| For those with access to the NYT website, there’s an interesting discussion of this phenomenon. Among the reasons cited for the less than robust return to live performance in NY: ticket prices (obviously); high fees charged by Ticketmaster, Telecharge, et al on already high prices; the difficulty of driving in the city (what with the proliferation of lawless cyclists and the loss of parking to restaurant sheds and Citibike stands); the unreliability of public transportation (especially on weekends); the perceived lack of safety and rise in crime (whether or not the perception is justified); a menu of “woke” plays that many traditional theater patrons are not sufficiently interested in to fork over significant capital to see; the relaxation of vaccine and mask mandates in commercial theaters.There’s a lot to overcome here, and this is clearly a difficult time for theater in many places but especially in New York. |
