Play By Play worth it recently? (Compared to Will Call Club?)

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 3:27pm

My Will Call Club subscription for the year is about to expire (my first time subscribing to any papering site), and I'm wondering whether I should sign up again, or maybe give Play by Play a try? Or maybe do both? $100 is obviously a lot steeper than WCC's $20 yearly cost, but if PBP has a lot more options, I'll consider it.

In general, I made good use of WCC. I ended up seeing 7 shows through them, so it definitely paid for itself - several times over, in fact. So if I don't do PBP, I'll definitely sign up for WCC again. But the options were definitely very limited a lot of the time, so it seems like PBP much have a lot more considering what they charge. 

Without violating the terms of service (i.e, no naming any specific shows or companies!), can anyone speak to their experiences on each site? And whether PBP has been worth the money recently?

For the record (to get a sense for what I might consider "worth it" ), I see most Broadway shows, and I try to see as much as I can at the major Off-Broadway not-for-profit companies. I don't see as much commercial Off-Broadway, and I only rarely dabble in the way-off-the-beaten-track kinds of shows. 

Updated On: 4/19/18 at 03:27 PM

[Harriet Craig]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 5:26pm

I have no basis for comparison with the Will Call Club, but I recently let my Play-by-Play membership expire, after many years, because it seemed like most of what they were offering was sporting events, stand-up comedy, and performances at out-of-town venues (e.g., the Union County, NJ, Performing Arts Center). I saw many off-Broadway, and a few Broadway, shows courtesy of Play-by-Play over the years, but that ship seems to have sailed.

[zzdawgg]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 11:38pm

I’ve been a PBP subscriber for several years. I recommend it, but I also likely make more use out of it than the average user. I’ve seen maybe 4-5 broadway shows this past year, a hand full of off broadway, and a bunch of sporting events. I use it multiple times every month, and like much of what I see. Though, I’m pretty picky with what I book.

[macnyc]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 3:58am

I think all the papering services are shadows of their former selves. I recently went to a show with a friend. I use three services and he uses three different ones, including Play by Play. Both of us were bemoaning the quality of the offerings on our services. I think more tickets are being distributed these days through the Actors Equity office and the like. That's my theory 

Updated On: 4/20/18 at 03:58 AM

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 11:33am

I have them both.

I prefer WCC actually.  But PBP often has options that WCC doesn’t.   But they have definitely BOTH gone down in quality in recent years  

 

WCC: # of shows seen per year: (generally only broadway and off broadway shows, with one or two sporting events thrown in...)

2018:  3

2017:  4

2016: 7

2015: 14

2014: 19

2013: 13

I will message you some more details about PBP offers

Updated On: 4/20/18 at 11:33 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/20/18 at 12:40pm

Thanks for the info, everybody! Based on what you all said, I think I'm going to stick with Will Call Club alone for now, and maybe give PBP a try sometime later if I have a bit more money to burn. 

[stee]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 9:40pm

I didn't renew my PBP membership during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but I'm curious if the Papering Services are starting to offer good or interesting shows now that the world is starting back up? The Broadway offerings were fewer and fewer over the years, but I also saw lots of random concerts stand up comedy and special events.  

Wondering if it's worth renewing my membership or looking into GoldClub or Will Call Club?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 9:51pm

^PMed you

[BroadwayBarb2]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 12:52pm

I signed up for Play by Play about a month ago and immediately got a ticket to see Pass Over, which was excellent.  Since then there has been nothing of interest at all.  A lot of comedy shows, magic acts and some music venues but nothing that has interested me at all.  I feel like it has been a waste of money so far.  I get more interesting listings from Club Free Time.  I actually came here to see if anyone recommends PbyP at all:)

[lily carver]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 1:26pm

My PBP was paused during Covid and I reactivated it 2 months ago. I have seen two shows so far and "missed" two I would have used but were sold out. The can't compare to the other service. I like a variety of events but mostly theater with some music or other. This past weekend I went to see an off Broadway show downtown which I enjoyed. Had I paid full price I would never have gone. Frankly if you are flexible and broad in your tastes  I think it is great, if you mainly want Broadway or big off Broadway not so much

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 1:34pm

Not to get into specifics but Gold Club has honestly just been a bunch of garbage. I need to make sure my membership doesn't automatically renew because it has definitely not been worth it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 2:21pm

The fact that pretty much none of the Broadway shows that have reopened so far have had to use these services is, I think, a good sign. I remember us all saying how every show would be papering most of the houses when they started up again and (at least for now), that doesn’t seem to be the case.

[Age_of_Mendacity]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 3:08pm

@Jordan -- I've been wondering if not having a public airing of attendance/grosses has just led some of these shows to not put them on the papering sites. Maybe the straight plays are doing really well at TDF for last minute seats, but if you look at tonight's availability for Chicken & Biscuits, Dana H, and Thoughts of a Colored Man, all of these would have been on a papering site last week before the pandemic. Like I said, maybe they are filling up weekday showings right before curtain, but there are a TON of seats available for all three of these shows right now.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 3:26pm

I agree GC hasn't been worth it. Does anyone have Theatre Extras? I remember they used to have very similar things but am considering swapping back.

[Collin Hong]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:16am

anyone know if Will Call Club is worth it?

i agree that theatermania gold is not worth it. there's basically a standing magic show, comedy show, yankees tickets, and whenever there's something good it gets sold out before you get a chance to get a ticket

[kwoc91]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 9:46am

Collin Hong said: "i agree that theatermania gold is not worth it. there's basically a standing magic show, comedy show, yankees tickets, and whenever there's something good it gets sold out before you get a chance to get a ticket"

I have really enjoyed my Gold Club membership since the reopening last year. The key is to sign up for email notifications when new shows/performances are added (and be ready to purchase them immediately). There was a lull earlier this year but I suspect things will ramp up as all the Spring shows start previews.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 10:44am

Collin Hong said: "anyone know if Will Call Club is worth it?"

It's worth it in the sense that it doesn't take many shows before your membership feels like it's paid off. I think things were more active around December. They're slower now but maybe things will pick up as more shows open.  

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 12:22pm

I joined Play-by-Play this year, thinking that there might be a bit of papering going on given the state of things, and really regret the expense. Very disappointing. I've used it once. It might be worth it if you check every morning and leap on things, but the few titles of interest are gone by the time I see them listed.

 

Not as bad as Gold Club, which is just shameless. Never once saw an event of any interest on there in the year I had it. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/14/22 at 12:46pm

WCC has had about a dozen good shows in the 2021-2022 season so far. Including titles at the Broadway nonprofits, a special theatrical event, and a few other plays on Broadway and at major nonprofits. Per usual, there's also been some off-off-Bway dreck that's just trying to fill seats. During Omicron and holiday weeks, a number of shows used it. I expect we'll see some more titles there come springtime.

Updated On: 3/14/22 at 12:46 PM

[Andre4]

Posted: 3/15/22 at 8:05am

Can anyone speak to the value of WCC Gold vs VIP? The latter promises exclusive events and text messaging alerts but is also 1.5 times the price of the former.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 3/15/22 at 9:51am

Andre4 said: "Can anyone speak to the value of WCC Gold vs VIP? The latter promises exclusive events and text messaging alerts but is also 1.5 times the price of the former."

It was only $25 for me because I was a renewing member when VIP became a pricing level. The only real difference is they text when a VIP offer comes up on the site. It's usually up there exclusively to VIPs for a period of time. If it doesn't sell out (which they usually don't) then the VIP band is removed and it's offered up to all members. I can't say it's particularly for it but I only paid $25 for the year so it also wasn't a major expense.

[BroadwayDude2]

Posted: 5/8/22 at 6:39pm

https://www.theaterextras.com and pbp are the best I've found. Clubfreetime has good stuff also, and it's really cheap. Theatermania gold has good stuff as well, but the website is cumbersome to check, and everything sells out very quickly.