Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Seating/Pricing Thread

[Notreallysilent 2]

I just returned another ticket (sad I know ) it is for June 20 $40 per part row d of the balcony. They are up now on the website

[sorano916]

This past Sunday I finally used the ticket that I had bought during the first presale in October. It was a $199/part ticket and I was in Orch G25.

Between that time in October and now, I had seen it once in London and three times on Broadway, none of which I spent the same or more than that G25 ticket.

I guess I should have returned it but it was a pretty good seat so I didn't mind keeping it. If it was in the balcony of further back in the orch, I think I would have.

The London website doesn't allow you to pick your exact seat either (you can only select the general location - stall, dress, grand, balcony - and the price band) so I never expect being able to select my exact seat here in Broadway. I don't think that they would ever allow you to but it would be nice to know the general location (orch, dress, balcony).

[ebizzle]

Currently holding a $20 per part ticket for tomorrow orchestra row H! PM ME IF YOU WANT IT

 

edit: ticket has been claimed 

[Lot666]

macnyc said: "They're spreading the cheap seats all around the theater, and they're also spreading the expensive seats all around.I wish they would just let us choose our seats from a chart like a normal production, so we can see what's available at that point in time and make an informed decision

This nonsense of releasing seats in dribs and drabs is just infuriating!"

^ This. I'm furious that I paid $299 and others are now getting neighboring seats for half that or less. It's shady.

[Nycat63]

Lot666 said: "macnyc said: "They're spreading the cheap seats all around the theater, and they're also spreading the expensive seats all around.I wish they would just let us choose our seats from a chart like a normal production, so we can see what's available at that point in time and make an informed decision

This nonsense of releasing seats in dribs and drabs is just infuriating!"

^ This. I'm furious that I paid $299 and others are now getting neighboring seats for half that or less. It's shady."

I agree it’s not a great system for those of us who come from out of town and plan our trips around theater (ie, true theater lovers who don’t live in or near NY).  It’s fantastic for locals and for tourists who may luck in to tickets while they are there, but could otherwise take it or leave it.  For the rest of us, it’s painful. However, if this system has actually resulted in fewer secondary market/scalper tickets that’s still an overall win - imagine if none of us could get tickets other than from stub hub - much like the $850 crappy Hamilton seats that many had to buy just to get in.  I figured that would be my fate after I had no luck with the presales. 

But I do wish they would have come up with some compromise.  At least let those of us who bought in advance for $299 return tickets a couple days before the show if we find cheaper seats, and sell them to the cancellation line for whatever price they deem appropriate.  

[LxGstv]

Lot666 said: "macnyc said: "They're spreading the cheap seats all around the theater, and they're also spreading the expensive seats all around.I wish they would just let us choose our seats from a chart like a normal production, so we can see what's available at that point in time and make an informed decision

This nonsense of releasing seats in dribs and drabs is just infuriating!"

^ This. I'm furious that I paid $299 and others are now getting neighboring seats for half that or less. It's shady."

I will agree that the slow release of seats is incredibly frustrating, as well as not being able to see what’s available... at the same time, I don’t understand the frustration of someone paying less than you... price points have been announced way before tickets went on sale... if you paid $299, you were also paying for peace of mind of having a ticket... not everyone can afford $299 however, and this whole “how dare someone that paid $20 be seated next to me” mentality is a bit elitist and narrow minded... also, having to look daily for cheaper accessible tickets isn’t fun, I’ll never understand why someone that already paid a lot of money for tickets would subject themselves to the search...

If you can’t afford $299 tickets, but brought them anyway, that’s a different and very personal problem...

[Lot666]

LxGstv said: "I don’t understand the frustration of someone paying less than you... price points have been announced way before tickets went on sale... if you paid $299, you were also paying for peace of mind of having a ticket..."

Not so. The price points that were set for various locations in the house when the tickets went on sale were subsequently thrown out the window at random. I was not "paying for peace of mind", I was paying for a ticket in a section of the house that was originally designated as "premium"; now, seats adjacent to mine are being sold at less than half what I paid. 

LxGstv said: "this whole “how dare someone that paid $20 be seated next to me” mentality is a bit elitist and narrow minded... "

It's not elitist, nor is it about who is "being seated next to me". Again, the price points were set when the tickets went on sale and there was no indication then that the same seats would later be sold for considerably less money. They sent out emails and created this whole lottery system that made you feel like you had one chance at this, and you could only select seats that the website offered as "best available" for your date. Fast forward a month or so down the road and suddenly they're dumping a whole pile of tickets into the system at prices far less than what those who bought early were led to believe could ever be possible.

If you bought what was presented by a real estate agent as the only available house in a high-demand neighborhood and discovered a month later that there was suddenly a whole slew of similar options on the same block for half what you paid, would you feel misled at best and ripped off at worst? And if so, would it be "elitist and narrow minded" of you to feel that way? It's not about the person moving in next door to you.

[LxGstv]

Lot666 said: "LxGstv said: "I don’t understand the frustration of someone paying less than you... price points have been announced way before tickets went on sale... if you paid $299, you were also paying for peace of mind of having a ticket..."

Not so. The price points that were set for various locations in the house when the tickets went on sale were subsequently thrown out the window at random. I was not "paying for peace of mind", I was paying for a ticket in a section of the house that was originally designated as "premium"; now, seats adjacent to mine are being sold at less than half what I paid.

LxGstv said: "this whole “how dare someone that paid $20 be seated next to me” mentality is a bit elitist and narrow minded... "

It's not elitist, nor is it about who is "being seated next to me". Again, the price points were set when the tickets went on sale and there was no indication then that the same seats would later be sold for considerably less money. They sent out emails and created this whole lottery system that made you feel like you had one chance at this, and you could only select seats that the website offered as "best available" for your date. Fast forward a month or so down the road and suddenly they're dumpinga whole pile of tickets into the system at prices far less than what those who bought early were led to believe could ever be possible.

If you bought what was presented by a real estate agent as the only available house in a high-demand neighborhood and discovered a month later that there was suddenly a whole slew of similar options on the same block for half what you paid, would you feel misled at best and ripped off at worst? And ifso, would it be "elitist and narrow minded" of you to feel that way? It's not about the person moving in next door to you."

But here’s the thing, they never showed what section was designated as premium... we all made assumptions based on the traditional model, which obviously doesn’t apply here... I would say that there are premium tickets for this show, not premium sections... so much so that they sell tickets in the balcony for premium prices as well!

Also, during every release period, they made the announcement that more tickets would indeed be available closer to showtime... at the time, no one really knew what that meant, if they would do more verified fan sales or what... now we know they are just randomly releasing tickets and changing the prices... so in a way, everyone that got tickets way earlier, myself included, were indeed paying for peace of mind of knowing we have tickets, because at the time we didn’t know that they would release more.

I’m not a fan of this system either, and it does feel a bit shady, but it appears to have stopped scalpers to a certain extent... I don’t see a lot of tickets on stubhub for it. And the reality is they can only offer those 300 accessible seats if some people are paying premium prices. 

[CT2NYC]

LxGstv said: "Lot666 said: "LxGstv said: "I don’t understand the frustration of someone paying less than you... price points have been announced way before tickets went on sale... if you paid $299, you were also paying for peace of mind of having a ticket..."

Not so. The price points that were set for various locations in the house when the tickets went on sale were subsequently thrown out the window at random. I was not "paying for peace of mind", I was paying for a ticket in a section of the house that was originally designated as "premium"; now, seats adjacent to mine are being sold at less than half what I paid.

LxGstv said: "this whole “how dare someone that paid $20 be seated next to me” mentality is a bit elitist and narrow minded... "

It's not elitist, nor is it about who is "being seated next to me". Again, the price points were set when the tickets went on sale and there was no indication then that the same seats would later be sold for considerably less money. They sent out emails and created this whole lottery system that made you feel like you had one chance at this, and you could only select seats that the website offered as "best available" for your date. Fast forward a month or so down the road and suddenly they're dumpinga whole pile of tickets into the system at prices far less than what those who bought early were led to believe could ever be possible.

If you bought what was presented by a real estate agent as the only available house in a high-demand neighborhood and discovered a month later that there was suddenly a whole slew of similar options on the same block for half what you paid, would you feel misled at best and ripped off at worst? And ifso, would it be "elitist and narrow minded" of you to feel that way? It's not about the person moving in next door to you."

But here’s the thing, they never showed what section was designated as premium... we all made assumptions based on the traditional model, which obviously doesn’t apply here... I would say that there are premium tickets for this show, not premium sections... so much so that they sell tickets in the balcony for premium prices as well!

Also, during every release period, they made the announcement that more tickets would indeed be available closer to showtime... at the time, no one really knew what that meant, if they would do more verified fan sales or what... now we know they are just randomly releasing tickets and changing the prices... so in a way, everyone that got tickets way earlier, myself included, were indeed paying for peace of mind of knowing we have tickets, because at the time we didn’t know that they would release more.

I’m not a fan of this system either, and it does feel a bit shady, but it appears to have stopped scalpers to a certain extent... I don’t see a lot of tickets on stubhub for it. And the reality is theycan only offer those 300 accessible seats if some people are paying premium prices."

No balcony seat is being sold at a premium price, and there are quite a few tickets on StubHub. If I had paid $299 per part for a seat, then had the opportunity to buy a similar seat for $20 per part after the return period had ended, I would be pissed too.

[Ljkk1194]

I've been searching the site constantly, and tickets in my budget just came up. I just grabbed them. Hoping the seats have an okay view. Thoughts on seats Dress Row L seats 7 & 9??

[Ljkk1194]

Forgot key detail...DressL row L 7&9

[LxGstv]

Not premium for balcony, you are correct CT2NYC, but they do sell prime seats in the balcony, $165 for balcony is a tad high. In my opinion anyway.

It’s the equivalent of the Hamilton lottery, I don’t think the folks in the second row are pissed people in the front row paid $10 a ticket.

And quite a few tickets on stubhub isn’t the same as hundreds of seats... and if you look closely on stubhub, the ticket number goes from around 100 to 6 or 8 closer to showtime, not because people are buying them at a ridiculous price, but because they are kinda... “disappearing”... there was another thread about the stubhub situation...

[Nycat63]

Here’s the thing...several people have mentioned the justification of paying $299 per seat per part for the “peace of mind” of having a ticket. As a traveler to NY who comes primarily for theater, I’m absolutely in that category. Because I have specific shows I want to see whenever I come, I buy tickets in advance to ensure I will get the best seats I can at my price point (often one or two below premium). I don’t roll the dice with rush, cancellation lines or TKTS (I will look for discount codes, of course, and for shows with plenty of availability will wait for them as long as I can hold out).

By doing this, I know that I may be “overpaying” $75-100 for some shows (for two tickets), but I got my choice of seats and have that peace mind, and don’t have to spend my vacation time waiting in lines. I also know I’m fortunate to be able to do that (I save money elsewhere so I can enjoy my theater trips), and I don’t get upset that someone next to me might have stood in line for hours to save that kind of money or was lucky enough to win a lottery.

For HP, however, the price difference is staggering. Even if orchestra seats end up going for $130 and not $40, that’s a $700 difference for two tickets. That is quite a bit for “peace of mind”. I think that’s why some of us on the negative end of this system are upset. If we could simply return our $299 tickets up to 48 hours or so in advance, we could decide for ourselves if we want to maniacally check TM every 10 minutes or just call it a day and have peace of mind. I, at least, would gladly do the former to save $700 or more.

[LJD123]

Totally agree - I broke the bank for 4 $299 tix in Jan during first release & now they are selling for almost half that or less? I feel like I was taken advantadge of just because I was so exvited to see the show!!! Why would the producers want us to feel like this??? Totally ridiculous!! Infuriating

[Fosse76]

I know people are upset by the dynamic pricing at play here, and it's all speculation as to why we are seeing the varying ticket prices and locations we are seeing, but there can be some legitimate reasons.

1. This can easily be a market correction on pricing. Lest we forget, ticket prices on Broadway are double what they are for the production in London. The time commitment and price points are major factors for why tickets may still available for most performances (albeit in limited supply). Unlike other shows, people in the city can't just pop in and buy a ticket for a single performance. As such, the ticket prices will go down as the performance time gets closer.  

2. It is entirely possible that some of these $40 seats in the orchestra are simply unsold or returned Friday Forty seats. While there is a trend to the location, we don't know the exact location of all 40 seats. (Officially, these tickets have been valued at $40, so they technically can't be sold at a higher price when the originally winner doesn't claim them).

3. Who knows how often tickets are being returned, but they will want to off-load those tickets as quickly as possible, so perhaps returned tickets are automatically re-sold at a lower price. 

For someone like me, who lives in New York and works in Rockefeller Center, I can easily wait to get lower-priced tickets. I completely understand the frustration for those who don't live or work in the area. But there is definitely a pattern to the ticket releases and pricing, so if you are a solo traveler or a duo, it may be worth the risk to simply wait a week or two until before the performance and then see what's available.

[LxGstv]

Aren’t the $20 or $40 tickets that were once premium usually single seats though?! Has anyone been able to buy 2 or even 4 of those seats at an accessible price a couple of days before the show?
I just assumed they were only singles, but I could be wrong...

I get it, it’s a big price difference and it is infuriating... I just feel that checking to see if you could have gotten a better deal is the same as applying for the Friday Forty lottery on the same week you already have tickets. Yes, you might win and get a cheaper/better deal, but you already had tickets to begin with!

[markienyc]

Meant to post this earlier, but took some great shots from ORCH S 3 - showing the view, overhang and then looking back at the projector mechanism, which juts out from the center section of the dress circle for an extra couple of rows.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNdrmNB_WYbO5nZcybDrt61MEYn-aAbHsse4Obd89-2fmRAP5oi2R4Qf1fnvKkshQ?key=N1JNTTVnUWVsclY4bmxkS213UjV4ZC1QZHREQkNB

Also, paid $299 for S 1 and 3 thru the fan presale.  I didn't feel cheated when I discovered there were less expensive seats that showed up later, that's just the nature of the biz.  It's like buying early thru TM or stubhub - chances are if you wait until closer to showtime you can get a better deal.  But if it's important to you, it's best to lock it down.  Also, I switched seats for this 3 times (from mid mezz to mid row orch Q to aisle S) so I felt at my price point I had worked the seats to my advantage. 

 

 

[Relevance81491]

can someone tell me how the box seats have been for this show? Are they worth $40PP?

[Notreallysilent 2]

Hmmm I didn’t know the box seats were $40 per part I thought they started at the $80 per part price. But anyways I sat in the balcony box, and it was a pretty good view. You were closer to the stage than the dress circle/ balcony, so you could see their faces much more clearly. (I was in box b and was on top of 10th row orchestra). You do have to lean a bit though. Without leaving you can see most of it, but leaning will help you see almost all of the stage (besides the very extreme corner of the Side your on). I posted a link with pictures somewhere on this thread with my view, but it’s probaby buried in it, so let me know if you want me to post the link again

[(Insert Clever Name)]

Balc box or dress circle box?

[GregHut]

A couple $40/part tickets are available for Nov 7th.  They're balcony row E seats 2-4.  

[Lot666]

LxGstv said: "they never showed what section was designated as premium... we all made assumptions based on the traditional model, which obviously doesn’t apply here... I would say that there are premium tickets for this show, not premium sections... so much so that they sell tickets in the balcony for premium prices as well!"

There are people on this board who purchased specific seats for one price and then returned them, and the same seats then reappeared on Ticketmaster for a lower price.

[Lot666]

LxGstv said: "It’s the equivalent of the Hamilton lottery, I don’t think the folks in the second row are pissed people in the front row paid $10 a ticket."

You're comparing apples and oranges. There's nothing hidden or mysterious about the Hamilton lottery; they're very up-front about it and the way it works is clearly explained on the show's website. Passing on the lottery is perhaps the closest that your "paying for peace of mind" claim comes to reality. The lottery only works for people who have the luxury of attending a show on relatively short notice, so the rest of the ticket-buying public does indeed get "peace of mind" when they buy a full-priced Hamilton ticket.

This is not at all what's going on with HP. They are arbitrarily changing the price of seats throughout the theatre, from day to day, and this is not proactively disclosed to the public. When you buy a HP ticket, the site does not advise you that similar seats can and will be arbitrarily sold to others at substantially lower prices than what you're paying. If you could select your own seat from a map (like you can for Hamilton), then you could see whether moving one seat or row would cut the price in half. But you can't; you can only select the seat (and price) that the site offers.

[Notreallysilent 2]

Delete 

[LxGstv]

I said it myself the system isn’t ideal... buying tickets for this show is actually a nightmare... but it is what it is... what can be done about it really?! Hotels do the same thing all the time... book a room in advance and depending on the location and the hotel you’ll pay more than $300 a night... waiting to book a hotel on the same day, you might find the same room available for $75, or you might not... same for Harry Potter tickets... do you continue to look for a cheaper hotel once your accommodations are settled?

Also, again, I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that these $20 or $40 seats that were once premium are single seats... which doesn’t really help couples or families that are visiting... I scored a deal and I went by myself since they only had the one left, my husband still hasn’t seen it because we haven’t found another accessible priced ticket...