Premium Seating?

Does anyone know the reason almost every show has all their good seats at $200 Premium Seating? Just went to see how tickets for Rent looked and only left and right Orch. are available at regular price.

Any reason why telecharge and ticketmaster is turning into a bunch of ticket scalpers?

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=880933

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Their is NOTHING wrong with this IMHO.

People that hate it are local new yorkers who are used to taking the subway up there, doing a lottery or going mid week to get a cheap ticket.

These are people who can afford to go a few times up there randomy and try to get into a show.

For those of us who live far away who have to spend at least $400 anyway to go for a day or two to NYC. ITs great. Migth suck, but hell if i am flying from ohio ... i'll be damned if i am having a bad seat.

That way people like me and others can get good seats, even if its just one and dont have to pay those bloody scalpers

Exactly. All these pre-sales and premium tickets that eat up all the good seats are clearly aimed at the wealthy. It's unfair to those who can afford to go to the theatre, but have to suufer a mezzanine seat because they decided that $100 is too little when they can charge $300 for orchestra seats to wealthy people. But Why stop there? Let's just limit tickets to Amex cardholders only. I mean, where does it end?

That's BS. Why should we be stuck with crappy seats because you don't live here? It's not our fault you don't live here. New York is first and foremost FOR New Yorkers.

I live in New York, and work an average full time office job. My salary would not allow me to purchase premium seating unless I planned way in advance. I do think the prices are a bit steep, but there are ways to find cheaper tickets all the time by doing a various amount of things. Any time you place an order on Ticketmaster or Telecharge, you are asked if you would like to recieve discounts via e-mail. I always said yes, and recieve discount codes daily (just got 40% off orchestra seating to Woman In White). Also, if you search Google for discount theatre codes, you can easily find them and have a list of them e-mailed to you. New Yorkers have the advantage of lottos and TKTS. I often find great seats through TKTS and spend half the price. If you want to be guaranteed tickets, either buy premium seating (which I have also done when I wanted badly to see a "sold out" show), or do some research before hand.

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Wow, someone sounds like they're channeling Hitler here... and no, I'm not talking about The Producers...

If NY was only for New Yorkers as you claim, then maybe you should tell all of the tourists and the $$$ they bring in to leave and never come back. I seem to recall how much NY was struggling after certain periods of time when the tourists were afraid to visit. Sounds like a great plan.

No one should get stuck with crappy seats, no one should have to shell out big bucks to see a show they want. But Broadway is a business, and it's all about the cash nowadays. People keep buying the premium tickets, so nothing will change.

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Fine, New York makes sh*tloads of money from the tourist industry. That doesn't need people from out of town should whine about New Yorkers getting all the good seats. If you really want to see a show THAT BAD, make an effort instead of complaining about how you're at a disadvantage.

And you're not at that great of a disadvantage if you live out of town. Tickets to all Broadway shows are available online and through 800-numbers, so I don't know why you're blaming the other people for "gobbling up" all the good seats, when you have the same access to these tickets as they do.

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"And you're not at that great of a disadvantage if you live out of town"

-- actually you are. You are more limited on the days you can go being out of town. Also for many planning weeks ahead is not always easy basd on a heavy work schedule.

And when i was saying disadvantaged, i meant in comparison to getting discoutn tickets. You cant simply pay all the money to fly in and HOPE to get rush tickets.

Take something like wicked, i wanted to take my sis to that for her graduation present. If it wasnt for premium tickets i'd have had to have bought them MONTHs in advanced to hve gotten her good orchestra tickets.

As everyone said, its a business.

If all the tickets were like taht i could see the whining, they arent. And even then their are still lots of good seats available at normal price as well. When i went in november all of my seats were within the first few rows and i paid normal price.

I understand the whole argument made about paying $300 for a rolling stones tickets, and how a broadway show is a good deal but then the premuim seating makes broadway for the rich. Before when good tickets were cheaper to come by it would allow everyone an equal opportunity to particpate and see the arts first hand. Now the only way to get close to the stage, if you don't have a billion dollar ticket, is to wonder down to it during intermission.
The reason I hate premium seat prices is because I'm a college student who cannot spend $300 to see Wicked or Spamalot. Now is that what we want broadway to become. A place where the rich can sit and see the white's of the performers eyes and where the poor can get nose bleeds. Also I understand the lottery argument as well, but I've done only two lotteries on broadway and lost.
I don't mean to sound angry or to go to extreme's but I LOVE BROADWAY, I LOVE THE THEATRE and to not be able to see, or to see it though only binocular's from peanut heaven? This is not what broadway is about. Broadway should be a place where true theatre lovers can come and see a show and not have to sell a kidney.
Also on a final note NY Tourist do deserve good seats just like everyone else. I know there is telecharge and ticketmaster, but sometime's people coming to NYC for the first time do not always have the chance, nor to they now about it, to log on. So go easy on them, they care for the theatre just as much as we do.

Updated On: 1/18/06 at 05:39 PM

The only difference is New Yorkers have the option of going to the box office to avoid the surcharges. Other than that, I don't see how New Yorkers have any added advantage at getting good seats.

What New Yorkers have, that tourists do not, is the advantage of flexibility. If they want to see a show, but don't manage to win the lottery or get rush seats on a particular day, or the show isn't at TKTS, or whatever, there's always another day. If a tourist is coming to NYC to see a specific show (particularly a "hot" show with a hefty advance and a scarcity of tickets), and is spending a good deal of money to do it, it's highly unlikely he or she would be willing to take those kind of chances. So far I've never shelled out the money for premium seats, but I can certainly understand why others do - and would probably make the sacrifice and do it myself if I wanted to see a particular show badly enough. If I'm traveling from Florida to NYC for a show, I want to have tickets in hand before I make the trip - and I want them to be at least reasonably good seats. Maybe I'll take my chances on TKTS, or SRO, or cancellation lines, to catch other shows while I'm there, but for the "special" one...the one I'm making the trip for...I'll do what I have to do, and to the extent it's possible, I'll pay what I have to pay.

And for those who think me a "fool" for doing it...I daresay I'd find some ways you spend your money "foolish", too.

At least we're all getting seats, right? Would you rather take theater back to the Elizabethan days and have the poor stand in the orchestra and the rich sit around the theater?

Although, in that case, the poor were closer to the stage...

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"What New Yorkers have, that tourists do not, is the advantage of flexibility."

That's not our problem. We live here. We have more of a right to not be gouged by greedy producers by having the ability to pick and choose. Perhaps if producers would cater more to New Yorkers than to ill-mannered tourists than perhaps we'd have quality shows on Broadway instead of crap like Mamma Mia and ANY of the Disney shows. It's not our fault that you don't live here.