A New Low for Bway.com?

[dramamama611]

Perhaps only new to me, but.....I went on to Bway.com to check the running time for Head Over Heels and noticed something I never had  before: blatant lying.

Their calendar made it look like there were no performances happening S-W of this week - there are.  They also have that all of next weekend Th-Sun are sold out.   They aren't....not even close.  What absolute ****s.

I realize t likely means THEY either never had tickets or sold out of what they had.  But what an absolute disservice to the very industry they are "supporting". I get they are just hoping that people might get tickets (through their site) rather then going elsewhere.   But this seems just wrong.

I wonder if the productions know this or care or even if there is anything they can do about it.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Broadway.com has always been a low point for ticket sales with its OUTRAGEOUS handling fees. I steer friends far away from there when they want to buy tickets to a show. I do enjoy most of Broadway.com’s original content and think Paul Wontorek is a delightful interviewer, but the ticketing side of their site is truly horrible.

[dramamama611]

I almost never visit the site, but out of curiosity, I looked at their service charges: SIXTY FIVE bucks a ticket.  I've KNOWN their fees were insane, but wow.  

 

I just think the lying goes above and beyond into the immoral.

[WldKingdomHM]

Thats why her hair is so big. Its full of secrets! 

[Kad]

I remember 15 years ago, when I was in junior high and discovering theatre, Broadway.com was invaluable. They reviewed everything- fringe shows, NYMF. They’d post long B-roll videos. It was really formative and the only way a young kid in suburban Florida could connect with NY theatre.

Such a shame how it’s little more than a ticket reseller with a prime domain name now.

[Tag]

^I really wouldn't say that.  Their video content is unmatched anywhere else.  Their vlogs and Live at Fives are reaching those young suburban kids just the same.

[Jordan Catalano]

15 years ago when I first moved to the city, I worked there for a week. That was long enough for me.

[BalconyClub]

BroadwayConcierge said: "... and Paul Wontorek is a delightful interviewer  ..."

Thank you for the great tip.  Visited Paul Wontorek's past interviews this morning with Taylor Trensch, Ben Platt, Jackie Hoffman, and Patti LuPone. Very in depth. Will check out other interviews too.

[dmwnc1959]

I bought a ticket through them once. Once. I had at that time recently purchased several other tickets through Telecharge and somehow hit the wrong website early one morning, ended up on Broadway.com, and jumped on a front row center Loge ticket that didn’t show available on the intended website I had searched the day prior. Their service and handling fees were a mind-staggering $71, but I didn’t make the connection until after I had bought the ticket and rechecked Telecharge shortly thereafter. It was explained to me that maybe Telecharge didn’t have these same section seats available, and that’s maybe why the fees were so high.

 

[everythingtaboo]

They're geniuses. Evil geniuses. Who have Broadway wrapped around their finger.

[ACL2006]

Their site is terrible and fees are astronomical. The schedule for performances are frequently off/wrong.

[IdinaBellFoster]

All of their video content is posted to YouTube. A nice way to avoid the site and still enjoy some of the content.

[JBroadway]

I haven't been on Broadway.com in years. Not only are their fees outrageous, but their show information is often inaccurate (or at least it was when I stopped using it years ago), which to me is an even lower low. Because if they present themselves as a hub for show information, they shouldn't be making mistakes left and right - listing incorrect closing dates, saying a how has a Sunday evening performance when it doesn't, etc. 

I also found their news articles annoying in tone. It tried way too hard to be all cutesy, and just re-used the same little headline jokes over and over again (though they aren't the only site guilty of that). 

Even after I stopped reading using the site for news and information, I would still watch their video content, but now I'm done with that too. I agree Paul Wontorek is a terrible interviewer, and feels like a sleazy gossip columnist onscreen. And their other onscreen press people are annoying as hell too (The Broadway.com show was like nails on a chalkboard). I do still occasionally watch some of their vlogs, and Susan Blackwell's show, but always on Youtube - like IdinaBellFoster said. Not only do I not want to generate clicks for their site, but also their video player was always so glitchy and too full of ads. 

[Moderator]

Hi all, obviously this thread is a little odd for us, seeing as it is about one of the other theatre sites. However, as in the past, we are fine if you want to discuss the pros and cons of other sites, as that certainly helps the other people on the board.

That being said, we need to be especially careful when it comes to anything approaching a personal attack about someone who works for one of the other sites. Therefore, we've removed a few posts of that nature. Please keep that in mind while continuing this discussion. Thank you so much, and have a great Sunday. 

[Miles2Go2]

I ended up buying two tickets through them for my recent trip, one by accident and one by forced choice. I accidentally bought my Skintight ticket through the website, not realizing what site I was on. Ridiculous surcharges. I’m pretty sure I could have gotten a closer seat via Roundabout for what I paid for Row N Orchestra.

Then a well-meaning friend (who’s clueless about Broadway) bought me a $25 e-certificate from them for my birthday. Not wanting it to go to waste and not wanting him to feel bad, I used it to buy my Spongebob ticket. At least the e-certificate covered most of the surcharges.

I’ll be sure to avoid them in the future.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

I went to Broadway.com literally every day a decade ago and totally forgot that site still existed until seeing this thread. Between BroadwayWorld, Playbill, and American Theatre, there's no reason to go there anymore. I guess they do some good interviews, but there are podcasts now and you can actually listen to the conversation. I guess they don't have anything to offer anymore except being a middle-man for tickets to people who don't know how Ticketmaster works.

[Scarlet Leigh]

IdinaBellFoster said: "All of their video content is posted to YouTube. A nice way to avoid the site and still enjoy some of the content."

^^^ This.

I have not been on Broadway.com in YEARS but their video content is fantastic, entertaining, and is not to be missed. The performer vlogs alone are just a delight to see the behind the scenes experience from the point of view of the performers. The personalities of performers, the cast, the crew, and show itself just shine through.

[Scarywarhol]

They need to go. The site basically functions as a scam operation now.

[TheatreRocks]

The Youtube channel has some pretty awesome stuff. It's the only good thing about the company.

[Sally Burns]

I love the performer vlogs, but that's about it.