Winter Garden additional Row

[PutonyourWarPaint]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 5:03pm

Just putting this out there - - If anyone bought front row tickets for The Music Man during the initial online sale last fall, you may want to cross reference that with the ACTUAL seating chart for the Music Man at the Winter Garden Theatre/Telecharge Seating Chart

We discovered today that the seats we bought "at a shubert theatre to be announced" last fall,  are actually the 2nd Row, "BB", instead of "AA" that must have been added at some point? We certainly paid the premium for front row tickets which is absurd yes, but also we are traveling with a guest who has low vision problems and its often agitated in darker spaces. So, we don't mind the cost, but we sit on the front row for a reason.

Personally, I've grown quite fond of front row sitting. Fewer distractions of phones, karaoke audience, etc. I find myself more engaged in the show, and its a way all the people in our party can leave satisfied.  War Paint, Hello Dolly, Once On This Island, My Fair Lady, Wicked and most recently, Beetlejuice all within the last few years have been really marvelous on the front row. 

Again, just wanted to put that out there in case you expect to find yourself walking into the show with a Front Row expectation, only to be seated 2nd row...

I can only guide you to contact telecharge if this you have questions or concerns with your order too.

[JPeterman]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 6:15pm

You must be my Broadway doppelgänger.... I was going to post literally this same message a few days ago. Our situation is virtually identical to yours. I was pretty ticked off to get hoodwinked like that! I’m debating whether or not to spend the time calling and trying to move up.

[Wick3]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 7:46pm

Is the front row already sold out or are the producers blocking it off at the moment?

[mxfish1313]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 7:57pm

Wick3 said: "Is the front row already sold out or are the producers blocking it off at the moment?"

This is what I really want to know. I currently have a BB ticket, but would love to try to get it switched to AA if they're just being held back from sales for now.

[PutonyourWarPaint]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 8:23pm

I did a pretty extensive search starting in January of 2021, going through March of 2021 to see if ANY Row AA seats were available. I was not successful. It makes me think MAYBE the producers are blocking them off at the moment.

As of right now row BB for Beetlejuice is CLOSE. Adding an "AA" would probably scale down the orchestra pit and put you that much closer. Plus, it helps generate revenue from what looks like an additional 11 seats? Assuming each of those runs from $450-$499/ticket,sells out at 8 shows a week...they could beef up the production an extra 40K+ a week just by adding that row. 

Looked for past photos of School of Rock on View from My Seat...but couldn't find anything close like AA.

 

Surely there will be more than a handful of us who bought BB, thinking it was Front Row. 

How will The Winter Garden remedy this before previews start?

 

 

[PutonyourWarPaint]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 8:23pm

I did a pretty extensive search starting in January of 2021, going through March of 2021 to see if ANY Row AA seats were available. I was not successful. It makes me think MAYBE the producers are blocking them off at the moment.

As of right now row BB for Beetlejuice is CLOSE. Adding an "AA" would probably scale down the orchestra pit and put you that much closer. Plus, it helps generate revenue from what looks like an additional 11 seats? Assuming each of those runs from $450-$499/ticket,sells out at 8 shows a week...they could beef up the production an extra 40K+ a week just by adding that row. 

Looked for past photos of School of Rock on View from My Seat...but couldn't find anything close like AA.

 

Surely there will be more than a handful of us who bought BB, thinking it was Front Row. 

How will The Winter Garden remedy this before previews start?

 

 

[JPeterman]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 8:39pm

They are definitely holding row AA back - if the stage is high they will use them for lotto or sell them cheaply. If the stage is not too high, by the time they make them available for sale, they will charge whatever they can .... if the show is a super hot ticket, they may try to charge $600 $800 $1000 ... who knows. Since Hamilton, prices have just skyrocketed.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 8:40pm

PutonyourWarPaint said: "I did a pretty extensive search starting in January of 2021, going through March of 2021 to see if ANY Row AA seats were available. I was not successful. It makes me thinkMAYBEtheproducers are blocking them off at the moment.

As of right now row BB for Beetlejuice is CLOSE. Adding an "AA" would probably scale down the orchestra pit and put you that much closer. Plus, it helps generate revenue from what looks like an additional 11 seats? Assuming each of those runs from $450-$499/ticket,sells out at 8 shows a week...they could beef up the productionan extra 40K+ a week just by adding that row.

Looked for past photos of School of Rock on View from My Seat...but couldn't find anything close like AA.



Surely there will be more than a handful of us who bought BB, thinking it was Front Row.

How will The Winter Garden remedy this before previews start?"

Have you actually spoken to Telecharge yet? If so, what did they say? If not, why haven't you? 

BTW, this is from row AA:



 

[Fagnes Gooch]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 8:47pm

The flabbergasting greed of the producers — to say nothing of the bad karma they engendered by forcing Beetlejuice out — has turned me off completely. I am finding myself moving from sudden indifference to hoping their karma comes back to bite each of them in the tush.

[angoradebs]

Posted: 2/12/20 at 8:57pm

Is it possible that they are actually planning to remove row AA?

[JPeterman]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 1:11am

angoradebs said: "Is it possible that they are actually planning to remove row AA?"

It seems very unlikely .... since they were selling tickets for months without AA on the seating map and then got the bright idea to squeeze in one more row of high priced tickets and went to the trouble of adding row AA to the seating map several weeks ago.

[Wick3]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 5:13am

Front row tix for Hello Dolly starring Bette Midler a few years ago were being sold for $999 during peak season so producers may choose to price it that way.

[ellbellthomps]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 9:45am

Same thing happened to me with the Once on this Island revival. I bought tickets the day they were released, for the closest row they had, and three months later they had the stage seats.

Actually, it happened at DEH too when they switched theatres. I had second row DEAD center, and then at the Music Box it basically was partial view. 

I was pretty ticked; I'd still call telecharge or whoever you bought them from. It's unfortunately a common theme. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 10:16am

Fagnes Gooch said: "The flabbergasting greed of the producers — to say nothing of the bad karma they engendered by forcing Beetlejuice out — has turned me off completely. I am finding myself moving from sudden indifference to hoping their karma comes back to bite each of them in the tush."


Commercial theatre is an industry run on capitalism. If you do not like that, then you should stop attending Broadway shows and exclusively go to non-profit theatre (many of which are subsidized by commercial producers testing out new productions before Broadway...so even that feeds into the capitalism).

The Music Man producer will charge whatever the market can bear for people to see Hugh Jackman 10 feet away –– and those tickets WILL sell.

There's also no bad karma related to Beetlejuice; it's a totally legal move, and it's more about the theatre owners than anything else. Remember, if not Music Man, some other show would have signed on to play the Winter Garden, and it probably would have forced BJ to close even sooner.

[Calcifer2]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 10:20am

Your best bet is to email Telecharge rather than call— in the main Music Man thread, several of us got tickets “fixed” after the theater was announced but we were all told to email and then got phone calls back.

[angoradebs]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 11:34am

JPeterman said: "angoradebs said: "Is it possible that they are actually planning to remove row AA?"

It seems very unlikely .... since they were selling tickets for months without AA on the seating map and then got thebright idea to squeeze in one more row of high priced tickets and went to the trouble ofaddingrow AA to the seating mapseveral weeks ago."

Ah, I see. I misunderstood; I thought this was just about the Winter Garden seating chart starting at AA and the Telecharge seat map starting at BB. I didn't realize that the Telecharge seat map now also includes AA

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 1:19pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Fagnes Gooch said: "The flabbergasting greed of the producers — to say nothing of the bad karma they engendered by forcing Beetlejuice out — has turned me off completely. I am finding myself moving from sudden indifference to hoping their karma comes back to bite each of them in the tush."


Commercial theatre is an industry run on capitalism. If you do not like that, then you should stop attending Broadway shows and exclusively go to non-profit theatre (many of which are subsidized by commercial producers testing out new productions before Broadway...so even that feeds into thecapitalism).

The Music Manproducerwill charge whatever the market can bear for people to see Hugh Jackman 10 feet away –– and those tickets WILL sell.

There's also no bad karma related toBeetlejuice;it's a totally legal move, and it's more about the theatre owners than anything else. Remember, if not Music Man, some other show would have signed on to play the Winter Garden, and it probably would have forcedBJ to close even sooner."

If it wasn't for profits, we would not have ANY Broadway shows.    Those profits help drive further productions.

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 1:19pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Fagnes Gooch said: "The flabbergasting greed of the producers — to say nothing of the bad karma they engendered by forcing Beetlejuice out — has turned me off completely. I am finding myself moving from sudden indifference to hoping their karma comes back to bite each of them in the tush."


Commercial theatre is an industry run on capitalism. If you do not like that, then you should stop attending Broadway shows and exclusively go to non-profit theatre (many of which are subsidized by commercial producers testing out new productions before Broadway...so even that feeds into thecapitalism).

The Music Manproducerwill charge whatever the market can bear for people to see Hugh Jackman 10 feet away –– and those tickets WILL sell.

There's also no bad karma related toBeetlejuice;it's a totally legal move, and it's more about the theatre owners than anything else. Remember, if not Music Man, some other show would have signed on to play the Winter Garden, and it probably would have forcedBJ to close even sooner."

If it wasn't for profits, we would not have ANY Broadway shows.    Those profits help drive further productions.

[Fagnes Gooch]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 2:59pm

I get that it’s show BUSINESS. And I get the market and all that. But, in on these three cases (ticket prices, added rows, forcing BJ out), it’s a “just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD” thing for me.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 3:27pm

Fagnes Gooch said: "I get that it’s show BUSINESS. And I get the market and all that. But, in on these three cases (ticket prices, added rows, forcing BJ out), it’s a “just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD” thing for me."

Actually, Scott Rudin's productions have some of the most reasonable advance ticket prices, with many shows having $39-49 options. It's only later that prices go up and discounts disappear. Incredibly, even though the show is a smash, the West Side Story discount is still active, and the cheap seats have remained $39. Also, with the exception of the $400-500+ tickets, of which there are not that many, the majority of the seats in the Winter Garden are $99-279, which is in line with many other shows, and none of those have Hugh Jackman's salary to pay. In fact, some of the $99 mezzanine seats for The Music Man are priced almost identically for Beetlejuice. 

Also, according to the Telecharge seating chart, they've added a total of 10 seats. I don't think that's at all indicative of "flabbergasting greed."

Updated On: 2/13/20 at 03:27 PM

[Bigserver1]

Posted: 2/13/20 at 3:40pm

I initially booked row A (billed as the second row) and felt like that was a little close to the stage but it was far and away the best seating option available that I found. I was thrilled when I found out that I'd be in row 3 vs. row 2. I hope anyone angling for row 1 seating gets accommodated, it would certainly be frustrating to expect that and end up in the second row.

[jo]

Posted: 2/14/20 at 4:18pm

These things happen...

And these have happened to me --

*Promoted to Front Row ( from second row) because they eliminated the first row right before previews. The displaced viewers were reassigned to other seats and/or given a chance to reschedule.

*Demoted to second row after buying tickets for front row during advance sale. However, they added a new front row afterwards.  Telecharge  accommodated my request for a seat in the new front row.

*Bought front row left orchestra ( second tier premium) during advance sale - found out after show opened that there would be full obstructed viewing in the best part of the show. Requested change of seat. Telecharge gave me a seat center aisle-Orchestra left. Turned out to be the Best seat for the show.

*Bought great seat for a London show. Previews were cancelled and  rescheduled  after my planned trip. 

On another London (business) trip - I found out on my arrival that a revival of one of my favorite composers was playing. But I initially hesitated to get tickets  because the only seats on offer were front row Dress Circle/Front Mezz ( not my preferred location). But I decided to go despite misgivings. That gave me a chance to see a live staging of the RNT revival of OKLAHOMA!... I didn't know the lead but he did have a powerful voice and a commanding stage presence.  When the announcement to  see THE MUSIC MAN came, I bought tickets right away and without hesitation this time 

Good decision - because they have since raised prices for Top Premium for a show that won't even start previews till September.

C'est la vie.

Btw, if the reason why you prefer sitting at or near the front is because, like me, you find it difficult to see the show over the top of the heads of people in front.  If I cannot find a front row or second or third row - I look for center-aisle seats either left or right orchestra. I also particularly prefer Front Row or close to it for straight plays...I am not fond of going up to the mezzanine ( personal choice).

These things happen mostly when there is advance sale way ahead of actual staging. But if you wait to buy tickets later on, you run the risk of not getting the seats or close to the seats that you prefer.

 

Updated On: 2/14/20 at 04:18 PM

[RemlapLBC]

Posted: 2/15/20 at 10:41am

First while I understand OPs disappointment some of the comments make make laugh. If the row is BB on the standard seating chart that does imply the Winter Gardens orchestra pit in flexible in design and the there is an AA that can be added at Producers descression. This is not an evil producers being like a low budget airline. They aren’t sliding each row in the orchestra closer together to cram in an extra row.
Going back to Rent and continuing thru today many shows use the First Row for lottery winners as some short people consider them limited view and just aren’t for sale in advance. OPs seats at the exact same distance from Hugh Jackman as they were before.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/15/20 at 11:03am

PutonyourWarPaint said: "We discovered today that the seats we bought "at a shubert theatre to be announced" last fall, are actually the 2nd Row, "BB", instead of "AA" that must have been added at some point? We certainly paid the premium for front row tickets which is absurd yes, but also we are traveling with a guest who has low vision problems and its often agitated in darker spaces. So, we don't mind the cost, but we sit on the front row for a reason."

Few shows sell the front row in advance, usually because they don't know whether they will remove it, or how to price them (stage high = not premium, etc.), but are you actually seeing any seats available for sale in AA? They may already know they aren't using that row, BUT the Telecharge seating chart added it once they confirmed the theater, as their seating charts often don't get updated based on the show, but show your seats on the default seating chart, even if that row isn't being used for a specific production.