Questions for Roxy, Dollypop and any other loooong time theater patrons - Page 3

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 12:29am

As an avid Broadway theater attendee since 1972 (first show was the original Broadway cast of PIPPIN at the Imperial Theatre - I was 7 years old), I can answer a few questions.  

 

I can easily say that the first HAMILTON-type craziness for me was when A CHORUS LINE popped up Off-Broadway in 1975.  Though other shows did create a big buzz, the only other show to match it's madness was THE PRODUCERS in 2001.  THE PRODUCERS is also responsible for creating the Premium Seats option when they discovered people were easily paying $1,400 per ticket during the show's peak.  They quickly figured charging $450 a ticket was affordable to most.  Seems it was hence how it's now become a standard ticket buying option.  The Rush Tickets option began when RENT arrived in 1996.  It allowed young people (or anyone) an affordable way to see the show if you put some effort (camping out overnight outside the theatre).  The revival of CHICAGO immediately followed suit.  RENT and CHICAGO allotted their front row Orchestra seats as their Rush Tickets.  

 

The other obvious difference was the etiquette and respect seeing a Broadway show brought.  People dressed up and treated the experience as a sophisticated form of entertainment.  No one brought food.  No drinks were allowed to your seats.  There were no sippy cups.  

 

There's my input.  

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 12:31am

"I've tried to expunge from my memory all things theatrical post 1971 or so."

That's either a bald face lie or you are the most inept person ever put on this planet. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 12:35am

Me when I finished scrolling through this hilarious thread:

 

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 1:23am

Thanks to Mr Roxy, AfterEight and all others who took the time to respond to OP questions! I also appreciate all your answers! 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 1:34am

Hogans, that's A8's rationalizing away the onset of dementia.  He makes up ALL the snark he posts about contemporary shows without seeing them.  Poor old cow.

[nicnyc]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 3:21am

Along with the others who have expressed similar feelings, I truly appreciate this - both the person who asked the questions and the people who took the time to respond and share their knowledge and experience.   I truly value the posters who have been willing over the years to share their opinions and memories of theatre history that I'll never have the chance to experience first hand. Several people on here have also done incredibly nice things (like one super kind poster letting me buy their Lazarus tix during a sold out run for face value when they could have easily calped them - or another poster who reached out to me when I had a theater-related problem due to illness -- and their kindness to a stranger still leaves me stunned).  

So thank you to all of you whom I have learned from and whose posts have often brightened my day. I can't comprehend what better use there could be for a message board such as this to share information and knowledge and passion for theatre.  And also to save me from going to China Doll... lol.

Updated On: 2/19/16 at 03:21 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 6:32am

Hellob,

 

I saw your additional questions, and I'll respond to some of them.

 

 

"B- Has there always been long running shows like today or is that a newer phenomenon after A Chorus Line opened? Before ACL, what was considered a long running show?"

 

There have always been long running shows for their eras. The long runs have become longer with the passage of the years --- just as the quality has plummeted. Before ACL, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof and Grease all held the long-run records. As for plays, the reverse has happened (as far as long runs are concerned, not quality). The three longest -running plays are  still Life With Father (1939), Tobacco Road (1933), and Abie's Irish Rose (1927).

"C- You mention the general complaints about current theater goers but did the "classier" attendees of yore not ever have similar traits (minus devices). There's always that stereotype of the woman with the big hat and huge fur."

 

I recall Walter Kerr's review of Step on a Crack (1962), in which he commented on a woman's bouffant hairdo, wondering how the person behind her could see the stage.

 

"D- do you ever see a time (non health related) that you will give up theater and be content with PBS?"

 

Health and /or finances could very well make that decision for me. As it is, both, in addition to inclination, have caused me to cut down on my theatregoing, though I still trudge doggedly to shows.

 

"Is the thrill still there?" 

 

No, but the bug still is. And that is one tenacious bug. It has to be, to endure the amount of wretched fare I sit through. I guess once bitten, forever smitten.

 

"Has there been any recent shows that have moved you and reinforced your love?"

 

Yes, wonderful revivals of plays of yore, eg. Gigi, The Fatal Weakness, Happy Birthday, Fashions for Men, and just last week, Women Without Men, have allowed me to experience the same feelings of joy and elation that I knew long ago. They make it all worthwhile. Updated On: 2/19/16 at 06:32 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 7:42am

A poster above put " $450 a ticket affordable to most"

 

I seriously doubt most of the theater going public thinks that is reasonable price for a ticket. If so, one would need to be quite rich to see most shows on Broadway during a season and some multiple times.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 8:21am

I remember hearing from older friends who were there about the lines wrapping around an entire city block and meeting back at the theatre box office at the other end for "South Pacific" when it first opened. "Hamilton" is by no means the first or biggest "fervor" of its kind. It's just the latest and the one you can see with your own eyes.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 9:27am

 Hellob said: "I'm Puerto Rican, I don't cry, I make others cry."

 

From one Puerto Rican to another: I know that's right! 

 

 

 

Updated On: 2/19/16 at 09:27 AM

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 9:29am

Roxy can't even keep his own celebratory thread from becoming another Hamilton bitch session.

[Petralicious]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 9:35am

Thanks Hellob, This is probably the best and most enjoyable thread ever!   

MrRoxy, AfterEight and others who shared their wizdom thank you!

 

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:25am

Mr Roxy said: "A poster above put " $450 a ticket affordable to most"

 

I seriously doubt most of the theater going public thinks that is reasonable price for a ticket. If so, one would need to be quite rich to see most shows on Broadway during a season and some multiple times."

 

When it cost less money for round-trip airfare to NYC from anywhere in the continental USA than it does for a single premium seat for a Broadway show, it's no longer affordable for the average theatre-going public. We've come a long way from $6.60 and $8.80 as the top prices.

[Hellob]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:27am

best12bars said: "Mr Roxy said: "A poster above put " $450 a ticket affordable to most"

 

 

 

I seriously doubt most of the theater going public thinks that is reasonable price for a ticket. If so, one would need to be quite rich to see most shows on Broadway during a season and some multiple times."

 

 

 

When it cost less money for round-trip airfare to NYC from anywhere in the continental USA than it does for a single premium seat for a Broadway show, it's no longer affordable for the average theatre-going public. We've come a long way from $6.60 and $8.80 as the top prices.

 

"

What decade was that the top price? I'd like to put it in the inflation calculator for a better idea of the cost in today's dollars. Tyvm! 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:28am

I love knowing that the tkts booth was there when the top price for an orchestra ticket was $15.  

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:29am

I was just quoting Brody Fosse 123 when I made my post

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:31am

$6.60 and $8.80 were the top prices in the late 1950s. I'm not sure how that translates in inflation dollars. I can tell you that when I saw the OBC of "Cats," I paid the then-unheard-of top price for any show on Broadway of $40. That was 1982.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:43am

If anyone told the average theatergoer  - 5 years ago - re Hamilton re line sitters, waiting in below freezing weather for tickets or the average price and inflated prices for tickets, they would have measured you for a straightjacket. Theater is now unaffordable to the average theatergoer. It is now more of a special event (Birthday anniversary etc) for many who used to go quite regularly.  I hate to see the ticket price landscape 5 years from now. Much like any sporting event, it used to be about the sport . Now it is all about the money.

 

Many friends I know, some theatergoers & some not, who saw Hamilton on the Grammys did not get what all the fuss was about. It is no longer about the production. It is about bragging rights to seeing the hottest show on Broadway now and in the future. If this does it for people great . Unfortunately, the trickle down effect hits Broadway as a whole. The Producers brought us premium seating. . I have no idea what Hamilton will do. Re Best 12,if you paid $ 40 in 1982 it would mean ticket prices for normal shows have gone up about 200 to 300%. I doubt the inflation rate comes near that. This is also a luxury and not a necessity or a right.

 

 

Updated On: 2/19/16 at 10:43 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 10:56am

Here's the section I wrote in its full context.  I was stating that producers obviously know there IS a market and audience who CAN afford $450 Premium Seats which is why they exist.  I didn't say the average person can afford that but that there are those that can and producers know this.  Also, the $1,400 tickets were being sold by scalpers and successfully.  THE PRODUCERS' producers thought quickly and gave birth to the now-existing Premium Seats every show now offers.  

 

THE PRODUCERS is also responsible for creating the Premium Seats option when they discovered people were easily paying $1,400 per ticket during the show's peak.  They quickly figured charging $450 a ticket was affordable to most.  Seems it was hence how it's now become a standard ticket buying option.

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 11:03am

I would like to defend this thread! Best read on this board in a long time! Thanks!

Great point made about hysteria now being driven by having bragging rights that you've seen a show! It seems like right when everyone thought theatre might die due to the Internet the opposite happened. People want to be at the live events now and Instagram, snapchat, tweet, and FACEBOOK about it so that their friends can be jealous about it. It's the YOLO / FOMO effect. While album sales slump and pirating is at N all time high... Concert tickets and live events are raking in higher revenue streams than ever. 

Great thread! Keep the histories coming! :)

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 11:04am

"It is about bragging rights"

It's not about f****ing bragging rights. A lot of people have waited a long time for a musical that is actually this good. I saw it the first time (as did many here) for peanuts when no one knew what it was. And as many others have said, the hype is no hype. You don't like it (or, to be more accurate, you don't think you would like it). Great. It happens. But do not dare tell me or others here that we are cattle; that's just ignorant. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 11:21am

I am not telling you anything. By the same token, I do not want to be attacked for not seeing it. I am sorry no show is worth this hype. I saw BOM and that was hyped  . Hated it with a passion. It is all about personal tastes. If you love it great. Just do not say I know nothing about theater because I did not see this show. We are not paying a kings ransom to see this one show. If people want to sell their first born to see it fine. I see what happens here when someone comes on the board and says they did not like it. They are in the minority but when they state this they are treated like typhoid Mary and ostracized.

 

I never said you were cattle. You really need to take a chill pill and dial it down a little. Your holier than thou attitude is wearing thin. You do know a lot but your delivery of those facts is like a great doctor with a rotten bedside manner . Come down off your pedestal and  do not be condescending to people.

[Hellob]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 11:53am

best12bars said: "$6.60 and $8.80 were the top prices in the late 1950s. I'm not sure how that translates in inflation dollars. I can tell you that when I saw the OBC of "Cats," I paid the then-unheard-of top price for any show on Broadway of $40. That was 1982.

 

"

$8.80 in 1958 is $72.14 today and $40 in 1982 is    

$103.11 so it seems relatively expensive and still a luxury. The 1982 rate would probably pay for a discounted orchestra seat today but the 1958 would most likely put you upstairs. Thanks for the information since it helps to put things in perspective. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 11:56am

It's not that you haven't seen it, it's that you haven't seen and still have an opinion of it.  You also speak down to every person that DOES like it.  People camped out during many big hits, Rent, Producers, Mormon, Spring Awakeing.... etc.  There are plenty of shows that have been popular that I had no interest in or didn't care for....doesn't mean I don't understand that there are people that did.  I also don't find the need to constantly trash those shows or remind everyone else that I'm above it.  I've seen plenty of people discuss why they didn't love it....and while many comments sparked discussion, your comments on their treatment is far overblown.  (But of course, you will likely take this comment as an attack, instead of a discussion.)

I haven't paid these ridiculous prices (neither premium or scalper) and have managed to get 3 sets of tickets. It has nothing to do with bragging.  I LIKE it. A lot.  

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 2/19/16 at 12:01pm

Regarding ticket prices, $40 for a ticket to CATS in 1982 was definitely an exorbitant outlier in the ticket pricing norms of the time. I know my center orchestra seat to a Saturday matinee of A CHORUS LINE in 1975 was $15. If you want to calculate the inflation since then, I think that would be a more legitimate mean starting point.

 

The insanity surrounding getting a seat to HAMILTON will tell you exactly what it was like trying to score a seat to ACL back in '75, with the one major difference of the outrageous costs of dreaded premium seats you have today. But the endless lines for any cancellation tix at each performance, the strategies for when to snag a place on line, the gamble of dealing with a 3rd party broker, all the bragging rights once you actually saw the show-- yeah, the whole experience in 1975 was pretty much a match for today.