Why are seats for full-price tickets months in advance so bad?

[binau]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 5:36pm

I never understood this. For some shows e.g. SCOTTSBORO fullprice tickets would get you perfect seats (e.g. 3rd row center), but for others like HOW TO SUCCEED, full price tickets literally won't even get you an orchestra center seat except for like - the back row. This is for months in advance (late July)

Are all the orchestra seats already sold, are they all being held as premium? Do they just not release them yet? I never understand how this works :P.


Thanks!!

Updated On: 4/6/11 at 05:36 PM

[theatreguy]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 5:46pm

Many seats are being held at the premium price. You also have to factor in house seats which for some shows can take up a significant portion of the prime orchestra locations. Stars are often entitled to some, as are directors, writers and producers - and others are held for use by others involved with the production (cast members, designers, etc.) as well as members of the Broadway League.

[Luscious]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 5:59pm

In most cases, the best seats are being held to be sold as premium seating at double the price. One of my biggest pet peeves. It used to be that if you were willing to wait and plan ahead, you could get the seats you wanted at full price. Not anymore. Regardless of how far in advance you're willing to buy your tickets, you're still not able to get the best seats for the most in demand shows at the regular price. And it's not just new shows like BOOK OF MORMON either. Try getting center orchestra seat tickets in rows 5-10 for THE LION KING for 6 months from now and see what you come up with. I wanted to take my 8 year old nephew to his first Broadway show. It would have cost my partner and I in the neighborhood of $750 to get the seats we wanted, regardless of how far in advance we planned. It's a damn shame.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 6:49pm

It is a damn shame. Theatre lovers who plan trips months in advance cant get the seats they want but slobs who wait until the last minute often get better seats.

Current ticketing for Broadway shows blows. Plus, nowadays even when I want to see something really bad and consider ponying up Premium prices they offer me row M or N in the orchestra. F--- THAT!

[MelissaF]

Posted: 4/6/11 at 7:57pm

I saw BOM in previews and loved it, and wanted to see it again..I am returning to the city at the end of April. The Saturday night I am in the city, BOM is sold out through telecharge, but $400 a ticket thru Stubhub...grrrr

[rgdave]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 12:25am

A pet peeve of mine, too. Theater ticketing in NY, as it relates to customer satisfaction, is stuck in the dark ages. Theaters could take a cue from the airlines. Every day the airlines manage seating on thousands of flights, moving their best paying or most loyal customers to better seats in business or first class. The technology exists to do it on Broadway, too. Frankly, I find very little inventive to book way ahead. Time and time again, I've gotten better seats within a few days of a performance through discount sites like Broadwaybox when the theater releases their unsold premiums and house seats than others who booked a month or two out and paid full price. Those who paid full price should be moved to the better seats, and then their less good seats sold at a discount. Someone paying full price should not be sitting in a worse seat than someone paying less who booked later. The technology exists to do it, although it could require some extra staff. But the will doesn't. It's just one more indication of the indifference to customer service by the Broadway theaters. C'mon TIcketmaster and Telecharge. Earn your outrageous fees and come up with systems that ensure that theater patrons don't get screwed when they book ahead.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 5:07am

many regionals, RG DAVE, are trying "value priced seating" more on the airline model and finding great success, as advised mainly by a marketing consultant i believe called RTG (not sure of the acronym at all, bygones). You would think Roundabout and the other non=profits who regularly program on B'way now (another marketing/economy trend) might thus explore the idea.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:38am

rgdave, multiple seat relocations on the scale you are suggesting would cause severe backups at the box office in terms of increased/more complicated HABOs (for customers who are upgraded and have their tickets at the box office) and in the front of the house during the come-in as ticket takers will have to pick off patrons who need to be reseated by the House Manager or Chief Usher. It would require way too much additional union labor. I've noticed that a lot of theaters now only employ one ticket taker, so all patrons have to enter through just one door. If theaters aren't willing to employ an additional ticket taker to facilitate a speedy come-in, I doubt they would be willing to have additional box office and ushering staff on hand to reseat customers.

I understand where you're coming from and it is a great customer service gesture, but it would be prohibitively expensive in terms of labor costs. Additionally, it would eliminate the incentive for patrons to purchase premium seats (not that I support premium seats as a practice) if they know that there is a possibility to being upgraded from lesser seats at lower prices. Lost revenue is not something that producers would be interested in.
Updated On: 4/7/11 at 09:38 AM

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 12:31pm

the correct acronym is TRG bygones