RAGTIME to Close on Sunday January 3, 2010- Page 7

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:20pm

I don't believe they refund the service charges, because they did provide the service. I've never had to get a refund from Ticketmaster, though, so I could be wrong.

If you complain and ask to speak to a supervisor, they will refund those charges (as they should).

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:27pm

I had no problem getting the services charges back when Hairspray changed the date of their closing. In fact, I don't even think I had to place a call about it.

adamgreer, you mention the arrogance of the producers, well that arrogance was ever so apparent on opening night with some of their staff in front of the theatre (the ones handing out tickets).

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:34pm

Dottie, what do you mean? I'm a little unclear about what happened on opening night.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:41pm

There were people from the production and PR office who were handing out tickets to those invited guests. I had been trying for about a month to get a ticket to the opening and unfortunately there were none for sale.

About two hours before the performance I saw them outside the theatre and politely asked if there would be any extras. The rudeness and arrogance I experienced was uncalled for. A simple, "I'm sorry we probably won't" would have been sufficient. Believe it or not, the vultures in front of the theatre were getting tickets left and right and I was left standing there with a "WTF" look on my face!!

Updated On: 12/29/09 at 07:41 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:42pm

Refunds WILL happen without the buyer having to officially do anything. However, a call from you will expedite things. MOST of the time, service charges are NOT automatically refunded, so indeed, talk to a supervisor to make sure they are.

HOWEVER, if the producers haven't OFFICIALLY notified Telecharge yet, they won't refund anything. I'm going to guess the earliest that would have happened would be today.

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:46pm

They refund the $1.50 facility fee and the $7.25 convenience fee without asking. They do not refund the $3.20 order processing fee, because that's their fee for selling the ticket, a service they did provide, regardless of whether the show goes on or not.

It's clearly stated in their refund policy. And happened for me today.

Updated On: 12/29/09 at 07:46 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:48pm

I think Ticketmaster has been notified as there are no more performances listed after January 3rd.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 7:54pm

This is to bad. I wanted to see this in mid-January, oh well. I wish the cast and crew the best.

[raulmark]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 8:00pm

Ironically, I received an e-mail from Ticketmaster today informing me that my ticket for Ragtime for January 26th have been printed and will ship shortly. lol
.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 8:59pm

Nooooooo! There is no justice in the world! I wish we could go back to before, when a good show could survive, instead of being buried in the ground. But till we reach that day when an amazing show like this rides on the wheels of success, this will be one of many crimes of the century.
Sorry, I had to. Seriously, though, I really hope I can see it tomorrow (by lotto, post-lotto rush, or SRO), as it would be my only chance to see this production. RIP

[minicko88]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 1:20am

I just wanted to express my rage... I can't believe a show with such beauty and grace must bite the dust, but fluff such as Wicked and Mamma Mia remain at the top of the box office. This show is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It moves people! This show deserves a place on Broadway, but we as Americans decide to keep other shows that are nowhere near as elegant and graceful as this show on Broadway. What is this world coming to? I wish we could fight this somehow, but the tourists want to see crap nowadays and not beautiful and moving productions. So you get what you want America. THE END OF BROADWAY IS COMING!

Ragtime... you will be sadly missed by those who truly love theater. This is the best musical I have ever seen, and I wish the cast the best of luck in finding new work. However, a tour would not be a bad thing! haha

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 1:44am

"THE END OF BROADWAY IS COMING!"

Though I loved "Ragtime", you're clearly being ridiculous. The end of Broadway? It'll end when "Wicked" stops making more than $500,000 per week.

I'd say they are far from the end.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 1:47am

What will the End of Broadway look like? Will there be a rapture? A fiery steed? A separation of the sheep and the goats?

[Sondheim_Geek]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 2:20am

I just had a dream that Christiane Noll was the Diana replacement when Alice Ripley leaves Next to Normal. First I laughed, now I'm actually thinking about it.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 7:30am

I actually see the point minicko88 is trying to make (though I don't think it's the end of Broadway by any means). I commented on the Ragtime Facebook page that it's imminent closing has made me lose a bit of faith in Broadway. How such a beautifully written and performed show can close in a short period of time is beyond me. I realize that Broadway nowadays has to appeal to many people, and sometimes people choose what's familiar as opposed to wanting to see something different. I'm sure every producer opens their shows hoping that it will be a megahit, but unfortunately there is no clear cut formula.

That being said, in all my 30 years of seeing Broadway shows, never have I see a production so many times (15) as I have with Ragtime, in a relatively short period of time. Hairspray holds my record for most views (25), but that includes the Broadway, touring companies and regional productions spread over a period of 6 years.

Updated On: 12/30/09 at 07:30 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 7:49am

What is the WORLD coming to? Really? And you are OUTRAGED? Be outraged about the denial of gay rights. Be outraged over child abuse. Be outraged over starving people in ANY country. But outraged over a Bway show closing? It happens.

Don't get me wrong, I saw Ragtime twice because I thought it was a stunning piece of art. Yes, it's a shame that it couldn't find an audience. Where does the fault lie? Hard to tell. Did they market it the right way? Was it bad timing with the economy? SHOULD they have waited until the spring? Who knows. We can speculate, but without access to alternative universes (universi?) we will never really now. Instead of bashing theater goers for liking drek (and I agree that some long running shows are just that) be grateful that there are enough people GOING to see b'way shows to sustain THOSE jobs. Some of them will venture out and see other types of shows. Who thought that the complex and beautiful Next to Normal would last this long? THAT had an uphill climb and IT found an audience.

Cursing America for getting what it "asked for" is silly. THEY are perfectly happy about it. Just like there are all sorts of movies, so should there be all sorts of B'way that appeal to ALL sorts of theater goers. NOT just high art or meaningful productions. In hard economic timmes, people want to laugh and tap their toes and smile.

Is it a shame? Yup. But I doubt that many of the actors are as "outraged" as are you. They knew it was coming, they saw the size of the house each night.

(BTW...someone said that Christiane tweeted something like: last night they (finally) sold out and were turning people away...where were all those people BEFORE the announced closing?)

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 9:16am

(BTW...someone said that Christiane tweeted something like: last night they (finally) sold out and were turning people away...where were all those people BEFORE the announced closing?)

"Sold out tonight -- turning people away!! Where were all these people BEFORE we said we were closing! Thrilled to go out on a high though!"



The night prior to that she also said how they were "evicted."

Updated On: 12/30/09 at 09:16 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 9:45am

Gee, my paraphrasing was pretty darn close eh?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 10:01am

It's silly to think this is the "end of Broadway" or something, but this is one of those instances that definitely makes you disappointed, and want to lose a little bit of faith. There are a lot of those, unfortunately. I doubt any of us will actually give up, even for all of the "ugh I want to quit the theater" moments. But this is upsetting, largely because it perpetuates the points that I think a lot of us often want to ignore, particularly the growing level of truth to the fact that you aren't very likely to succeed if you don't have a star (the "classics" a la South Pacific perhaps exempt). But what makes me sad with particular reference to Ragtime is that, as people were talking about earlier, there's this stigma against Ragtime as a heavy-handed, prepackaged history lesson. And the fact that the show has now failed TWICE is just going to perpetuate that stigma. I think there's a strong possibility that it will never be done on Broadway again, and that's a shame. But who's going to want to take a chance on it anymore? That's heartbreaking.

[tking001]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 11:13am

I'm going to the Final performance.
I'm so happy that I am going to get to see this what looks to be an amazing show.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 12:04pm

"^ So do you take back writing that Ragtime was evicted?"

Not yet. :o) I haven't verified they weren't. The producers may have expected to close, but they may have been trying to hang on a little longer and were told "no, get out." Especially considering they released a new discount for the month of January (which, if they knew that they were closing Jan. 3, could be fraudulant under state and possibly Federal law).

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 12:17pm

I'm seeing the matinee today, which is the only time I will be able to see it. I'm working during every other show. It was the second broadway show I ever saw, and still my absolute favorite. I'm just glad I have a last minute chance to see it. I was actually supposed to be out of the area through the end of January, but my plans changed. I'm so glad they did. I couldn't have missed the production, after my own personal feelings about it, the reviews, and the love letters from you guys about the show.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 12:18pm

Theater owners are allowed to evict a show after a certain number of consecutive weeks below a certain level. All this is agreed upon in advance. (The exception, of course, is if the theater has already been booked for a future tenant and the show knows they will have to close or move before that time.)

The show could very well have been "evicted," but the producers had to know it was coming looking at their own grosses.

I'm just speculating here, but it's probably a combination of the producers closing to not lose more money and the theater kicking them out.

Either way, it is closing because it is not making money.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 12:42pm

I think the production's main problem was its' marketing team. Those TV commercials were crap and didn't tell you anything about the show. If I was a non-theatre goer and saw those commercials, I would think..."Man, what a boring show that must be!" The ads made it look like a show about history, presidents, war, etc...just bad.

Nothing about the ads was uplifting and inviting and I think this show has a lot to offer in that department.

Once again...it's just sad that a beautiful show/production such as this one won't get to go on to live a longer life. I wish I had a chance to see it again.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 12/30/09 at 12:58pm

Evicted sounds like a landlord evicting a tenant for not paying the rent, and it's not like that. These people meet regularly to review and discuss the grosses and monitor advance sales. When RAGTIME failed to meet the $675K target last week, THAT was when the decision was made. It is unfortunate that such a fine production is closing after so short a run, but if they could not meet a moderate target in what should have been a strong week on Broadway, how well could they be expected to do when the January snowstorms hit?

RAGTIME will not "fade away forever." Since the original production closed it has been done regularly in regional and community theaters and will continue to do so. You may recall that New York City Opera was considering the show a few seasons back and we may well see that happen.

I am SO glad I got in to see this when I was in New York in November.

I am also glad that MY prediction came true: Coolkid/tking001 will be finally seeing the show at the final performance. I hope you enjoy it. But ... why do you always wait to see shows after the proverbial barn door is (almost) closed?