I'll have to agree with Roxy, I think prices has alot to do with it. Would you rather pay $100 for a show that you've probably seen on Broadway before or the new shows that people are raving about?
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
It's all Zarkana's fault.
Hair did well. South Pacific did well. Anything Goes did well.
How to Succeed did well.
Prices have nothing to do with it. If OTHER shows (revivals or otherwise) can survive at these prices, then it can't be an argument truly.
Denial is not a river in Egypt
Prices have nothing to do with it. Believe that and I have a bridge I would like to sell you. $ 150 Orchestra seats are perfectly fine. OK
How long did How To Succeed last after Radcliff left? How well is Anything Goes succeeding after Sutton left?
Hair did not do that well as it was discounted for a good part of its run.
It closed because too many shows close.
or
Because most cast members had only one costume except for Josh's blue sparkle tube top.
And not enough nudity.
One Million Moms say that they made it close.
But all of those shows MADE it. They recouped and made a profit...no matter how much or how little or whether it was discounted or not. They sold ENOUGH tix in advance and at full price to run.
If it was ONLY the cost, then NO shows would survive -- plain and simple.
It was a show that didn't receive good enough word of mouth, had lousy advertising and opened when a whole bunch of other bible shows were playing AND tanking.
They HAD discounts and couldn't make it work -- so how is it about price?? If I WANTED to go, I would have. But I didn't WANT to -- REGARDLESS of the price.
Broadway hasn't seemed "affordable" for quite some time. Nobody said tix at 150 was ok, or that it was welcomed. Would I love to see ticket prices drop? Duh, just like I'd like to see movie tix reduce prices, gas prices drop and the cost of a HD tv to go down. But those continue to sell like hotcakes too.
Roxy, Hair made back it's investment in almost record time. It did very well! Sorry, we live in a Capitalist Society, prices are determined by what people are willing to pay. Supply and demand sound familiar? Obviously people are willing to pay $150 a ticket.
Jesus Christ Superstar is just not a fresh enough name for Broadway. How many revivals have we seen? I found it a very nice production but it was way on the bottom of my list to see as it has been done so much.
If they had put Adam Lambert in as Judas, they may have seen some box office spark. I'm not sure how interested people would be in Evita without Ricky Martin.
People are willing to pay 150 per ticket for a hot ticket item; not for everything.
They will pay 150 for Book of Mormon, Jersey Boys Lion King and Wicked but if you look at the grosses, the average tickets for Sister Act, Anything Goes, and other shows are way below that: around $75. Heck Leap of Faith Average Tickets was around $30.
Plays should not be charging the same as musicals. Musicals cost two to three times what plays cost. Ticket prices need a reality check. Not all shows should be charging the same. Producers will charge as much as they can for a ticket knowing that if they don't sell at full price, there is always discounts, TDF, etc.
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