Tour ticket pricing

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 3/21/17 at 4:35pm

Subscriber tickets are now available for the Hamilton tour in LA. A friend was complaining about the ticket prices being higher than usual. I mentioned they were similar to SF and NY. 

It's my understanding that typically with tours, the presenter (theater owner) sets the ticket prices, not the tour producers. Obviously, the prices in other cities are public knowledge and I would expect the presenters to maximize their profits by charging what the market will support. However, could Hamilton be a special case where Jeffrey Seller has ticket pricing power?  Is that allowed, or did some antitrust action from 50 years ago prohibit that?

Updated On: 3/21/17 at 04:35 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 3/21/17 at 4:54pm

I'm not sure what the ruling is on tour ticket prices.  It must be allowed though.  

I got my LA "Hamilton" tickets this morning.  We got Orch side $125 seats.  The next Orch level is $175, and most of the center Orchestra at The Pantages is $650.  The Pantages is huge - seats 2,700.

Updated On: 3/21/17 at 04:54 PM

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 3/21/17 at 5:11pm

Neal, did any performances look sold out? Have to wait til the American Express presale.

[nealb1]

Posted: 3/21/17 at 5:58pm

"Hamilton" is going to be there from Aug - December.  The dates that I also looked at from Oct - Dec had good seating.  The first two months are pretty much sold out.  

[trpguyy]

Posted: 3/21/17 at 6:24pm

I would be surprised if the Hamilton tour were functioning under a normal "producer/presenter" relationship. It's more likely that it's a combination of terms deals and four-walling (i.e. renting the theater outright like on Broadway).

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 3/21/17 at 10:53pm

trpguyy said: "I would be surprised if the Hamilton tour were functioning under a normal "producer/presenter" relationship. It's more likely that it's a combination of terms deals and four-walling (i.e. renting the theater outright like on Broadway)."

I'm pretty certain it's not a four-walling situation. Since SHN is now majority controlled (if not owned outright) by Nederlander, the presenters could be part of the producing team, however.

It may simply be that no one involved in these decisions is stupid. The numbers and pricing for two/three different productions over two years are public knowledge - and certainly known to those involved in the productions and theatres. And even if the tour producers don't directly set ticket prices, I'd imagine the ultimate charges, fees and surcharges for the show which would indirectly set the ultimate price.
(...but I'm blowing this out of my ass. I don't know. Which is why I asked.)

Updated On: 3/21/17 at 10:53 PM

[jwsel]

Posted: 3/23/17 at 1:30am

nealb1 said: ""Hamilton" is going to be there from Aug - December.  The dates that I also looked at from Oct - Dec had good seating.  The first two months are pretty much sold out.  

 

"

The reason it may look good right now is that Hamilton straddles two seasons.  Season ticket holders for 2016-17 only were assigned tickets through October and current season ticket holders can only buy tickets through October 29 during the presale.  But you have to figure that some 2017-18 season ticket holders will get seats during November and December, especially new subscribers, and they may have another presale for subscribers to get additional tickets during that month before they become available to the public.

In other words, I doubt there will be a lot of seats available to the public at face value.  The exception may be that some of the $650 seats in the center orchestra are not sold in the presale.

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 3/23/17 at 2:06am

In SF, it seemed that they stretched the usual 4 weeks of subscriber tickets into 8, by splitting each week's subscription seats into two weeks. Thus opening up an equal number of seats for member purchases on the same evening as their subscriptions. By week 10 (after previews), the subscription blocks were fulfilled, and more tickets were available for single sales. 

Updated On: 3/23/17 at 02:06 AM