The Music Man at TKTS

The producers of each individual show make the decision of whether or not to give tickets to TKTS. In this case, I'm guessing that the producers of The Music Man feel confident that they will be able to sell those tickets via walk-ups or other week-of sales. And they may very well be right.

On this flip side, it's also possible that the producers want to avoid the "stigma" of being on TKTS. Being on TKTS indicates that a show is not in high demand, and for a production like Music Man, they don't want to lose their "hot ticket" status in eyes of the public, because that might deter people from paying top dollar in the future.

Chaugman7 said: "I appreciate your prompt response. That all makes sense. Concerning though because these performances were close to being sold out before the production shut down. and many seats are now showing as available. Over 300 for today's matinee and when checking Telecharge just before curtain, those seats were still not sold. I'm also seeing a price reduction for the most expensive seats now. Thank you again for responding. CB in Boston"

I was at the Jan 8 matinee (left orch, seat D1). A considerable number of seats were available in left orchestra, rows D-K, including on the aisle. Such was case in center and right orchestra. At intermission, alot of folks in less than desirable seats moved into the premium ones. I bought my tkts in 2019 at half the current price. The Telecharge computer system kept reassigning my performance date for every stalled start date. It finally reassigned me 6 months before the show's Dec 20 reopen date and before prices escalated.

A long-time Telecharge employee told me Schubert company (owns Telecharge) "got into it" (as she called it) with producers when they jacked prices to $500+ level ala Springsteen and Hamilton. When MM shows were canceled or patron had to cancel, they found the tkt they bought at a lower rate was no longer available. Some exchanges were pushed into summer or not replaceable with ticked off patrons. That made it hard for Telecharge to get replacement seating.

The show is fine, but not worth mega prices. Springsteen pulled it off because of who he is, smaller market, and limited run. Though towards the end, he had empty seats too. If pride goes before the fall, so too does greed.

The current covid plague, plane cancels, omicron, restrictions, etc doesn't justify the milking. Ergo, many empty orch seats. Mezz and balcony looked full but I couldn't fully see entire area. Some boxes were half empty.

After 9/11, Disney refused to sell Aida* tickets at TKTS even though the Palace was 1/3 or more empty. It created considerable backlash against Disney greed when - like now - Broadway was trying to return in a frightening climate. I think of it when I see Aladdin on the board. *a waning hit, not new

Updated On: 1/10/22 at 05:53 AM

And just to add a point to this last, TKTS is one of the most visible (and effective) ways of telegraphing the existence of discounts to the non-theatre savvy consumer. Most of those individuals would never trespass on any of the websites that advertise discounts but they certainly walk across Duffy Square and see the shows and their discounts available at TKTS.

To all points and my surprise: Moulin Rouge was on the TKTS board this weekend. Such is the nature of winter in NYC during a still hard-to-characterize pandemic.