Should you get a REFUND for a Broadway Show?

[DrTheatre]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:27pm

I was watching the "One-on-One" with Mel Brooks today and every time he opened his mouth I could not stop thinking about on how bad people said "YF" was.

With that said, Broadway is a biz and they are selling us a PRODUCT for our entertainment, if we don't like the PRODUCT, should we or should we not be able to get a refund?

I know that it is hard to sell on Broadway and if this ever did happen, Broadway would go broke. But, I think just like any other product we should be able to get a refund IF necessary. Of course it would be very hard to get one. Just like all products, you have to give a valid reason, fill out paperwork on when/how you purchased the ticket,etc, in order to get it. But, I think it should at least be an option.

Thoughts, comments...

Updated On: 3/7/08 at 01:27 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:33pm

I've never heard of anyone having trouble getting a refund during the intermission of a show they didn't like.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:33pm

I think that's really getting into shaky territory. Because what one person thinks is trash another thinks is wonderful. Just look at the divisiveness on this board over certain shows. I don't see how there's a way this could be done at all.

I understand feeling like you've wasted money on something, but ultimately YOU made the decision to go and spend your money. It's not like you can return the visions.

Example: Would I have preferred to have not seen, oh let's say The Seafarer? Sure. But I made the decision to get a ticket and I accept that I didn't like it. It's not an incorrectly made drink or something that broke as soon as I got it home. It wasn't to my taste. Is that anyone involved in the production's fault overall? No...it's a matter of taste and mine didn't like it. But that doesn't mean I should get a refund. Ultimately I was exposed to it, it broadened my theatrical horizons, and I have learned from that experience the kind of thing I'm not likely to like, so it can potentially save me money in the future.

Sorry... I don't agree with you.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:34pm

This doesn't just apply to Broadway.

What about a film you went to see and hated? Should you get a refund because the film was horrible?

What about a sporting event? Should you get a refund because the game was terrible and/or your team lost?

Its an endless debacle on virtually everything.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:35pm

Jordangirl...I completely agree with you.

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:35pm

how can someone get their money back if the box office is closed during intermission?

[DrTheatre]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:46pm

Jordangirl, I agree with you 100% to, this was just a question in general and I just wanted to read comments about.

Brody, I agree with you too...as for Movies, I have gotten refunds tons of times...most of the times it was half way through the movie..I have gotten refunds on a movie that i have not liked or gotten a free ticket to another movie of my choice. So that is possible.

As for sporting events, that is different...you can't complain that the person or team that you wanted to win didn't, so you get a refund...that won;t work, in theater there is not win or loose unless you are the patron. That outcome at the theater happens every night, night after night.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:49pm

Oh, ok. :)

The only time I've gotten movie refunds were when there were technical issues. Or the time my sister and I were in fear of our lives because of some guys who were threatening us. That theatre manager gave us a ton of free tickets which we gave to other people because we never wanted to go back to that area again. I guess it never occurred to me to ask for one if I didn't like the movie.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:49pm

Unless there is a technical issue or a cancelled show, I don't think people should get refunds (as much as some of us may like it if we don't like a show).

One reason people probably don't get refunds is because the tickets are so expensive. Someone could easily lie and say they hated a show, go back to the box office, and get a refund after actually seeing the show. The only fair way this could work is if they had a 15-30 minute time frame after the show started to return the ticket. I'm sure if there was some policy like this, much more people would leave shows, which would be disturbing for performers at small venues such as Broadway houses.

It's not just Broadway shows, but concerts and films as well. If these markets started refunding money to patrons, they would lose a lot of money.

Updated On: 3/7/08 at 01:49 PM

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:54pm

This is an interesting topic. I've enjoyed every Broadway show I've ever seen and have never wanted a refund.

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:56pm

"I didn't like it" is no reason to demand a refund. You've gotten refunds at movies "tons of times"? Stop going to movies. Now.

[sally1112]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:56pm

If the show is correctly performed and everything goes as it is supposed to, I don't think anyone should get their money back because they didn't like it.
When have a free market place of ideas, and if something is so bad that nobody likes it it will close. Besides, as we know from this board, what one person loves another person hates.

[Jade]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:58pm

No, I don't think you should get a refund if you don't like the show. If you're going buy theatre tickets, I think it's your responsibility to research the show and find out if you're likely to enjoy it.

The difference between buying tickets for a show and buying, say, a sweater, is that if you decide you don't like the sweater you return it to get the refund and the shop can re-sell it to get the money back. Obviously this can't be done if someone decides they don't like a Broadway show so it would mean the box office would lose a lot of money.

Also, it would really be open to abuse as there's no way of checking whether someone did or didn't enjoy a show.

[MyLife]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:00pm

If you buy a PRODUCT from a store, whether it be a shirt or food, you can return it if it is not used, usually. Once you go into the show, your ticket has been used, so I don't think you should get a refund. Just as in a clothing store you can try on a shirt and see how it fits, you can read reviews and watch clips of a show before you get your ticket scanned.

I do believe you should be able to return any ticket up until showtime, but once you are in the theater you have "cut the tag off" and the product is for you to enjoy (until intermission when it can become a hand-me-down to someone on the street if they want to see ActII)

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:08pm

When I worked for a movie theater, the policy was that the refund had to be requested before the 1-hour mark.

As for shows, buyer beware.

Somebody's always lookin to work a hustle for free stuff, especially in NYC.

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:23pm

lildogs, did people who worked at the theater have a word for people who get refunds?

[MaronaDavies]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:34pm

No. When you buy a ticket, you're guaranteed to see a specific show. You're not guaranteed any level of enjoyment. It's up to you to decide if the show is appropriate for you before you go. With musicals especially there are so many ways to do research, hear the songs, etc. before you buy a ticket.

And also, even when you're not enjoying the show, you're still present in the theatre--ie, you're using services provided by the venue which cost money--and you're preventing someone else from purchasing a ticket for that performance in your place.

The only time I could see giving someone a refund would be when they've come to see a specific leading actor and the performer is absent that day. I do believe most theatres give refunds in that case, as long as the customer requests it and leaves BEFORE the show starts.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:39pm

No, very, we didn't--it didn't all that often anyway.

[vinnylin]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 3:01pm

Anyone remember the show "Ain't Broadway Grand" which played at the Lunt-Fontanne back in the early 1990s? The producers advertised that that if you did not like the show enough to stay, you could, at intermission, get a refund. Shortly after that advertisement went out, a number of people apparently tried to get the refund but were turned down because they had purchased discounted, rather than full-price, tickets.

[turquoisefish]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 4:00pm

I don't agree with refunds if you just don't like the show. I agree you should be entitled if something is wrong (poor sound etc).
I am undecided about refunds when the 'star' is out. I go to see the show, it is a bonus if someoe i like is in it. I understand some people only go to see the star and I guess they should get a refund if they hand in their tickets when there is time to resell them (if there is potential demand)

[acrocksyo]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 4:07pm

Uh it's called doing your research on a show before you go see it. Read the reviews, ask your friends, read about it. You shouldn't get a refund for a Broadway show, unless the main reason you went to see the show i.e. an above the title star, is out, then they give you a refund anyway, so shut up and deal with it.

I have seen a lot of shows that I didn't enjoy, but then you stay anyway and make the show fun for yourself, like when I went to Walmartopia, it was such a train wreck and so bad, that my friend and I just decided to stay to see how much further the show could dig itself into the already massive hole it had started. It turned out to be one of the best theatergoing experiences ever.

Change your attitude about the show if you hate it, or leave!

[Tom1071]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 4:17pm

Buyer beware! Simple as that. The tickets say "NO REFUNDS, NO EXCHANGES." It's the chance you take. With the exception of course, if the above title star is out of the performance.

[KQuill]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 9:17pm

Winston, didn't you try this act at Phantom when u saw it?

[bluetuna]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 2:39am

Unless something goes terribly wrong with the show or someone is very badly effected by something that happens in the theatre (someone mentioned on another topic their mother being vomited on by a woman sitting behind her), refunds shouldn't be issued. Before purchasing a ticket, know what you're getting yourself into. Why would you even spend money (particularly a large amount) on something you know nothing about? It's illogical.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 3:55am

I don't think you should because its like with most things unless its broke or you don't use it then well its your loss. I do think you should be able to exchange tickets which most of the time I have had a problem with in Chicago...