Hamilton price hike

[mkmswain]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 5:02am

https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Young-Scrappy-andGreedy-HAMILTONs-Ticket-Price-Increase-20180130

Do you think it's justified, or would it put you off booking?

[TimWright]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 5:11am

Obviously I've had my say on this but I just find it increasingly frustrating that the very shows that are likely to inspire new people into the theatre are becoming so prohibitively expensive. 

[nataliealana]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 5:36am

I've said often that I think increased prices prevent people from taking a gamble on a new show but I guess since they've got this ridiculous reputation, a host of 5 star reviews and continue to sell out..they don't care?

[Gary Naylor]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 6:53am

Contrary view here and not one likely to prove popular.

"I paid £57.50 for a seat in the middle of the top tier of the newly refurbed Victoria Palace Theatre. It was pretty expensive, but I made my peace with it. The show was everything I wanted it to be."

Pretty expensive is right. At my local Cineworld, a ticket tonight for Maze Runner: The Death Cure is £19.70. A ticket for Fulham vs Nottingham Forest (not Premier League) on Saturday is £31.25. I shudder to think of the prices on Broadway.

"Ticket prices were set for the first booking period at the newly restored and expanded Victoria Palace Theatre in 2016, over 18 months ago." 

Is there anyone with any knowledge of theatre who believes that, in the knowledge of what how things have changed for this musical since then, a 10% increase in price is not justified (wait for it) commercially? To put it differently, does anyone believe that a 50% increase in price would lead to empty seats night after night? (And, lest we forget, there are pricing models that would charge according to demand - their effect would be a "reverse Ryanair" with, instead of prices being driven down, they would be driven up, this production having few problems generating 97% seat occupancy).

"How can this be justified as a price increase just six months after opening?" Well, how are sales going? They can always go back to the sellout prices if they're lagging, but I doubt that they will.

"Even Twitter fan account @HamilfansLDN decreed it "simply greed" and prompted a slew of tweets in agreement." So Hamilton fans want to pay less for their tickets? Who'd have thunk it?

"For a show with the thrilling power to engage new and varied theatre-goers, it seems a real shame to limit potential audiences like this."

This is more interesting. I'd argue (as someone who has bought two tranches of tickets for myself and friends and family at £57.50 using the most seamless online booking system I have ever experienced with no add-on fees) that there are plenty of tickets outside the top band - though I'll concede that there are fewer than there were.

But does "Hamilton" have any obligation "to engage new and varied theatre-goers"? It's a commercial operation in a sector which does enjoy state support for some venues, both hard in terms of direct subsidy and soft in terms of various tax breaks given to (say) charities running fringe venues. I'd say that it is not Hamilton's role to engage new and varied theatre-gores, but if the show's producers choose to so so, then I'll applaud them for it.

What I would like to see them do - and they have to some extent - is support new and varied theatre talent, on-stage and off-stage, in its employment decisions. I'd like to see them pay a little back to those who:

Well, the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man."
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came, and
The world's gonna know your name. What's your name, man?" 

 Let's see Hamilton scholarships for theatre students from all over the country (and beyond) that recognise emerging talent and can some way to addressing the need for theatre to reflect on stage and off, the lives of those new and varied theatre-goers. Because, you know what? They'll come then. 

 

[TimWright]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 7:16am

Well this is a very thorough and reasoned post! I enjoyed reading an alternative point of view and I do share some common ground. 

I'll happily respond to a few bits for clarity:

- I'd agree, it can be justified commercially. I'd also say that the old adage of 'just because you can, doesn't mean you should' is applicable here. This is a broader argument but my concern is that- yes the market will tolerate these price increases at the moment, but I fear the real damage will be in 20-30 years when generations of people have felt priced out of theatre and never developed a habit of going. Perhaps it's ok for them to make £1m less profit this year. 

- My point on the HamilFans account was that even the most ardent and passionate fans of the show who will defend it to anyone- were labelling it greedy. 

- I think i'd made clear the numbers available at each price band. The proportions are heavily weight to £100+ seats.

- I agree, some kind of Hamilton sponsored scholarship is a great idea. I do however disagree- the commercial sector does have a responsibility to create a healthy industry. It routinely benefits from work that has been created in the public subsidised sector that go on to fill West End theatres. Not to mention the benefits it reaps from all the various talented people that also learnt their craft in non-commercial settings. 

 

[Gary Naylor]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 7:32am

"Well this is a very thorough and reasoned post! I enjoyed reading an alternative point of view and I do share some common ground." 

Thanks!

"Perhaps it's ok for them to make £1m less profit this year." 

I think that's true, but I'd prefer to see this as a decision taken collectively by West End theatres as a whole - they'd be pretty quick to gather together to lobby against a tax on tickets I bet, so why can't they work together on this one? 

"My point on the HamilFans account was that even the most ardent and passionate fans of the show who will defend it to anyone- were labelling it greedy."

People do think charging more is greedy - try getting them to pay for newspapers now they have the whiff of free-online in their nostrils . People love the NHS but try getting them to vote for a party that says "We will tax you 3% more per year to save the NHS" and see how far you get.

"I think i'd made clear the numbers available at each price band. The proportions are heavily weight to £100+ seats."

True, but the lower-priced seats are hardly window-dressing - there are hundreds of them for every show.

"I agree, some kind of Hamilton sponsored scholarship is a great idea. I do however disagree- the commercial sector does have a responsibility to create a healthy industry. It routinely benefits from work that has been created in the public subsidised sector that go on to fill West End theatres. Not to mention the benefits it reaps from all the various talented people that also learnt their craft in non-commercial settings."

I agree 100% (and don't start me on BUPA etc creaming off NHS staff trained for years for their job). My point is that I don't think dialling prices back to £89 has any effect on this at all! Scholarships, schools-only shows and other initiatives would, in the long run (and that's what we're talking about) have a greater impact.

Thanks for the response - we should be doing this over a drink (but not at ATG prices...)

[TimWright]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 7:37am

Christ no- have you seen how much a rioja costs?!

Meet you in 'spoons round the corner and we'll pick this up! 

[Gary Naylor]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 7:43am

You're on!

[Gary Naylor]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 7:52am

One of the little thought experiments I sometimes do is to consider how much I would pay for...

Seeing Elvis in Vegas in 1972

Paul Robeson in Showboat in 1928

West Side Story and Oliver! on their original runs.

Plenty more too. 

I'm convinced that if I have the chance to look back from the perspective of a couple of decades distance, I'll be amazed that I only paid £57.50 for a Hamilton seat, that I didn't treat all my friends and family at that price and that I didn't go once a month for the duration of the run.

And it might be a letdown.

 

 

[nataliealana]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 9:46am

I paid £37.50 for my Hamilton ticket and I feel I was overcharged..

[TimWright]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 10:46am

Say whaaaaat! 

Not a fan?

[nataliealana]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 11:14am

Oh god I HATED Hamilton.

[Gary Naylor]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 11:31am

I don't much like the underpinning politics of this, but I do find its argument persuasive - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8DQHTTyxt_4C&pg=PR47&lpg=PR47&dq=pj+o%27rourke+price+what+someone+will+pay&source=bl&ots=hoER46MjZT&sig=daVQQb5HXGmZZrOOVAb-xdXji2Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiemJanjYDZAhWCAsAKHSl0BQIQ6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&q=pj%20o'rourke%20price%20what%20someone%20will%20pay&f=false

[TimWright]

Posted: 1/31/18 at 7:39am

tell me more! I want to know why you hated it!

[rjm516]

Posted: 1/31/18 at 10:29am

People who say they hate Hamilton just like to stand out as 'that person who hated Hamilton'.

 

Anyway it's still much cheaper than Broadway, so that's great. And just because this show has changed musical theatre doesn't mean it has an obligation to keep prices down. Shows are commercial ventures; it is crazy to me that people still bemoan ticket prices when this is all business. Do you expect different? Hindering access to art? Netflix raises its prices every so often, that hinders access to art too. Why is it different? 

[Crashdowngurl693]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 6:44pm

I am from America and I am sorry to say that this is just the beginning. I just bought tickets in London for a trip there at 37.50 pounds, which is like $54 us and that is a major bargain to me. Earlier this month, tickets went on sale for broadway with the lowest price being $199 us (139.47 pds). You are definitely protected much more by laws that prevent largely inflated resale of upwards of $1,000 us, which I applaud you for. I do hope that I am wrong and your prices stay reasonable.