Riedel on Hamilton $995 premium tickets — Page 2

I think we are at a point where buying Hamilton tickets is a better investment than real estate or the stock market.

Wow. I just booked a 5 day trip for 2 to Las Vegas including 2 Cirque shows. The entire price of the trip including room, shows, and airfare is cheaper then it would be for the two of us to go see Hamilton at this rumored premium ticket price change.

Hamilton is great and all, but when you could go on a 5 day vacation for LESS then the price of going to see a 2 and a half hour show... that's just madness on a whole new level.

I understand this is the way things are today but I long for the days when the average person could get a front row seat for normal orchestra price. The problem with these things is that there will always be somebody out there willing to pay this type of price to see the "hit" show. I am so glad I got to see Hamilton last September for $89. Granted I was not in the orchestra but still had a wonderful time.

There are plenty of sporting events that charge this much. Obviously there are still cheaper options to get into those events but even a theatres "nose bleed" seats are still rather closer. Eventually the prices will even out a bit over time. The show hasn't even been on Broadway for a year. Like it's been said numerous times if you are on ticketmaster when the next block of tickets you can get face value tickets. I bought my tickets for July back in September.

So...if premium tickets are $995, what is their plan for regular? Surely they wouldn't keep regular tickets priced at $140-190, they're gonna have to boost that price up a few hundred as well. My guess would be anywhere from $600-$800(I apologize if these numbers are inaccurate, I'm just basing them off of other shows). I see their goal, and at the end of they day that's how businesses work, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact it seems dreadfully...egotistical? They'd now be targeting an audience strictly made up of richer-than-average people who have no problem dropping that much money per ticket, and are showing no signs of hope for your everyday theatre enthusiasts who would absolutely love to see the show but aren't able to. No more everyday families or eager and passionate theatre students, no more people who enjoy see the same show multiple times. I actually think this "holier than thou" attitude might hurt their show in the long run. People, including celebrities, will leave their show thinking it was great, but are those same people going to drop another $1,000 per to come back and see the same show again? No, doubtfully. If they did I would think them most unwise seeing as they'd be able to fit in two other shows for less than the price of one Hamilton ticket. It just seems like a surefire way of LOSING traffic over time.



Sure, right now the future of Hamilton looks promising, but who's to say it will stand the test of time like other big name shows? Wicked, Phantom, Les Mis, etc. Although I'm not sure how things worked back when those shows were starting to gain popularity, I think I'm safe in saying they never thought of pulling a move like this. Especially after the original cast leaves, depending on replacements, the hype could drastically die down. To be honest, as much I would have loved to see the show, I'm kinda already put off by the thought that they're even considering this. Yeah, I get that there will always be people who will pay that price...but there will also always be other great shows, now and in the future. Hamilton is not the end. As long as no one else decides to spike up their prices, we're good.

devonian.t said: "But such behaviour encourages general inflation of prices- as if being $700 less than Hamilton makes a $200 ticket a bargain!



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No, it doesn't. That's not how it works.

devonian.t said: "The question is: is this healthy in the long run for Broadway and theatre in general, when it struggles to avoid charges of elitism and finds difficulty in widening its demographic? With shows pricing themselves out of the market, this risks even more shows flopping."



Few shows are going to be burdened with this dilemma. Aside from Hamilton, you could buy a discounted ticket to see almost every other show on Broadway right now, so I'm not sure how the exception will start setting the rules.

I think psychologically speaking, it's easier for the buyer to overpay scalpers than the box office. It would cause resentment among buyers. The SH/TM seller is an invisible annoyance but knowing the producers would do that to me is way more irritating.

BroadwayConcierge said: "sueb1863 said: "People are going to start rooting against it just because it seems to be getting very full of itself."

I'm a bit resentful of this statement. I don't think I agree that the producers of a wildly, unprecedentedly successful Broadway show are being "full of themselves" by capitalizing on its incredibly high demand. A show that's "full of itself" would be charging obscene prices for tickets that nobody's purchasing anyway. Hamilton is just taking advantage of everything it's getting—what's so wrong with that?



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Guess you could use the same argument on fracking and other stuff that will drain the earth eventually. The problem is it deters the next generation from going to theater excepting rich, perhaps spoiled, kids. In a long run Hamilton will not be as "revolutionary" as it claims to be.

BroadwayConcierge said: "...Is Broadway a natural resource?



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lmao so true. I don't know why ppl are mad at them raising prices for premium tickets. Do people here buy premium tickets anyway? there's obviously an audience who are willing to buy those tickets so idk. I doubt they will be raised to 1000 dollars though and I think the regular ticket prices will stay the same but the show is sold out.

Updated On: 4/24/16 at 01:35 PM

NJ_BroadwayGirl said: "Broadway Forever2 said " I don't know why ppl are mad at them raising prices for premium tickets. Do people here buy premium tickets anyway? there's obviously an audience who are willing to buy those tickets so idk. I doubt they will be raised to 1000 dollars though and I think the regular ticket prices will stay the same but the show is sold out. "


I don't mind them having or raising premium ticket prices. But I do think it's pushing it with how far back in the orchestra and off to the side they consider premium (below the mezz overhang, really?) There's a shortage of non-premium orchestra seating.



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I guess I see your point. I've just never considered premium tickets when watching broadway shows but I'm not rich haha. I guess we'll see what really happens after Tony's cuz I don't really trust Riedel.

So only people in NY can go? That's kind of silly.

It's simple economics; supply vs demand. And while it breaks my heart to think that prices will be raised to this level on the next batch released, I agree with those that reason the producers should be able to gain from this demand.

It will definitely strike me out from ever getting premium seats again but I've seen it once and I'm going again in June and November and then the tours will begin.

I really do hope this frenzy dies down soon so everyone can have the opportunity to see this show when in New York. There really isn't anything like it!