***BEWARE** Scalpers taking over Jersey Boys rush!!!!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:04pm

Just wanting to send out a notice of what happened today.

My best friend, everyone's favorite mistrees, and I attended jersey Boys today, arriving more than early for the rush line. Not too long after, we were joined by a young spanish girl who curled up behind us and fell asleep, only to be joined by two friends HOURS later.. they only spoke spanish to one another in the line and they always were sending one of them to run errands. Nothing was said to them about this due to the fact that during the preliminary ticket count, they each said they were getting 1 per person, and that cuased the line to work out to a PERFECT 12.

However, when they did the final count, the decided that they wanted a total of FOUR... not that big of a deal, though it did cause the last pair in the line to get one rush ticket and one standing room. There was a BIT of a fuss in the line around these girls and their behavior while in the box office. The people who recieved seats located with them were not happy about it.

The killer..........

Before the show, the girls did not show up, but a group of tourists!!!!!!!! By asking a few fast questions it was quickly learned that the girls took the four seats, valued at $26.25 each and turned them over to the Comfort Inn in Midtown. The Comfort Inn sold them to their guests at a value of $250 each!!!!!!!

In ANY situation, I find a resale of that type to be sleezy.. in fact, it IS illegal. The fact that it was a business doing this was even more upseting. On top of it all, people showed up hours in advance to wait for tickets to see the show and these girls caused others not to be able to see Jersey Boys...

Just advising.. BE WARNED and keep the guard up!

[Just_John]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:06pm

Were these people able to stay and watch the show??

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:14pm

The people who purchased the tickets from the hotel were able to stay and watch the show, yes. We all put 2 and 2 together during intermission. WE mentioned it to a house staff member and were greeted with a "what are you going to do?" response.
Updated On: 10/15/06 at 11:14 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:15pm

DId you tell the people who purchased the tickets from the hotel what had happened?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:15pm

I'm shocked that Mistress doesn't understand Spanish.

Updated On: 10/15/06 at 11:15 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:18pm

Yes, the people who purchased them from the hotel were told... The people in the other rush seats had asked where they got them! The $26.25 was apparently still visible on the ticket, but they didn't care how much they had paid because they really wanted to see Jersey Boys. Go figure.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:19pm

Was JLY at least in?

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:19pm

Were any understudies in?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:22pm

We attened specifically to see Michael Longoria as Frankie Vallie.

Other covers were:

John Leone as Nick Massi

Matthew Scott was in for Michael Longoria as Joe, et all
Heather Ferguson was in for Erica Piccininni

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:22pm

How was Michael?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:25pm

Michael, as always, was in perfect form and delivered a star making turn.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:28pm

michael as frankie = LOVE.

john leone as nick massi well he just looks so much older than the other four seasons it just doesn't play right.

matthew scott as joey p = just wrong. he just misses all the laughs.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:32pm

Yes, i thought John Leone played the role well, but seemed so very physically distant from the rest that it didn't fly.

Matthew Scott is a great performer and was a treat in all of his small roles in that track.. the exception, of course, is young Joe. That is no fault of Matthew's. It is simply that he is very physically and stylistically wrong for that role.

I can not say enough about Michael as Frankie... if anyone has the chance to see him and you don't, you will regret it!

[NJgirl]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:33pm

I'm sure its hard for the box office/house to enforce...but that is CRAZY! I would at least someone would inform them of what happened. I don't know how you would prevent this from happening again in the future, but scalpers/concierge desk taking the tickets out of the hands of the people who can only afford student price and are willing to wait isn't right. Especially reselling them for a 1000 bucks. Wonder whos hands that money goes in...the concierges or the hotels. I highly doubt the hotel is getting a cut of that money.....
Updated On: 10/15/06 at 11:33 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:35pm

Broadwayguy2- Have you seen JLY? Who do you perfer?

[BrunetteBombshell]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:36pm

It sucks that the tickets were scalped, seeing as the people that bought them didn't wait in line for them like everyone else. But they still paid money, and I'm not sure what the staff members could have done, possibly kicked them out?

On the lighter and legal side, you still got to see the show and it's great that you enjoyed it.


Updated On: 10/15/06 at 11:36 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:36pm

Give me Longoria any day.

I have actually heard several house staff at the theatre refer to Michael as the "best Frankie that they have"


The csalper situation did not affect me as my best friend and I were the first in line...
Updated On: 10/15/06 at 11:36 PM

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:43pm

The $26.25 was apparently still visible on the ticket, but they didn't care how much they had paid because they really wanted to see Jersey Boys.

And that, even more than the fact that scalpers took over the rush, pretty much sums up everything that's so disgustingly wrong (and so brilliantly right, from a business standpoint) with Broadway.

Sigh.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 10/15/06 at 11:46pm

i've seen all the frankie understudies....

i'd say give me michael anyday, so good as frankie.

give me dominic anyday when i wanted someone to drool over on stage

give me johnlloyd when i'm bringing realitives to the show who wanna see the tony winner.

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 10/16/06 at 12:03am

That is unfair. But honestly speaking, you can try to do something but it may not help. You can't do a background check of everyone in line. Once the people purchase their tickets, they do with them what they want.

JBradshaw, I definitely agree with you about Matt Scott as Pesci. If he didn't bend over so much to make it look like he has spinal problems, it would be much better. Dominic stands up a bit straighter, and that makes a world of difference.

Hope it was a good show for Michael today - it's his birthday!

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/16/06 at 12:06am

Once the people purchase their tickets, they do with them what they want.

No, you can't. State law limits the amount of profit that you can make off a ticket resale, and since the tickets in question were sold at almost a 1,000 percent profit at a Midtown hotel, then it was definitely illegal.

This also is why I am not joining the chorus who want that law repealed. Can you imagine what will happen to lotteries and rushes if that was done?

Posted: 10/16/06 at 12:24am

The simple solution is a lottery, with the winners drawn an hour before the show -- how are the scalpers gonna do business if they won't even know whether they won until 7pm? That would also cure the problem of people saving spots for their absent buddies. One entry per show, must be present to win, winners must show ID, two tickets per winner, one win max per month.

[mikem]

Posted: 10/16/06 at 12:28am

This thread is crazy to read -- messages about scalping are completely intermixed with messages about who's playing Frankie Valli. It's like someone threw two threads in the air and put them together.

Do the people at Jersey Boys write down the rushers' ID info? Calvin is right that the sale was illegal under New York law.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/16/06 at 12:30am

Broadway Local, I agree. The rush at Jersey Boys, scalping aside is competitave and fierce. People get their EARLY and camp out a slong as possible for the theatre and it gets crazy... Today, for example, I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a rather.. enthusiastic.. Michael LOngoria fan who spent the entire time on line trying convince people to leave the line, let her be first so that she could have her pick of the seats, not get a second ticket with an id, or (in some cases) take her backstage! She was rather disturbing and off putting

[kaboodles041]

Posted: 10/16/06 at 1:07am

No one minded that they were partial view? If I were to pay those ridiculous prices, they better be REALLY good seats!