Student Blog: Theatre on a Budget

What’s the secret to saving almost $300 on theatre in one month? Experience it in Europe!! One of the beautiful things I’ve learned about Vienna is how cheap theatre is here! This month, I’ve seen two musicals, one opera, and two plays, and I’ve kept track of how much I spent on each ticket. Though there are of course no direct comparisons, I found similar tickets in America. This blog post outlines what I spent in Vienna and what I would’ve spent in America. I hope my monthly spending can shed light on the price difference between theatre here versus back home in the States. I converted all prices to USD for ease of comprehension.

The Sound of Music 

Venue: Volksoper Wien (a beautiful opera house in the 9th district, which produces operas, musicals, and ballets)

Seat: Orchestra Row 20  

Price: $16.79 

Comparable American price: $55 (I looked at many theaters around the size of Volksoper Wien and found most of their cheapest tickets to be around $55)

Die Zauberflöte

Venue: Volksoper Wien (see above)

Seat: Second Balcony Row 4

Price: Free (Provided through my music class. If I had paid for the ticket, it would have been roughly $17)

Comparable American price: $55 (see above)

Same Time, Next Year

Venue: Vienna’s English Theatre (an intimate performance space in the 8th district which has produced many world and European premieres)

Seat: Orchestra Row 11

Price: $24.32 (student discount!!)

Comparable American price: $35 (This is a common youth ticket price in smaller regional theaters in America)

Tick… Tick… Boom!

Venue: Volksoper Wien (see above)

Seat: Orchestra Standing Room

Price: $5.60

Comparable American price: $25 (According to NYTix, standing room tickets on Broadway cost an average of $25)

Jekyll & Hyde & Alle Ängstlichen Bedenken (Jekyll & Hyde & All Anxious Concerns)

Venue: Drachengasse 2 Theater (a tiny black box theatre in the 1st district of Vienna where experimental theatre is produced)

Seat: General Admission (there were no more than 50 seats in the theater with no bad seats, so there was no need to have pre assigned seating)

Price: $12.64 (student discount!!)

Comparable American price: $20 (I looked at multiple experimental black box theater spaces in Los Angeles, which all seemed to have minimum prices around $20)

TheaterMuseum

I get this for free through my program, but an annual ticket here would cost $30. 

Comparable American price: The Museum of Broadway in New York City costs $133 for an annual membership. 

Total Cost in Vienna: $106.35 (Once you include what was provided through my program, I only spent $59.35)

Prospective Cost in America: $398

Total savings: $291.65

I’m very thankful for the opportunity to study abroad and to have such great access to theaters in Vienna. If you are ever in Europe, I highly recommend buying tickets to whatever shows are available. It’s a great opportunity to experience high-quality, yet relatively low-priced art!

 

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