If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#1If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 9:01pm
Even though it wasn't my favorite show of the last year, have a couple friends in LA I thought I might treat to the Divine One because they're huge fans. So I went onto the Geffen Playhouse website and checked the prices for I'll Eat You Last. Excluding ADA and obstructed seats, in a 512 seat theatre they have exactly 50 that are priced below $100 ($87 to be exact). Rear Orch and mid-mezz are $297, regular Orch is $347 and VIP Orch is $397. So approx 90% of the house is $300/seat or more. Congratulations guys, you are helping to kill live theatre.
Geffen Playhouse Tickets Website
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#2If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 10:05pmHave no fear. Broadway us not far behind in ridiculous prices.
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#2If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 10:09pmThis is f**king ridiculous. Updated On: 12/1/13 at 10:09 PM
#3If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:19pmIt is supply and demand, not ridiculousness. If they can get big prices, then why not?
FishermanBob
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/9/12
#4If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:32pmWhen tickets went on sale, I saw some rear orchestra for around $154 or so. So there were some but I'm sure they are long gone now. Still well above their normal price structure needless to day.
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#5If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:53pm
And I understand that Ms. Midler ask that the final dress rehearsal be closed.
They have been open in the past, and most recently they have been inviting veterans groups...
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#6If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:54pmMany Broadway shows are much more expensive than those prices. It's a good business decision, nothing more. If you know people will pay top dollar to see a production, of course the prices will be incredibly high. My friend paid $485 to see Betrayal. I laughed in her face.
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#7If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:31amUnderstood. But I can't remember a show where 90% of the house was priced at over $300 from the box office. And I'm a guy who often pays full price for premium seats because coming from CA, my available dates are very narrow windows that often come up on less than a month's notice, so I'm not saying there isn't a place for premium pricing. Just not 90% of the freaking theatre. I semi-happily paid $477x2 for Book of Mormon tix from the box office (and I had already seen the show twice). But at its highest demand (before tours) BoM still had some lower priced tickets (even if the scalpers bought them all as soon as the blocks were released).
oasisjeff
Broadway Star Joined: 11/15/07
#8If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:37am
How is this killing live theater exactly? People are buying expensive tickets and attending the theater?!
Seats are only overpriced if they don't sell, at which point they will reduce the price. If people are buying them at this price, then they are priced appropriately.
Otherwise, people would buy the $140 (or whatever you think they should be priced) tickets and sell them for $300 on StubHub. The secondary market is what started this premium seating thing in the first place, so no real way around it now.
Given the cost to mount shows these days, premium pricing is footing a lot of the bill and helping shows recoup faster if at all.
In NYC, I never found a single good ticket to this show that I wanted to buy at the price they wanted, so I did SRO twice, which isn't horrible for a 90 minute show where the sole person onstage barely moves... so there's always a way.
#9If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:41am
I wanted to take a group of friends to this for my birthday, but we decided on $20 HotTix for Peter and the Starcatcher at the Ahmanson instead. Don't mind splurging once in a while when I can, but sadly I'm going to have to miss this one 
PS - I'd gladly SRO or lotto/rush... wish L.A. did that!!
Updated On: 12/2/13 at 12:41 AM
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#10If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:59amIt kills theatre because younger people who want to become theatre fans think they can't afford tix to shows that they've heard about, and only a very small core know about things like rush. So they just don't bother. Then, outside of New York, you get an ever shrinking demographic of younger people who are dedicated patrons, and eventually this will mean everything is gonna be CATS-like (exaggerating for effect but you get the idea)
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#11If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 1:02amPopular, some of the LA shows do rush or lottery (I know several times I've arrived for dinner around the Pantages when they're doing the lottery). For this one, if they keep it at these prices, I'd keep my eye on Goldstar, it may show up there...
#12If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 1:13amTo the best of my memory, the Pantages first offered a lotto when the WICKED tour came through in 2005. Since then there have been only a handful of other shows that have done the same. Disney is certainly not offering any discounts for The Lion King right now. I have found some good deals with Goldstar but basically L.A. has a lot of catching up to do before we have SRO and other alternatives the way NY does.
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#13If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 1:35amAgreed. I admit I may not have a representative sample of shows doing rush/lottery because if I'm at the Pantages or Ahmanson, I've done a roadie from San Diego specifically for that show, so that would trend towards the bigger name shows
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#14If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 2:16amDo not try and build an audience for the future as unless you got deep pockets you are priced out.
bobs3
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/8/12
#15If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 3:33am
Ticket agencies in Los Angeles (aka licensed scalpers) are asking $750 per seat and they will get it because it is only 18 performances, it is Bette Midler and Sue Mengers, and most of the buyers will write off the cost as a business expense (either by company reimbursement or tax deduction).
Updated On: 12/2/13 at 03:33 AM
#16If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 4:42amI have NEVER in my life paid over $110 dollars for a ticket on Broadway (and I have seen basically everything)- and that’s in the front orchestra. Sure I used discounts and the etc. – but even for I’ll Eat You Last was on Broadway- it only cost me 110.00 for front orchestra. It blows my mind that anybody would pay anything over that unless it’s something special like closing night, charity performance or one night only run. I just don’t understand it- but that’s just me. I’m not trying to knock it, it’s just something I can’t see myself ever doing.
#17If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 5:04amNo way this is turning up on goldstar, the run is nearly sold out. Would I pay it , I thought about still might. It's a one off price to see Ms Midler.
#18If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 2:47pmThere are many many opportunities for young people to see great theatre for far less than these prices. In both LA and NY. This show is not great theatre, and frankly it's not of the least bit of interest to young people. Young people pay this much and more for concerts that interest them, but I think this show is priced right for the target demographic and, as others have said, if you can get the price, why not? I can understand the idea that a decent selection of seats should be made available to young people for productions of the classics, but for THIS? Why? I also don't think Saint Laurent needs to lower the price of the boots I covet because there are children who need shoes.
Wildcard
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
#19If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 4:06pm
There are many factors why the tickets for this are so expensive. The talent fee for the actress involved, the small theater it is playing, the location, etc. This could have easily played the Ahmanson (where I expected it to go) but that theater might have been too big for Bette to feel comfortable in. The Geffen is also more accessible for the people who actually knew Sue Mengers. It's close to Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, etc. And yes, that audience will have the money to pay for it. I've seen more A-list celebs at the Geffen versus the B-list that watch at the Ahmanson or D-list ones at the Pantages.
There are actually tickets on Goldstar although they are full price. The Geffen however just released additional $89 tickets today.
Matt Rogers
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/04
#20If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 7:14pmThey are not killing live theatre. They are just killing live theatre for everyone except the 1%.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#21If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 8:06pmYou hit the nail on the head.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#22If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 8:46pmRoxy can you explain when you are for capitalism and when you are against it? I'm serious.
#23If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 8:55pmThe audience will be filled with industry. This show wasn't brought to LA for the masses. Those prices are nothing for those who will in attendance.
Matt Rogers
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/04
#24If you thought Broadway was too expensive: I'll Eat You Last--LA Edition
Posted: 12/2/13 at 9:16pmCorrect, and how rich is it that the very executives who reviled Ms. Midler for so many years because she was so "difficult" will now happily pay whatever price is demanded to see her? Gotta love it.
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