New York Times on Soaring Broadway Ticket Prices

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 2:12pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/theater/hello-dolly-broadway-ticket-prices.html

This Dolly! is one of the greatest things I've ever seen on the stage, but $1,009 is absolutely insane. And now the average ticket price on Broadway is $116? I take so much joy in the fact that the industry is successfully capitalizing, but this really makes show access increasingly difficult.

Thoughts?

Updated On: 10/8/17 at 02:12 PM

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 2:32pm

This is disappointing. The next generation will barely see shows and just bootleg them if this trend continues. $129 per ticket to a young attendee would be $200+ to get into the theatre. The art can continue at these prices, especially when shows hot with the teens (Hansen, Hamilton, BMC[not even Broadway], and mean girls) will continue to have climbing prices (Ben's last day at DEH is $600) which is not good for the industry. I hope they lower prices for shows soon.

[hork]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 2:39pm

$229 for obstructed view seats is ridiculous.

But, I mean, if you want to pay a thousand dollars to be close to Bette Midler, it's your money and I guess there's nothing wrong with it (I personally would never choose the front row of any show, even if it was regular price, but that's just me). There are always cheaper options. We can complain about these skyrocketing prices, but if they can find people willing to pay them, it's hard to argue with that.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 2:48pm

Wtf is BMC?

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 2:56pm

Be More Chill

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 3:05pm

I'll say the same thing I say every time this topic comes up: which is about every 2 months.

 

I won't spend that kind of money.  If a ticket is priced too high, I will forego seeing it.  (had a code for Springsteen, but all I could find was tix too much for my budget.) I might be disappointed, that passes pretty quickly.    

 

The young people find a way to keep going....just like they are for DEH, Wicked and whatever suits their fancy.   What happens when they can no longer sell enough tickets at those prices?   Same thing that happens now, prices come down, discounts become available.

 

I find it just as troublesome about hotel prices.....I used to be able to find hotel rooms at about 100 bucks a night pretty frequently....and now I'm lucky to find a room just under 200.....no one seems to complain about that.  

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 3:23pm

Yet I couldn't tell you the last time I paid over $100 for a ticket. Just can't do it. Paid $89 for Bette's Dolly! in the back of the Shubert. SRO is my friend and even at my age I see more shows standing than sitting. There's still cheap solutions, they just seem to get less and less every year.

[michaelhale]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 3:36pm

Hey, if people are paying and the shows are making profit: good for them. It's not like it's hard to get a decent $60 ticket is it at regular price, not even counting discounts and such which can put you even lower, is it? Maybe not for the show of your choice, but in general I wouldn't say that just because Bette Midler's Tony Award winning performance costs $1k to get into the front row of Hello Dolly that reflects the price-point of a Broadway show in general. Louboutin pumps can be $1k, should I start complaining about the price of all black pumps?  

I guess the boost in average price probably comes from a boost in premium seats because of more hot-commodity shows like DEH, CFA, and Hello Dolly this season, as well as Hamilton's continued fire? Even there you can pick up most of their's lowest price-points for next year (except Hamilton and I am not sure what CFA's availability is).

I feel like there is something to be said about the accessibility of Broadway, but $1k for a prime seat (with a chance ar interaction with the star!) at one of the hottest shows on Broadway isn't really a concern.

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 5:14pm

What first comes to my mind is what Victoria Bailey of TDF says in the article - people hear about the highest price points and then assume that they can’t afford it when actually there are lots of ways to get more affordable tickets. Obviously we all know one could have purchased good seats for Bette Midler’s or Ben Platt’s run at a more normal $150ish price range if one acted earlier to do so....if tickets were now cheaper I think they would all be completely sold out.The more affordable ones are.

I work with a lot of young people in a TDF eligible company and very very few of them were aware of Broadway as anything affordable before this Hamilton related hike in prices, let alone aware of TDF. I’ve told several about it.....and about lotteries etc

[DAME]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 6:22pm

Highest I have paid every time I have seen Bette in Dolly is I believe $189.00.  One time box partial view ( and they were great) and anther time front Mezzanine and they were outstanding seats.  But I had the luxury of planning ahead or had the time to constantly check telecharge.  Also the SRO seats have always been accessible and the theater has always had balcony seats they release at the box office the day off.  

[kofler22]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 6:38pm

Tickets in London are cheaper. I just bought a premium tickets for Follies at aU$s 86, front row of the mezzanine...thesame happens with other shows, why is that? 

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 8:59pm

The article mainly focused on premium tickets and prices for those have always been out of my budget.

 

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 9:39pm

kofler22 said: "Tickets in London are cheaper. I just bought a premiumtickets for Follies at aU$s 86, front row of the mezzanine...thesame happens with other shows, why is that?"

Good question. More government subsidy of theater in London comes to mind, but there is more to it than that. See 

http://www.npr.org/2014/07/30/336594091/why-are-theater-tickets-cheaper-on-the-west-end-than-on-broadway

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/8/17 at 9:48pm

The issue that needs to be addressed is how stub hub etc changed the face of reselling tickets. Ticketmaster and the likes ( add producers in as well ) should never have allowed tickets to be onward sold.