"Jersey Boys Breaks Box Office Record for the 26th Time!" -- SO WHAT?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 7:30am

I don't get how this is an accomplishment.

Orchestra, Partial View, and Front Mezzanine are $121.25 a ticket.

Rear Mezzanine is $96.25 a ticket.

Premium seats are $351.25 each.

No show ever housed in this space has charged prices this high.

Obviously, since the producers keep raising the ticket prices, the grosses are going to continue to go up.

How is this some big surprise that calls for a celebration?
JERSEY BOYS Breaks Box Office Record for the 26th Time!

Updated On: 10/17/07 at 07:30 AM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 8:31am

On the other hand, the August Wilson is a hard-luck house that really has never had a tenant quite like Jersey Boys. Apart from Smokey Joe's Cafe, which ran five years mostly due to a low running cost and plentiful discounts, nothing has really thrived there. Even City of Angels barely eked out a two year run. Even though Jersey Boys is breaking records on sales of premium tickets, it does say something about the show's popularity that it continues to outdo itself. It also is of interest that it gets within spitting distance of Wicked's gross, even though Jersey Boys has 4,800 less seats available per week, due to the Wilson having 600 less seats than the Gershwin. I think they have every reason to blow their own horn.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 9:03am

Give it up for JERSEY BOYS.

Love the show.

Love the boys...both in the show and in the state.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 10:56am

It doesn't matter how long other shows ran...the fact is that if they only sold the same no. of seats that these other shows were selling, the high price of just the LOWEST ticket price would still cause them to break house records. It isn't a fair measure.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 11:11am

No, but movies don't count for rising ticket prices either when new films "break box office records". Why should Broadway shows? And again, the fact that Jersey Boys is managing to increase its gross as it nears its second anniversary is significant. It shows that interest in the show is not waning and that more people are paying more to get in to see Jersey Boys.

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 11:37am

96.25 is rediculous for rear mezzzanine. absolutely rediculous. is mel brooks the producer? ahahah

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 12:09pm

"No, but movies don't count for rising ticket prices either when new films "break box office records". Why should Broadway shows?

Movies really shouldn't either. It's hard to measure the success of a film in comparison to older films that have high grosses as well, perhaps they should adjust for inflation before being allowed to make such claims.

"And again, the fact that Jersey Boys is managing to increase its gross as it nears its second anniversary is significant."

It's managing to increase its gross because it continues to raise ticket prices, not because it is more popular. People expect high prices on Broadway, so they pay them. But when the cheapest ticket is $95, you can't honestly say the show is legitimately breaking house records.

"It shows that interest in the show is not waning and that more people are paying more to get in to see Jersey Boys."

True, it shows that people are paying to see it at those prices, which of course only encourages producers to keep raising prices.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 10/17/07 at 12:54pm

Wouldn't you say that a show that increases its ticket prices as it gets older - and manages to get that full price ticket sale - must be popular? Most shows resort to discounting as they age, but since Jersey Boys has raised prices, I'd argue that the show has lost none of its traction, and is only building upon its business and popularity.

And if people are willing to pay top dollar to see a show, why shouldn't the producers ask for top dollar? How is Broadway different than any other consumer market?

Since most shows fail on Broadway, or live their entire existence on readily available discounts, I would not begin to begrudge the three or so Broadway shows (Jersey Boys, Wicked and Young Frankenstein) that manage to command a full price or premium ticket. You want to see those three shows so badly, you'll pay a full price or premium ticket, or wait until they've been running for 10 years if the cost is too exorbitant. Or go see something else. It's not like Broadway is a life necessity.