Hamilton ticket prices-seriously?

[Phillypinto]

qolb, how much did you pay for The Visit

[starcatchers]

"I don't mind sitting in the rear mezzanine or anything, but if I do end up in the orchestra was is the last row I could be in that won't be obstructed by the overhang? Thanks."

 

K or L, I think. Anything in front of the break in the orchestra. 

 

For or the record, I sat in the rear mezz there many a time during In the Heights. I never had a problem. I'll be up there for Hamilton's first preview. 

[Auggie27]

Let me say it more bluntly: I can't personally afford to pay the premium prices. Ever. No matter the star, the event. I cannot pay $350 for a ticket. No matter the up close and personal advantage. I'm not ashamed of that.  But I don't miss anything I truly want to see. I thank this production and many others for selling seats at a reasonable $89. I can almost manage that.  I will see it in its opening months, at a rate I can handle. Many others will too. People will buy every single seat in the Rodgers for every performance, and I'd argue, most people will experience "Hamilton" fully. Because they were there. Yes, guilty as charged: I find debates about a show requiring viewing from certain privilege-bearing seat choices elitist.  That's me.  A poorer man yet no less in love; still besotted after going to the theater for 4+ decades.  

[ZannaDo]

^ Word. It must be very nice to be able to afford to pay top price for the shows you want to see. I would imagine there are certainly enjoyable things about always sitting in the front of the orchestra. But not being able to cough up that kind of money every time I attend the theatre hasn't ever stopped me from seeing a show. Sometimes when I can, I do save my pennies and pay full price as I did for Hamilton, but most shows I end up buying the cheapest seat in the house, and that's cool. I'm grateful that so many shows have made it affordable for me to see them. 

 

[FishermanBob]

"It must be very nice to be able to afford to pay top price for the shows you want to see."

It is.

"I would imagine there are certainly enjoyable things about always sitting in the front of the orchestra."

There are.

Now what the hell did I do with the keys to my Beemer?

[Jordan Catalano]

I think I saw them on top of the hungry homeless kid you keep on your front porch to remind you of just how nice it is to be so rich.

[FindingNamo]

THAT'S not why rich people keep homeless kids on their porch.  It's to remind themselves and their families how lucky they are.  Like when Madonna drags the kids off to Malawi so they won't bitch about their black AmEx cards.

[FishermanBob]

"I think I saw them on top of the hungry homeless kid you keep on your front porch to remind you of just how nice it is to be so rich."

Yes, they were there, thanks.  It's a real hassle to keep a hungry homeless kid, but it's just my little way of giving back.  And thankfully, they don't eat much.

[Fantod]

Here's an interesting chart on the increase of Broadway ticket prices, the price being for the top ticket. This is from Opening Nights on Broadway by Steven Susskind.

Oklahoma (1943) $4.40

Bloomer Girl (1944) $5.40

Carousel (1945) $6.00

Annie Get Your Gun (1946) $6.60

Call Me Madam (1950) $7.20

Seventh Heaven (1955) $8.30

New Girl in Town (1957) $9.20

The Sound of Music (1959) $9.90

On a Clear Day... (1965) $11.90

Zorba! (196 $15.00

Annie (1977) $20.00

Sweeney Todd (197 $25.00

Evita (1979) $30.00

42nd Street (1980) $40.00

Les Miserables (1987) $50.00

Jerome Robbins' Broadway (1989) $55.00

 

Though we have inflation, if ticket prices remained constant, a ticket to Oklahoma! nowadays would cost $60. 

 

[djoko84]

I got my tickets months ago when they first went on sale for a Friday night, end of August in the orchestra for $147 a piece. If you got them early enough you wouldn't have had to pay so much.

[Mr Roxy]

Great comparison chart Fantod

To further show the escalation in prices, I attended the Tonys in 1968. A balcony seat at the Shubert cost $ 5. It cost an arm and a leg and an arm to get one now at a much bigger theater.

We can all thank Mel brooks for the concept of Premium seating.Another money grab by theater owners is the restoration fee which, for the most part, goes into the pocket of theater owners. When they do fix up a theater, they take it off their taxes. Nice sweet deal.

[AEA AGMA SM]

FishermanBob, I can't believe you would even have to ask where the keys to your Beemer are.  Whenever I lose my keys to something (car, house, beach house, yacht, etc) I just go by a new one.

[FishermanBob]

AEA, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about doing that. But I don't want to appear elitist. I am, after all, a man of the people.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Ahhh, I see.

I used to be a man of the people, but certain "people" around here have made me so despair for the future that I've given up.

[Mister Matt]

Here's an interesting chart on the increase of Broadway ticket prices, the price being for the top ticket.

I'd love to see that through 2015 and compared side-by-side to the average overhead for running a show in a Broadway theatre (rent, labor, etc.).  We all know who started the trend of premium seating prices and the questionable rationale behind it, but it would be interesting to see if there was a significant hike in rents shortly thereafter. 

I understand whining about the escalating ticket prices to a degree (I would never pay premium prices when I know there is no reasonable justification for the seats doubling in value in 2001), but I also understand a bit about finance and economics.  Ticket prices are initially set by the budget.  The budget is primarily determined by the expenses (pre-production, production, marketing and running costs).  Premium seating prices are now an expectation and discounts are used to offset the lack of premium sales (which is why we generally see more shows on TDF and TKTS as well as the advent of numerous internet offer codes), which affects the attendance percentages and the dress of the house.  And unless the show is a juggernaut hit, of which there are actually very few per decade, the budgeted profit margin is often one of the LOWEST variables to influence ticket prices.  Greed is usually NOT the reason behind ticket prices for most shows on the part of the producers.  It's not until AFTER a show recoups that investors get paid and profits are generated and distributed.

So, the real question is: How much more difficult is it for a show to recoup now than in the past and what has been the direct effect on ticket buyers?  Stating how low ticket prices were 30, 40, 50 years ago is meaningless without a baseline for comparison.  You might as well randomly name the gas prices, home sales, mortgage rates, automobile sales and the price of milk for any given year as well.  Multiple factors have affected all of those, too.  But it's Broadway ticket prices that should be exempt from astute analysis?  Bitch, please.

My complaint is this "sold out" BS when it's really obvious scalpers are now controlling ticket sales AND attendance for the early months while Hamilton PR is taking advantage of the buzz and marketing has seemed to dropped the ball (or ignored) the issue.  Miranda may have tweeted about it, but what sort of influence would he have regarding sales practices?

[Hairspray0901]

The reason I originally had an issue with their ticket pricing was that the only seats that were left for dates between July - December, by the time I looked, were rear orchestra or front of the rear mezzanine for $167 a piece. I knew that I could get seats in the orchestra (not center, not rear) for $167, or the front mezzanine for that price. So, why would I pay $167 to sit in the rear orchestra or the front of the rear mezzanine for the same price people paid to sit in closer rows.

I don't see this as being an elitist at all. If I'm going to pay $167, I'd like a good seat, because that's a lot of money! It's extremely rare for me or my family to pay full price for tickets; we usually NEVER do. But, when we do, we'd like to have the best seats possible for that price. Isn't that what everyone wants? That's not being elitist. I often do rush, lotteries or use discounted websites such as BroadwayBox or Theatermania. 

[JMPlayer6]

Yet another go at this? And with racist comments included too?

Supply and demand, folks! It's not rocket science.

[Mr Roxy]

Exactly

If people are crazy enough to pay insane prices, producers will keep on charging them & increasing them as well. Sad that it ruins it for a lot of people  who cannot afford it but like the person above said supply & demand & that is exactly what it is.

[Auggie27]

And now, the dirty little secret that comes with this entire discussion: On July 14th, day after the first B'way preview, the "Hamilton" backlash officially begins in earnest. Likely right here on this very board. Just wait, it's coming.  For every ten people happy to have paid top dollar (an individual decision, that ceiling, see all of the above) who leave the theater exhilarated, one will say say, "that was $327?"   

[Mister Matt]

I think we'll have a similar board experience as with Wicked, but perhaps without as many tween fan gurlz.  A flood of gushing positive posts followed by a bandwagon of nasty bitchiness (often in the form of a meme regarding one questionable criticism posted by a friend) that solely exists to counter the fans.

[dramamama611]

 To be fair, anyone that PAYS $327 for a ticket deserves to be disappointed.  To anything.

 

Of course there will be people that will dislike it.  So what?  I cannot imagine there has ever been or will ever BE a show that 100% of the audience falls in love with.  

[Mr Roxy]

Moose Murders would not even be worth $ 347

[FindingNamo]

There has always been audience stratification in the arts.  I mean, I can't believe people can deal with the prices of premium seats, but then again, I had no idea what people are paying to go see a major league baseball, football or basketball game.  Or the people who have MUCH better seats than mine for Bette Midler.  

The major difference is, nowadays nobody justifies charging high prices because they aren't particularly interested in what the people who can't afford it have to say.  How many working class people have never taken their kids to a ballgame?  LOTS.  Exactly who does Randy Weiner care about when he creates something like "Queen of the Night"?

This is what life is like in our culture.

 

[MOUSTACHA]

These prices are primary driven by three factors:

1) as previously stated, supply and demand.  Very often those affluent enough to afford these tickets do not plan ahead.  They take a spontaneous trip to NYC and decide they want to see the "hit" show right now and pay these outrageous prices.  The money they pay is not for the value of the seat, but the value of the access.

2) These people can't have these seats if they're gone! So, the producers know you (the average broadway goer) aren't going to spend that much, so rather than hold them off sell, they raise the prices to essentially put these into a "hold status."  Is it fair? of course not.  But the demand for those seats will exist, if it doesn't already.

3) With a show that does as well as Hamilton did in its off-broadway run, the actors and creative team are going to be making demands on the production that these prices must cover.  Signing bonuses (often with six figures!), renegotiated royalties, weekly salary increases, added-value contract items (car service, massages, etc.) are all going to need to be covered.  And, because of the previous success, they will likely get many these things.  The production will write sorts of things into their production costs, but they still need to cover them.

 

Here is why these prices are actually a good thing:  They are essentially subsidizing the "cheap" seats.  There are plenty of reasons why Broadway is so expensive, and they can be argued separately.  For this argument, those "first class" buyers are allowing the production to offer seats at a lower price in the theatre - especially for those that buy early.  Now, this isn't totally the case for Hamilton because they'll be able to capitalize on the hype and sell everything for a higher price (just as Mormon did early on, and to some extent still do), but they like all shows will eventually trail off and offer really affordable tickets because those people are paying $400 to sit in the 4th row. 

This is commercial theatre.  They're trying to generate returns to their investors, not make sure you get a seat for under $100.  If that's what you're looking for, Broadway has many shows that offer that. 

[decast]

I don't know about in the US, but in the UK, top price tickets to see Manchester Utd play are currently £53.00, that's basically the same as mid-orchestra at Billy Elliot in the West End, tho their top price goes up to £99.00. I think big sporting events average out to about the same, I mean centre court at Wimbledon on men's final day is around £160.

[Mr Roxy]

Producers do not think about the possibility of an economic downturn This could happen and they are than screwed. Right now, tourists from Europe do not have the luxury of a monetary advantage as the dollar & euro are about the same. There might be lesser tourists from Europe this year which will affect them.

It is sort of like Wall Street with them as they think the party will go on forever. Parties end eventually but I do not think they are even thinking of that possibility.