| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | AverageBwayNut 11:02 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? - enoch10 08:37 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Not particularly. As near as I can tell -- as a numbers nerd who loves the business of Broadway -- they're priced comparably to many shows on Broadway these days, and especially for star-driven limited engagements like Denzel (the rumors I've heard say they can extend but they will have to re-cast). Whether that's right or fair is independent of whether it's good business. On a business level, it's supply and demand. If they overreach with their pricing, I'm sure they'll find out very quickly. But the show has been on sale since last Fall so I have to believe their sales are healthy and especially on the weekends, they can get away with pricing their premiums at $300 or more and selling a lot of them. I will say that for most Broadway shows these days, it's the first 12-15 rows center and the first four seats on the side aisles that are premium. In response to your post, I went on Telecharge and looked at May 3, 10 and 17 at 10pm and that seems to be the case for Hedwig as well. Not "almost the entire orchestra". Also, I didn't understand the assertion that "they aren't holding seats either. almost the entire orchestra is available." For those three shows I looked at, there were maybe 10 seats left at regular price (in orange) and maybe another 20-30 premiums available (in blue). Everything else was greyed out -- meaning it's either been sold or is being held until closer to the performance (as house seats or what-have-you). If they really had lots and lots of seats available, I'd agree with you 110% that it would be very stupid of them to expect to sell all of them at $300. But that doesn't seem to be what they are doing. They seem to be well sold (at least for those shows) and that's why they've jacked the prices (though thankfully not to Mormon-esque proportions). Of course, I got my seats at plain 'ole full regular price through Amex last October so I can't complain. :-) | |
| reply to this message | | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 11:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - AverageBwayNut 11:02 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| well, isn't that interesting? we're getting different screens. i just checked for 10 may and all those blue seats i saw earlier- almost all are now grayed out. that means they are holding seats back. and there are only 6 seats in the 144.00 range, none together. you did go all the way in, right? to the point where you actually choose the seats? because if you don't you'll see a whole bunch of orange seats that aren't actually available. if you did, then the screen i saw looks radically different than what you saw a little while ago. the screen i saw definitely looks different from the screen i'm looking at now. if there was a glitch in the system and what i saw earlier shows what they've actually sold they're in a world of hurt because i'd say less than 10% of the orchestra was sold. curiouser and curiouser. of course the $300 seats now showing as available are the ones farthest back. the best seats (closest to the stage) which i could have purchased an hours ago are grayed out - that whole front section - and won't be sold until the less desirable ones in the back are gone. i understand the logic of this which doesn't stop from thinking of them as swine. well, it will be a group for me or nothing. no way i'm plunking down 600 bucks to see HEDWIG again. i saw it enough in earlier incarnations to practically have it memorized. i'd love to see this spin on it but not for that much money. | |
| reply to this message | | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | AverageBwayNut 12:12 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - enoch10 11:49 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
|
| |
| Yep, I did go all the way in and I saw nothing resembling what you're describing. If what you saw earlier shows what was actually sold, then you're right that they're facing issues with that many unsold seats. If what you saw earlier was a glitch and what shows NOW is correct, though, I'm not sure how you can say definitively that they're doing massive holdbacks. It could also mean the seats are simply sold. I understand your inclination to presume the most cynical/capitalistic/nefarious interpretation, but if it was indeed a glitch, there's no way for us John/Jane Q. Publics to know definitively what it means. Time will tell, I guess. I do wish them well. I'm a very big fan of the show. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 03:15 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - AverageBwayNut 12:12 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| it looked to me like there were two blocks. they're selling the back block first - typical. swinish, but typical. i really do think there was a glitch and i saw what has actually been solid for the 10:00 show that night. the tickets that were grayed out were the typical seats that would be held back for any performance and, more convincingly, the other seats that had been sold were scattered including a couple that looked like 3 seat sales. like i said, all total 10% couldn't have been sold. i'm sure they'll be long gone before 10 may but i have to wonder if (and i guess it's a big "if", i don't know) they do extend we won't see prices drop - from ungodly to just painful at least. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 12:25 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - AverageBwayNut 12:12 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| with a show like this, I think there is a bet hedging that may make sense. I think there is a part of the audience that is waiting to see how NPH is before buying, and if there are some of these seats that could be sold at premium, they do not want to sell them at the regular price. Figuring they will be sell-able at that price later on. Could it be a miscalculation? Sure. Could it be brilliant? Sure. That's why it is a bet. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 03:33 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - ryhog 12:25 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| i don't there's any doubt that's what they're doing. the sad thing is it is probably a bet that will pay off. even if the production starts out with bad word of mouth, which i kinda doubt will happen but you never know, if it is a genuinely limited engagement you'll have enough industry folks and their hanger ons and the i've-got-to-see-everything-and-i-have-the-money-to-do-it crowd to scoop up most of these tickets at premium prices. i will say this, though. if i can't get myself in any other way i'm not as doubtful as i was that my usual procedure of getting an unsold premium ticket for normal full price on the day of show won't work and that's the only reason i was a looking anyway. if world of mouth generates even more of a buzz that won't work. I'm more interested in seeing what the older manhattan money folks who tend to be first in line for any "event" are going to think. i was talking to the spouse about this and he reminded me they didn't have any problem with AMERICAN IDIOT and HEDWIG is a far superior piece to that in pretty much every way in my book. we'll see. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 04:08 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - enoch10 03:33 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| If NPH's performance becomes a must-see in this, then the combination of him and the show will send this into the ionosphere. If not, the prices may come down to the stratosphere. Regarding the "older manhattan money folks" - two points. First, the limos lined up on Jane Street. Second, it is worth remembering that today's older manhattan money crowd came of age at a different time than the stereotypical one. The rock and roll and the drag queen don't send them packing. Hard as it may be to believe, Hedwig takes place over a generation ago, and JCM turned 50 last year. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 04:46 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - ryhog 04:08 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| i don't remember any limos at jane street or at the squeezebox. honestly, i don't. and i was at jane street a lot. fried but there. i remember celebrities showing up toward the end but they were mostly younger and not the kind to be pulling up in limos. i'm sure the limo folks came in some number but when i think of those audiences those aren't the folks i remember. they're crowded out by more colorful characters, some doing colorful things. it's not the 50 year old whippersnappers i'm talking about. it's their parents with either a) their faces surgically pulled so taut it's a marvel they can blink or b) the kind you have to wonder what exactly it is they're doing with their mistresses or c) both. there is still a pretty sizable contingent of what was once referred to as the blue-haired matinee ladies with tons of money and they show up for things, especially event type things with movie stars, on a consistent basis. but, as i said, that demographic either enjoyed AMERICAN IDIOT or didn't dislike it vocally enough to do it any damage. and, i guess, if they're walking into something about botched sex change they aren't expecting THE STUDENT PRINCE. now if you will excuse me i have to go do penance for ageism now. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | ryhog 05:08 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - enoch10 04:46 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| I wasn't talking about the 50 year olds; I meant the 65-70 year olds who are still younger than most of the singers referenced in the show. One of the big errors some folk make is in not realizing/accepting that the grayer generation is not as old as we used to think. :-) If someone is 70, remember they were 20 when the Beatles arrived. The monied crowd for Broadway shows is not the 90 year olds who were alive when Student Prince premiered. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 05:59 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Aren't The HEDWIG Tix Outrageously Expensive? A: Not particularly. - ryhog 05:08 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
|
| |
| >> If someone is 70, remember they were 20 when the Beatles arrived. well, can't argue with the math. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
All That Chat is intended for the discussion of
theatre news and opinion
subject to the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service. (Please take all off-topic discussion to private email.)
Please direct technical questions/comments to webmaster@talkinbroadway.com and policy questions to TBAdmin@talkinbroadway.com.
[ Home | On the Rialto | The Siegel Column | Cabaret | Tony Awards | Book Reviews | Great White Wayback Machine ]
[ Broadway Reviews | Barbara and Scott: The Two of Clubs | Sound Advice | Restaurant Revue | Off Broadway | Funding Talkin' Broadway ]
[ Broadway 101 | Spotlight On | Talkin' Broadway | On the Boards | Regional | Talk to Us! | Search Talkin' Broadway ]
Terms of Service
[ © 1997 - 2014 www.TalkinBroadway.com, Inc. ]
Time to render: 0.461635 seconds.