Memberships vs. Premium Pricing

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 1/26/11 at 12:54pm

I was celebrating my good fortune at snagging some great seats for Follies by becoming a Kennedy Center member when I started thinking...

What's different about buying a membership to get preferred ticket availability from a non-profit like Kennedy Center, LCT, or Shakespeare in the Park as opposed to "preferred seating" pricing on commercial runs?

Yes, the mechanism is different (earlier availability - which still equates to access to the prime seats - or in the case of the Delacorte, reserved seats) and the resulting price differential is MUCH more resonable (for now) - but it still prevents Joe Theatergoer from getting the prime seats at normal orchestra prices. yes, the money's going to a non-profit instead of a producer. But, the non-profit IS the producer, so unless you're going through a scalper, the results are the same.

So, initially, I was thinking "What a great deal, and how fortunate to be able to take advantage of using a membership to score the great seats. And, how virtuous an act joining the institution is, as opposed to the horrible, immoral premium pricing schemes used by commercial producers." Now, I'm thinking it's neither - simply another one of the strategies (like discount codes, TDF, rushes and day-of visits to the BO) used these days by savvy theatergoers to maximize their dollars, as the producers are using other strategies on their side to maximize their returns.

...and the tax write-off doesn't hurt.

Thoughts?

Mark
Updated On: 1/26/11 at 12:54 PM