Is THEATRE Only for the Rich?- Page 3

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/31/07 at 9:18pm

Ticketmaster will put you in UPPER BALCONY for "best available" for WICKED... UNLESS you want to pay $220 to sit closer

How far in advance are you searching for tickets? 3 months is too late for a show that's been sold out for 3.5 years.

Lazy people want amazing seats just dropped into their lap with no effort on their part. So some buy a $350 orchestra ticket to perpetuate the system. And for the others, if you consider typing in 6-digit code is too much work to handle, you have no right to complain about paying full price.

Updated On: 3/31/07 at 09:18 PM

[misschung]

Posted: 3/31/07 at 10:33pm

This is sort of off topic, but while we're talking ticket prices - I wish there was more leg room in a lot of these theaters

[the_gambler3]

Posted: 3/31/07 at 10:36pm

IMHO, the value of viewing art in any form is an individual choice, i.e. it's $20 to buy a Picasso print, it's $40 to see an actual painting in a museum, it's a million dollars to own one. (excuse the pricing, it's not literal!) What you are willing to pay depends on what level you want to experience the artist's work... or in this case, the show.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:43am

No, but broadway is quickly becoming a venue soley for the rich.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:12am

No, it's not. The average person probably spends more on fast food and Starbucks each week than it costs to get a rush/TKTS/discounted ticket for a Broadway show.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:13am

Agreed with that last sentiment 100%.

[Elphie4ever]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 9:04am

See I am not calling myself rich. So yesterday I was standing in the cancelation line in the morning to watch Wicked. no one didn't tell me that those seats are full price. So I was $10 short. By the way does the tickets in the cancelation line include tax? So in a way i am in the kind of agree that theater is for the rich. The popular shows that are in high demand such as Wicked yes I think its overprice. Same goes with the tshirt damn $39....... wow thats a lot of money. Especially people in this baord weren't bluffing about the lottery for Wicked. I went for the matinee and night performance it last night. There was literally over 200 people in the line.

So anyways I said forget it let me just watch either Hairspray,Rent or Mary Poppins. Well the prices of Hairspray or Rent weren't that bad becausse of the lottery. I presented my ID and well it wasn't. So I guess only the popular shows are for the rich. Mary Poppins was sold out so i had no chance and the cancelation tickets were the same price as Wicked...

so the popular shows=for the rich
and the not so popular shows=good price

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 9:53am

Tanks God the best opera performances are showing up on DVD. For about thirty bucks, I can have an orchestra seat and watch it in my BVDs anytime I want.

[Rotel1026]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 11:01am

There was a story I read recently that mentioned that some tickets for the Final Four in Atlanta were going for as high as $5000. Remember the Playstation 3 and Wii that were released around Christmas? Some people were paying as much as $1000+ over suggested retail price in order to get their hands on one.

It's supply and demand and compared to examples such as these, Broadway is much more affordable. If you are willing to look far enough ahead of time, you can get good seats for face value. Wicked keeps coming up as an example and I cannot help but think of all these whining as just being sour grapes. You cannot get into that show on short notice. But you can get in and you won't have to pay an arm and a leg for it. No, it's not at TKTS, no it doesn't have discount codes. If all shows were having trouble filling seats and had to use discount codes and TKTS, we'd have people much less willing to invest in putting new shows on Broadway. So quit complaining and plan ahead. No, it's not cheap, but Broadway was never a right, it's always been a luxury. Quite simply, save some money by not eating out as much, not buying as many CD's or DVD's. Save your pennies and one day you too can be one of the cultured masses soaking up that Wicked glow emanating from the stage.

[HumATune]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 11:23am

Yes it is.

This is from the back of my LEGALLY BLONDE Playbill:

The Playbill Reader

Median Age: 45.9

Annul Household Income: $132,240

Automobiles: 74% own 2 or more

Real Estate: Median value of residence owned $476,315

Dining Out: 91% of theatre goers are avid restaurant goers

Occupation: Professional, Managerial & Executive 64%

Very depressing.

BUT us common people can find ways to get cheaper tickets. Although I am worried that JERSEY BOYS will eventually drive up the ticket price in San Francisco. They are charging $99 for top price, when the top price previously had be $90 for weekend shows. But then again, at least they have a rush.

Edited: It's household income, but still Updated On: 4/1/07 at 11:23 AM

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:11pm

Since 2004 I have only paid full price for 2 shows, Wicked and Hot Feet. And I have seen most of the top shows from that year up until now. I have gotten discounts online for just about everything. I live in Denver so I don't bank on rush tickets, lottery, etc. I like to order my tickets ahead of time and sometimes I leave a day open to go to TKTS just to see what's up and see a show. Plus I just have fun standing in line at TKTS. I always meet interesting people in line.

So no, I don't think theatre is for the rich. I am by no means rich, but with the discounts, I can see 6 shows when I go to NYC for a week. I do both Broadway and Off-Broadway. And outside of a few nights at a restaurant, most of what I eat is Ray's pizza and cheese steaks! I am from Philly, so I miss those two things!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:17pm

Very rarely do I pay full price for a ticket.

I have gotten around fine for the past couple of years seeing shows using rush, lotto, and discounts.

For shows like Wicked, Lion King, and Jersey Boys, where the easiest way to go see them is to buy full price tickets in advance, see those around a time where you might get a lot of money like on a holiday or birthday. I used Christmas money to buy full price tickets to Lion King because I figured, what the heck, I'll probably never be able to see it again.

Most of the other shows I have seen I have gotten discounted through rush, lotto, or discount codes: Drowsy Chaperone, Sweet Charity, Hairspray tour, Wicked tour, Spamalot (which was SRO), Producers, and DRS tour.

You have to know how to look around.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:02pm

Silly girls!

THEATER is for the PEOPLE...

Only BROADWAY is for the RICH!

[ahmelie]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:23pm

But it would be better seeing Patti kick Glenn in the face.

Ya know, I'd be happy seeing anyone kick Glenn Close in the face.
...and I'd be happy seeing Patti kick anyone in the face.

But put 'em together and you've got my (sadistic, diva-licous) version of heaven.

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:28pm

A lot of people here have said "I very rarely pay full price for a ticket"

by saying that you are obviously not in the same income range that me and thousands of others of New Yorkers are.

WE CANNNOT AFFORD TO EVER PAY FULL PRICE FOR A TICKET

It's just not possible. To pay $100 or more for an evening is just not possible.

So those of you who say that and still think you are poor, think again.
You have no idea what poor is.

[HumATune]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:41pm

True Fenchurch. I suspect most of us are working-class/lower-middle class but if you can afford the cheap seats, you aren't truly poor either.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:51pm

But Fenchurch, there ARE discount codes, TKTS, rush, SRO, lottos, and cheaper mezz. seats. While the more popular shows might not have these, most do. And, as skittles said, if putting in a six-figure code on a website is too much work for you, you have no right to compali about paying full price.

I've only paid full price for two shows, Wicked and Sweeney Todd. I saw DRS on a TKTS ticket, and I saw Sweeney Todd the first two times from the rear mezz. for $44 (I paid full price the third time so I could be closer).

There are plenty of ways to not pay full price.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 2:13pm

Should people feel guilty if they work their asses off to have the lifestyle that could afford full price, or higher priced discount tickets? I don't think so. But that is the feel I have gotten from a few posters on this thread. I think theaters today offer so many opportunities for people to attend it's not funny. Maybe regional theaters are different, but I can't see it being that bad. A lot of regional theaters have rush or lower price ticket options. So you might have to sit in Mezz, or not see the most popular show, or not see more than a few shows in a year, but that's life. Make do with what you have.

Updated On: 4/1/07 at 02:13 PM

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 2:18pm

"Make due with what you have."

I belive the word in that context is "make do"

not "due", although it's very telling.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 2:19pm

Thank you for making me aware of that, I will change it.

[Elphie4ever]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 2:19pm

The only time i will pay full price (which i just decided) is for the shows i really really want to watch. Like well the shows that is very high demand . Yesterday,like standing in line for the lottery for wicked is ridiculous its so hard to win since people keep filling up the green slips and some people with the same last name won twice..

but a street right next to the gerswhin theater is hairspray and just a theater across is the spelling bee and those tickets cost only $20 lottery and hardly anyone showed up for that....

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 2:29pm

"A lot of people here have said "I very rarely pay full price for a ticket"

by saying that you are obviously not in the same income range that me and thousands of others of New Yorkers are."

Excuse me, but you do not know my income range. I am in college, and am only paying half tuition. I have loans just as any other college students may have. The money that I DO get that I use on Broadway shows is for my birthday or holiday. Other than that, I can't afford to spend $100 on a Broadway ticket.

[HumATune]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 3:26pm

Should people feel guilty if they work their asses off to have the lifestyle that could afford full price, or higher priced discount tickets?

That is so ignorant. A lot of people in the lower classes work their butts off to make a better life. My mom used to work 80 hours a week in order to keep my sister and I from growing up in the ghetto.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 3:50pm

K, talk about over-dramatic. I wasn't saying anything about other people not working their butts off. My parents weren't loaded growing up, I worked for what I have. I was just responding to the underlying assumption by a few posters that being able to afford full price tickets makes you some type of bad "evil" person.

[notyourself]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:50pm

It's completely possible to go to Broadway productions without being rich. I'm a full-time student, working a full-time job and making around $10,000 a year. I attended approximately 20 Broadway, a few off-Broadway, and around 10 regional theater shows last year, not once spending more than $50 on a ticket. Most tickets were around $25-30. I utilized my TDF membership, the TKTS booth, student rush and lotteries, and discount codes to get cheaper tickets. I was also quite happy with the seats I recieved in all but two instances (balcony for Spamalot and Mary Poppins - but I wasn't expecting much from the seats).

I feel like Broadway is more affordable than ever before. Growing up, my family would save up to go to one show each year because there was no way to get cheaper seats. There was the occaisional discount code in a newspaper/TV ad or postcard mailed to us, but full-priced seats were what we were stuck with for the most part.

I've also reduced spending in other parts of my life to make going to shows on my salary a possibiliy. I generally keep meals in NYC as cheap as I can and am fairly frugal when I'm at home on Long Island. I don't mind skimping on the day-to-day luxuries like a cup of coffee or an unnecessary snack. Cutting down on those alone can give me enough for a discounted ticket every two weeks. It's all about deciding what your priorities are.
Updated On: 4/1/07 at 04:50 PM