Would August Wilson have approved of folks shelling out $300 for Fences?

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 2:33pm

This was the question in my head yesterday as I watched the elderly African-American grandmother in front of me in the ticket line yesterday pay that much to see this play. I may be politically incorrect in even raising this issue, but wouldn't he have wanted his plays accessible to folks--especially minority audience members--for whom that price is really a hardship? Can Denzel possibly need the money? And please, if anyone knows that they're providing groups of kids from the inner-city with less expensive seats, tell me so I'll feel better about this! The point could also be made that people who want to see a Wilson play can always do it for less somewhere else.

But yesterday, standing behind that little old lady, it just seemed wrong. Thoughts on this, anyone?
Updated On: 5/21/10 at 02:33 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 2:37pm

No one's making anyone pay anything. Dead playwrights shouldn't have to deal with the financial (ir)responsibility of the living.

[RKO Legend]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 2:43pm

That little old lady could have been a multi-millionaire for all you know.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 2:50pm

1. What Lizzie said.

2. Going a step further, what you're really asking is whether Wilson would have approved of people being forced to pay $300 for a prime seat to one of his shows. That's the only thing being "forced" here. And while I have no way of knowing for certain, I think the answer is yes. He was an artist but he also wrote plays to make a living and most of his shows were not profitable in their initial Broadway runs. If a revival of a play of his could command that price for a prime seat, I think he would have been thrilled. If ALL seats were $300, perhaps he would have disapproved. But there are tickets at lower prices as well.

3. Going one step even further, if it was indeed so deeply felt a concern of his that his plays should always be accessible to those of limited financial means, he could have made it a condition of obtaining a license to produce them. Heck, his widow could still do so. But again, it's art AND commerce (not or). To have insisted that the producers potentially compromise their financial model for the sake of charity would have been noble, but it also would have been bad business. That said, I'd bet the Estate would have spoken up if the pricing of the show had excessively gouged the public. But insofar as it offers a decent spread of prices and is pretty consistent with the industry standard, I don't think they (or Wilson himself) would have had any strenuous objection.

Just my opinion though, as I can't read the mind of a living playwright, let alone a dead one.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 2:55pm

No idea but I know he would have foudn this thread RACIST!

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 2:57pm

That little old lady could have been a multi-millionaire for all you know.

Don't be silly - she was black AND female!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 3:05pm

I would imagine most playwrights would be fine both having their play produced and it starring an accomplished film actor. The tone of the post makes me a little reactive, like you assumed that an elderly african american women would not be able to afford that price or inferring that African American plays need to have different pricing tiers.

Would you have felt as bad if it was an elderly white man? That is the question you need to ask yourself.
I saw a very old man buy 2 premium seats to Blithe Spirit and spend 600 bucks? Would you have started a post on Noel Coward's feelings about people shelling out $250 for Blithe Spirit?

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 3:17pm

Well, I knew I'd be called out for political incorrectness, so no surprise there. A couple of things, though: first of all, I never said people were "forced" to see Fences. I even pointed out that a devil's advocate argument would be that if people of any color were hot to see Wilson's plays, they could've seen them at Signature a few years back or at other, less expensive, venues.

But--and I could be way wrong here--this is the first time I have ever seen a mezz ticket for $351, so yeah, call me crazy, but it does seem excessive.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 3:25pm

For reference, it's not the first time a mezzanine seat has been priced at the premium price of $350.

It's definitely rarer for a play ("A Steady Rain" was able to do it as well, I believe) vs. a musical, and it's rare to see the premium price at $350 for the whole weekend. But it's a limited run, it's what the market will bear, and it's a business (to quote "Curtains"). I think August Wilson would have understood that.

Just as an aside, would $300 NOT seem excessive? I don't think the extra $50 is what suddenly makes it excessive or not. Indeed, the entire concept of premium seating is to price a select group of seats that can command a higher price, at near to or at the highest price they can command. So if you accept the concept of premium seating (and perhaps you don't), there is inherently nothing excessive about it -- especially for a play with a limited amount of time to recoup and make some profit (for an open-ended run, an argument could perhaps be made about negative press, alienating the customer base, etc).

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 3:26pm

Just to be clear, I believe people are paying $351 to see Denzel Washington, not Fences per se. If they have that kind of bread, enjoy it!

Same way people are paying $300 dollars to see Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones, not A Little Night Music.

Let's not kid ourselves.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 3:45pm

Just to put it out there, Denzel has gone on record saying he's making around $800 a week for this show, so those $300+ prices aren't to cover his salary.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 3:51pm

Please. The type of person who would pay $350 for one seat is the type of person who wouldn't look askance at paying $350 per seat.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:00pm

I wonder what August Wilson would have thought of so many audience members behaving as if they were attending a taping of Maury Povich instead of a prize-winning tragedy.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:03pm

Uh-Oh

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:10pm

Denzel has gone on record saying he's making around $800 a week for this show

That can't POSSIBLY be right. That's less than half of the Equity minimum on Broadway.

If he said $8000 a week, which is still well below what he'd receive on a film set and relatively low compared to other movie stars on Broadway, then I'd believe it.

ETA: Or maybe $800 is the weekly percentage of the box office gross he's making on top of his salary.

Updated On: 5/21/10 at 04:10 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:11pm

Old biddy can go see a Tyler Perry movie for $13. Or better yet, stay home and Netflix Tyler for $3.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:22pm

He did say it was around $800. I'll double check the interview when I get home.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:29pm

Personally, I don't think April Saul is being politically incorrect. What she seems to be saying is that premium seating at premium pricing is inherently unfair if no other seats are available, which is probably the case with this entire run close to sold out.

I took advantage of the Broadway Box discount(which I usually do) for seats in the second balcony. That balcony is very steeply banked and provides excellent sight lines. Also, I had no trouble hearing anyone on stage and I swear that there was no amplification!

It is likely that this production of FENCES starring a highly visible film star attracts people who do not regularly attend the theatre, whether they are Black or White. Thus, such people would probably be unaware of BroadwayBox.com with more affordable prices. As for making tickets available at reduced prices or even free to "inner city kids", this may not happen on Broadway, but it does happen with certain non-profit arts organizations. For example, The St. Cecilia Chorus of Manhattan offers blocks of seats to teenagers free of charge to their Carnegie Hall concerts. The seats are paid for by members of the chorus and patrons. For most of these teenagers, it is their first time attending a concert at Carnegie Hall. Were that such a program might exist for certain productions on or off Broadway.

Updated On: 5/21/10 at 04:29 PM

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:38pm

Just throwing this in- my school was denied group tickets due to Denzel's "status."

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:45pm

Wouldn't surprise me if Denzel was working for scale and, after taxes, union dues and agent commission, his take-home pay was in fact around $800/week.

If that is in fact his weekly salary, then I'd bet you a premium price ticket that what he's NOT mentioning is a very healthy cut of the back-end profits. Could easily be as much as 20% off the top. Definitely helps get the show to recoupment faster, but takes a sizeable chunk out of the producers'/investors' pocket when it does reach profitability.

[Jon]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 4:49pm

You don't have to pay $300 to see FENCES. Hell, you don't have to pay $50.

There are regional, university, and community theatres all over the world producing August Wilson's plays.

The Court Theatre in Chicago did FENCES last year. Top notch Equity production. Top ticket price was $48.

People aren't paying to see FENCES. They are paying to see DENZEL.

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 5:25pm

Absolutely, Jon, I made that point in two earlier posts. And look, I feel bad when I see someone who looks poor buying lottery tickets, too...but I realize it's a free country. Also wanted to respond to the poster who said the folks seeing this don't know about discounts because there were indeed no discounts for this one. I mentioned to the box office guy that I was really surprised that they weren't doing any front-row rush as per View from the Bridge because the stage is so high...and he said, 'We were surprised, too!'

One thing that might be worth noting: August Wilson insisted on using only black directors for his plays; consequently, there was quite a stir about using Sher to direct Joe Turner recently. Perhaps it isn't so crazy to believe that Wilson might also have opinions about making his shows available to less-privileged minority audiences. Inner-city kids might open up more to a production with Denzel in it than one at a small regional theater. I also remember when Denzel did Caesar a few years back, he seemed determine to give back to his fans, signing endless autographs and taking photos.

So yes, they have every right to charge what the market will bear and that granny in front of me could've been made of money! But I can dream...

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 5:29pm

August Wilson insisted on using only black directors for his plays; consequently, there was quite a stir about using Sher to direct Joe Turner recently. Perhaps it isn't so crazy to believe that Wilson might also have opinions about making his shows available to less-privileged minority audiences.

Wouldn't you think that he'd have made it known, then?


But I can dream...

Dream of a world where you just know all black people are poor?
Updated On: 5/21/10 at 05:29 PM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 6:19pm

April Saul, as I said in my post, BroadwayBox.com did indeed offer discounted tickets in the second balcony for FENCES. That is how I got my pair of tickets. If you tried BroadwayBox and came up empty it is because all of the discounted tickets were sold out for the entire run of 13 weeks.

[April Saul]

Posted: 5/21/10 at 7:07pm

No Phyllis, actually dreaming of a world where theaters go out of their way to offer discounted tickets to school groups and people who couldn't normally afford to go, black or white, students or seniors...