Reduced price previews

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 11:40am

Remember when there was such a thing? I was talking to my sister about Saturday night's performance of Hello Dolly! and mentioned that it really wasn't a polished performance. There were several rough spots. She commented that we shouldn't have paid full price for our tickets. She also said she had once belonged to the Stub Preview Club where she got discounted seats for preview performances. Somehow I think we should bring this back. 

As exciting as Saturday's performance was it was really a dress rehearsal but we paid Broadway prices to see it.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 12:07pm

For most shows, there are discounts for previews (and often well beyond). If there are not, then it means the demand is high and people want to see the preview, warts and all. You see, entertainment is never priced based on product, just on demand. We also don't have different prices for a show with 12 actors than a show with 10. It was no secret that folks were seeing an early preview. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 12:14pm

Yes, I understand that. However, I found out that there had been no dress rehearsal. What we saw was an Invited Dress, only we paid.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 12:15pm

And yet, some previews ARE polished and near perfect.   The producers have no way of knowing which way it will land when tickets are placed on sale.

 

That being said, I agree with the thought that the preview performances should be reduced.   And I disagree....most theater goers don't really understand what the previews are.  Just like they don't "get" the difference between a pilot and the actual series.   

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 1:21pm

In years gone by, there was at least a 20% discount on preview prices.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 1:28pm

Dollypop said: "Remember when there was such a thing? I was talking to my sister about Saturday night's performance of Hello Dolly! and mentioned that it really wasn't a polished performance. There were several rough spots. She commented that we shouldn't have paid full price for our tickets. She also said she had once belonged to the Stub Preview Club where she got discounted seats for preview performances. Somehow I think we should bring this back.

As exciting as Saturday's performance was it was really a dress rehearsal but we paid Broadway prices to see it."

There are plenty of discounts available for DOLLY now.  It's on Broadway Week 2 for 1, it's on Today Tix for as low as $39.  If you don't know to look for them and seek them out, then that's on you --- not the show.  Almost every new show has some sort of discount available during previews --- you just need to LOOK for them.  You obviously wanted to be at the first Bernadette preview --- so I don't understand why you were expecting a polished, letter perfect performance??

 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 1:52pm

@Dramamama I agree that there are a lot of people in general who don't realize they are seeing a preview (notwithstanding enhanced transparency) but I was directly addressing the OP's situation in which they clearly did know. Given the opportunity, there are lots of people who would pay even more to see an invited dress of a notable show. Also, as noted, if one wants to see BP as DL for a discount, that 20% actually sounds kinda skimpy. This is a classic case of having your (gluten free) cake and eating it too.

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 2:13pm

The only difference is they are not reducing the prices across the board, but there have been ample 40% off discounts for Bernadette's run for quite a while now.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 4:43pm

Dollypop said: "In years gone by, there was at least a 20% discount on preview prices."

In years gone by, you could buy a cup of coffee for 15 cents and a car for $1,800. Things change.

Updated On: 1/22/18 at 04:43 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 4:46pm

The 15 cent coffee tasted better than what we get at Starbucks.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 4:48pm

Dollypop said: "The 15 cent coffee tasted better than what we get at Starbucks."

No one has a gun to your head to go to Starbucks. Seriously, in the other thread you called it "An exceptional evening". You got what you paid for. 

[michaelhale]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 6:47pm

Isn't Dollypop referring to like how tickets are sometimes like a tier lower or like $10 less (or something?) during previews, not like coupon codes to be used during previews, like duh those exist and are out there. OOTI, the only show I looked at getting tickets for recently during previews, and it had a lower price range during previews.

I think it shouod be like that for if no other reason then: what's the point of calling it a preview? Seems skeevy to me to sell an unfinished product at a regular price. There was a thread on this not too long ago, tho, that had a lot of good points on every side and ultimately: of people are paying then they'll set these prices like this, and use discount codes if people aren't paying.

[michaelhale]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 6:53pm

Dollypop said: "Yes, I understand that. However, I found out that there had been no dress rehearsal. What we saw was an Invited Dress, only we paid."

I think this is a reasonable complaint. Even if you did enjoy the night I can imagine feelin a little taken advantage of with this. You got to see her first real, full run in the role, though, which is kind of cool in its own right!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 7:14pm

Oh, there's no doubt that I enjoyed the show. It's just that I was looking back at the way things used to be done and what we have now. Really, what we saw was a dress rehearsal on Saturday night.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 7:17pm

michaelhale said: "what's the point of calling it a preview? Seems skeevy to me to sell an unfinished product at a regular price."

The point of calling it a preview has zero to do with pricing and everything to do with when reviews come out. Some shows arrive in very finished form. Should they not have previews? 

The subtext to all these comments is that people who are not putting up shows somehow inexplicably think they get a say in how a show is produced and marketed and priced. That is not how it works. And what exactly is "skeevy" about selling tickets at the "regular" price during previews if the market will support that. Oh and in the 2018 context, what is "regular." Tickets, in case you've been under a rock, are dynamically priced. If a show can sell tickets at the "regular" price prior to opening, presumably they hope to sell them for more post-opening if the reviews are good. So there's your discount. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/22/18 at 9:28pm

michaelhale said: "Isn't Dollypop referring to like how tickets are sometimes like a tier lower or like $10 less (or something?) during previews, not like coupon codes to be used during previews, like duh those exist and are out there."

So, if they reduced the price to a lower "preview" price, and reduced the percentage of discount you could also get with the codes, then you'd feel like you were getting a better deal?

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 12:00am

Dollypop wrote: "As exciting as Saturday's performance was it was really a dress rehearsal but we paid Broadway prices to see it."

 

Well, isn't that a nice how do you do.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 12:36am

Dollypop said: "Oh, there's no doubt that I enjoyed the show. It's just that I was looking back at the way things used to be done and what we have now. Really, what we saw was a dress rehearsal on Saturday night."

On what basis was it a dress rehearsal? Was the board in house? Were there cables in the floor and draped over the railing? 

Do you think every time someone is put in you should get a discount?

Do you think every time someone flubs a line they should walk around at intermission and hand out money?

You saw a performance.

The self-entitled ego-centrism on this board takes the cut glass flyswatter.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 12:58am

Dollypop said: "Oh, there's no doubt that I enjoyed the show. It's just that I was looking back at the way things used to be done and what we have now. Really, what we saw was a dress rehearsal on Saturday night."

Almost every show that runs for any length of time at some point sees the original leads depart and new leads join the cast. No show I've ever heard of considers those first few performances when the new leads settle in to be previews and they certainly don't discount for them. DEH didn't do it when Ben Platt left, Hamilton didn't do it when Lin left etc. etc. Some people hold off seeing a new cast, giving them time to settle in to the new roles because the first few performances might be a little rocky. Others like yourself wanted to be there for Bernadette's first night. While they may technically consider late February to be Bernadette's "official opening" out of deference to her stature, performances 9 months after a show opened with new leads but more than half of the original cast including a Tony winner who've been doing the show since last March are not really previews let alone dress rehearsals. Victor Garber missing a cue or fumbling over a few lines does not make it a dress rehearsal. This whole thread is kind of silly.

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 1:12am

Uncle Charlie, "This whole thread is kind of silly."

Then why are you participating in it?

 

 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 1:19am

After Eight said: "Uncle Charlie, "This whole thread is kind of silly."

Then why are you participating in it?


Because you're here and that guarantees while it may be silly, it could also quickly become very entertaining.
 

 

[After Eight]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 1:48am

^

Wow! I hope then that I can deliver the goods. And if I can't, well, that's even better!

My own feeling is that someone who did not attend a performance in question ---or even someone who did --- should not be lecturing others who did about their feelings regarding the performance and the money they spent on it.

The quality level that one has the right to expect of a new cast's first performance strikes me as a perfectly valid subject for consideration.

 

 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 1/23/18 at 2:14am

^

And my own feeling is that it's kind of silly for someone who raved about the performance after seeing it, calling it "an exceptional evening" to start a thread 2 days later griping about how the show was dress rehearsal quality (not even full preview quality, mind you) and he felt he overpaid. I'm more than happy to respect someone's feelings about a performance if they can decide what they are.

And I don't disagree with you that the quality level of a new cast's first performance is a perfectly valid subject for consideration. If the focus of the discussion was on that rather than the lack of discounting, I'd have no issue with it.

But you did deliver the goods. You always do!