The Book of Mormon later in the spring, Les Miserables (again), Tina on its first national tour, Aladdin and Hadestown on return visits later in the year. Those are the main touring houses, the Orpheum and Golden Gate. Last fall, Moulin Rouge! ran at the Orpheum for something like nine weeks.
The San Francisco Bay Area, aside from its host of regional and local theaters, also is a regular starting point for shows intended for Broadway, especially but not exclusively at the Berkeley Rep. (ACT has Soul Train this summer.) A local production of Great Comet, its West Coast premiere, sold out at a small theater in Berkeley for nearly four months.
There are a few things that have changed here. The Ambassador Theatre Group took over the Orpheum and Golden Gate (what used to be called SHN) along with running the Curran, San Francisco's other large theater, starting with the Harry Potter tour. They run things a bit differently, and are more likely to accept one-week tour stops or non-equity tours, as near as I can tell.
The situation with the one-week Into the Woods stop is unusual enough to prompt some curiosity, although several other cities are only getting a week. It's at the Curran (the best of the touring houses for theatergoers) but only for a week before a five-week stay in Los Angeles. That's a somewhat unusual disparity and ATG is trying to charge a lot after getting a lot of demand (not many orchestra seats that are in the center or close to the stage are left and at prices above $200 now). But there are still good tickets remaining for most shows, and I wonder if the attempt to jack up prices will temper demand after the initial flurry.
The LA shows at the Ahmanson appear to be selling well, but $155 is the maximum price there. I paid $6 more for my non-premium tickets before the recent increases. I've been splurging lately due to our NYC trip this month (Funny Girl and Sweeney Todd, because there didn't seem to be a choice) and for Into the Woods. I was more in my comfort zone this morning buying tickets for next month's preview performance of English at the Berkeley Rep for $41 a ticket. Got a discount ticket for Cambodian Rock Band for $25, which I'm seeing tonight.
My guess with Into the Woods, and I could turn out to be wrong, is that I wouldn't be able to get away with my usual trick of getting day-of-show discount orchestra seats on TodayTix because a one-week window at the Curran would prompt too much demand. Due to circumstances, making a trip to LA and seeing Into the Woods while I was there isn't workable for me. In San Francisco, the ATG folks correctly assessed demand for people willing to buy premium seats, and I got good non-premium seats, but they may have overrated demand for mezzanine and balcony seats. Some people who wait may be able to get a good deal in June. I don't really care, but I'm very curious how it plays out.
Updated On: 3/4/23 at 03:46 PM