Jersey Boys Raises Prices- Page 3

[Broadwaylady]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 10:17pm

The prices are ridiculous. But my brother boughts tixs for me for last May for fourth row center/ They were $250.00 each. I can't imagime what they are now!!!!!

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 11:01pm

Just posted in another thread, but it's appropriate for this one:


Picking Up A Broadway Tab
New York Times, The (NY)
February 27, 2005
Author: JESSE McKINLEY
Estimated printed pages: 3

IT'S just like your regular old grocery bill. That is, of course, if your grocery bill included items like hair care, makeup and Teamsters. These are the expenses, large and small, paid by producers on Broadway, where running a big, splashy musical like "Wicked" can cost up to $600,000 a week. The precise breakdown of spending is usually shrouded in secrecy, especially for a show that's still running. "Caroline, or Change," the civil rights-themed musical by Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner, closed Aug. 29, and its weekly budget was significantly lower than most musicals. But a look at its itemized expenses shows some of the ways costs can start to pile up. Between cleaning costumes and paying accountants, housing the star and keeping the lights on, "Caroline" needed more than $350,000 to run every week.

Where did the money go? The production's preliminary operating budget, provided by one of its producers, shows a raft of weekly expenses, from the backstage tutor for the cast's children to the stagehands -- more than a dozen -- required to man the light and sound equipment and maneuver the props and sets.

While some costs could vary depending on, say, how many advertisements are bought in a given week, many of the expenses listed on the "Caroline" receipt are the same for every Broadway show, including most of the salaries for actors, musicians and stage managers. All of which demonstrates how Broadway productions can sell thousands of tickets a week and still lose money. About 8 in 10 shows on Broadway flop, and "Caroline" was no exception, closing after four months and at a loss of $5 million. JESSE McKINLEY
RENT: On Broadway rent can be a fixed number, a percentage of the gross weekly sales, or a combination of the two. Because Jujamcyn Theaters owns the Eugene O'Neill, where "Caroline" played, and had a stake in it, the production was given a good deal. But it still paid rent based on percentage, a figure that hovered between $15,000 to $20,000 on good weeks. Theater owners also generally charge a fixed overhead fee, regardless of sales.
ADVERTISING: It's one of the biggest expenditures on any Broadway show and often the most contentious. Producers gripe that newspapers and other media outlets are greedy when it comes to ad rates, especially The New York Times, which can charge more than $100,000 for a full-page ad on Sundays. The Times says that its rates are fair. Regardless, "Caroline" earmarked nearly a fifth of its weekly budget to try to lure potential ticket buyers.
THE STAR: Tonya Pinkins, who received a Tony Award nomination for her work in "Caroline," was considered vital to the production, but initially wanted more money than producers were willing to pay. A compromise was reached: in addition to her weekly salary, she received a stipend for housing, a per diem and a weekly sum for child care, an important part of the deal because Ms. Pinkins had recently endured a bitter custody battle.
THE CAST: Without actors, it's tough to do a show. On "Caroline," most of the 17-member cast worked for a little more than union minimum ($1,354 at the time, with additional benefits). Actors agreed to those fees because the production, which had fair to good reviews during its initial run at the Public Theater, was not considered a box office slam-dunk on Broadway. The major exception was Ms. Pinkins, who earned $2,500 a week, plus perks (see "The Star").
HAIR: Set in the 1960's, "Caroline" was a wig-heavy show. (No one onstage sported their own hair.) To help outfit the actors, two stylists were used, both of whom showed up hours before curtain to help rebob the bobs, clean the curls and buoy those bouffants.
TUTORING: You would think doing a Broadway show would be a decent way of avoiding homework, but no. With two school-age actors (Harrison Chad and Leon G. Thomas III) and their understudies, the producers turned to On Location Education, a private tutoring service, to help the kids bone up on algebra and the like during rehearsals and on matinee days.
STAGEHANDS: Another common peeve of producers is labor costs on Broadway. Stagehands, with their powerful union -- Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees -- don't come cheap. On "Caroline," the producers budgeted nearly $40,000 a week for stagehands, who handled everything from the sound board to the show's minimal automation to the props.
UTILITIES: Every drop of water in the bathroom, every amp of electricity in the footlights and every scrap of paper used in the box-office printer must be paid for by producers. These costs, of course, are passed on to ticket buyers. Orchestra seats for "Caroline" went for $101, but toward the end of its run the show usually fell short of breaking even.
Caption:
Photos
Edition: Late Edition - Final
Section: Arts and Leisure Desk
Page: 6
Column: SPRING THEATER
Copyright (c) 2005 The New York Times Company
Record Number: 2005-02-27-398101

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 11:03pm

Do you have a link?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/28/06 at 11:05pm

No, I cut and pasted it from another thread.

Why do you need a link? The whole thing is there. Search the New York Times site if you want, but I don't know why you would need to.

[Dover]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:00am

All this talk of unions has made me think of something: some people blame the unions, some the greed of the producers, but I think it's a chicken-and-the-egg situation. The producers say "we need to raise ticket prices because our labor costs are too high," then when shows have been running at higher prices for a while, the union members look at the grosses and say, "Look how much more you're making from those new ticket prices, the people who actually do the show every night should benefit from that, too." And the cycle continues.

I hope someday I'm in a position to be in a tizzy about how MUCH my production contract pays, instead of just being glad to be on one.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:42am

Now I am a member of a few unions, and I appreciate that they are in place...however...I do personally feel the Unions on Broadway wield too much power over the eventual cost of Broadway productions. One of the reasons theatre in the West End has been able to stay (relatively) affordable is because union minimums are a fraction of what they are on Broadway.

Just look at the costs listed in the article Rath posted (and this is from a few years ago) and ask yourself whether ushers need to be making 50,000 a year....

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:43am

Right, MB. I have friends who have been sought-after performers in both West End and major Australian productions for 20+ years. Their salaries wouldn't even make a dent in comparative Broadway salaries.

[dented146]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 11:59am

MB is correct about this being largely about supply and demand. It's true that those lucky enough to be producers or investors in shows like Jersey Boys are makeing enormous profits. But for every JB there are probably ten shows that never make it beyond the regional theatre, and most that do lose the entire investment for those crasy enough to try.

For most theatre-goers a night on Broadway is a pretty special event especially for the tourist crowd. It is just part of the New York experience. I know many people who have paid over 300.00 a ticket for Wicked or JB from scalpers because trips to NYC are so infrequent and not planned a year in advance. Those people who feel it's outrageous for the producers of Jersey Boys to make 50-60 dollars a ticket must admit that it's even more ridiculous for a scalper to make 200.00 a ticket. And they haven't sunk their money and hopes in Lestat, Dracula, The Times, etc.

It's all relative. My next trip to NYC will include TDC or ACL rather than a Yankee game.

[tkts]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:13pm

What I don't understand is why shows when they are "played out" or "on their last legs" don't lower prices. For instance, "The Producers" or "Rent". Why not take the $111 top and lower that to $85? You may bring a whole new audience to the production.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:36pm

Thanks for posting that article Rath. I've often wondered about how the costs/profits in the theater business.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:39pm

The reason is, ironically, your name sake.

Remember most Broadway shows sell the majority of their tickets at some kind of discount (between 25 to 50 percent of full price) so, they are obligated to set ticket prices high enough that they can still break even at those discounts - the truth is, even though the top Broadway ticket price is 110 dollars, the average price paid for a ticket (per the Broadway grosses) is much lower. In effect, outside of the mammouth Broadway hits like WICKED and JERSEY BOYS, most patrons are paying between 60-80 dollars per seat for most Broadway shows.
Updated On: 12/29/06 at 12:39 PM

[MotorTink]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:45pm

Most of America wants to feel like they are getting the best deal. It is not often that people say "But I want to pay full price". Even if they can afford it, they will always take the better deal, just part of human nature. That being said, it is very common for a company, theater or consumer product, to set the bar/price higher to start, so that people will jump on the chance to pay once it is lower.

Most of the stuff you see in the sunday circulars aren't actually "on sale" they are at their regular price, but they just set the MSRP higher so it looks better.

Just my thoughts.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:48pm

And also remember that a huge portion of Broadway ticket sales are sold at a discount to groups. For every person paying 300 dollars at JERSEY BOYS, there is a tour group that only paid 80 per seat.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 12:50pm

MB beat me to the punch. Yes, all shows that get to the point of THE PRODUCERS, etc., tkts, end up with discounts. TKTS, online sites, etc. There's never any reason to pay full price if you don't want to.

[pianoman215]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 3:43pm

Enough already

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 3:55pm

"Just look at the costs listed in the article Rath posted (and this is from a few years ago) and ask yourself whether ushers need to be making 50,000 a year...."

I'm sure you're kidding. Ushers make roughly $47 per show (though they do get time and a half for Sundays). So even by a generous estimate, at most, they make $20,000 per year. And that's before taxes and union dues.

"And also remember that a huge portion of Broadway ticket sales are sold at a discount to groups. For every person paying 300 dollars at JERSEY BOYS, there is a tour group that only paid 80 per seat."

...for rear mezzanine seats. That's not much consolation for a show charging $120 per ticket. Though to be fair, shows that book school groups do it at a substantial discount (I believe at Hairspray they pay around $30 per ticket, but again it's the rear mezzanine).

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 4:00pm

Ushering is not a full-time job, that's why the money seems low. If someone was working 40 hours a week at that rate, it would be a full-time wage, as it's approx. $15 an hour (except for that time and a half shift, obviously).

And again, there are discounted seats that aren't rear mezzanine for most shows.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 4:12pm

"Ushering is not a full-time job, that's why the money seems low. If someone was working 40 hours a week at that rate, it would be a full-time wage, as it's approx. $15 an hour (except for that time and a half shift, obviously)."

That may be true, but you're grasping at excuses now. Ushers don't work 40 hours a week, so you cannot create a false expenditure of $30,000 a year for them to justify higher ticket prices by villifying the union. Plus, considering what most ushers have to deal with, their money is well-earned. Why should only the actors and stagehands of a show profit from the show? Trust me, you don't want an all-volunteer staff at Broadway shows.

"And again, there are discounted seats that aren't rear mezzanine for most shows."

That may be true, but we're talking about Jersey Boys, which does not discount any of its orchestra seats. But an even more relevant point: no one told the producers they had to offer groups a discount, and to make up for the discount by overcharging individual ticket buyers is price gouging.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 4:15pm

I'm not grasping at anything. I'm explaining that it's not a full-time job. It's $15 an hour for a job that you don't have to have a high school diploma to qualify and be hired for. That's not chump change.

[JerseyScoundrel]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 4:32pm

By the way, I saw some scalpers today at student rush. They were causing all sorts of problems and throwing debree on the road. Their hut was made out of cardborad boxes and a newspaper stand. They were also cursing and using the n-word (they were african american). It was ridiculous. They still got in for student rush and are probably trying to sell the tickets to someone. Apparently, they also got tickets to Thursday night. How crazy of the people running the management to do that!