When A CHORUS LINE first opened to rave reviews at the Public Theater in 1975, and scalpers were making big bucks on the tickets, Joe Papp announced that if people were willing to pay higher than face value, the theatre itself should benefit - and the premium ticket was born.
Ragtime offered special tickets the first time around, great center orchestra seats with you're own intermission area, champagne and a program thrown in.
Miss Saigon tried to sell all seats for $100 at first, but Nicholas Nickleby was $100 for each ticket in 1981-but neither show was considered premium.
Wasn't Miss Saigon's $100 tickets in the front of the mezzanine rather than the orchestra? I assume it was so you could see the helicopter scene fully. Interesting that Nicholas Nickelby charged $100 as well.
The Producers started the trend of charging in excess of $400 for a premium seat, only Young Frankenstein, The Book of Mormon and Death of a Salesman charge this much, most other shows charge between $200-300 for premium seats.
NICHOLAS NICKLEBY did have a top price of $100, which was unheard of then--but it was the regular price, not premium. Also, it included two full length plays for that price. Total performance time was close to six hours. You could see both parts in one day or on consecutive nights. I'm not sure, but don't think it was possible to buy a less expensive ticket for one half of the show only.
Our now head of the National Endowement For The Arts- Rocco Landsman, decided that the scalpers were making too much money off of The Producers- so why shouldn't they basically beat them at their own game. So that is when the decision was made to take the best seats in the house, call them "premium" and sell them at a much higher rate. And we live in a copycat world so here we are today!
The original production of Ragtime, as someone else mentioned, had them for a whopping $125. In addition to the best seats, you got a free souvenir program and a glass of champagne at intermission.
Can I just say I f*cking hate this trend? Like seriously why are we accepting the fact that the best seats in any theatre (literally almost ALL of center orch) are priced 2x or 3x the price of normal seats? It's complete crap that if you are willing to pay "full price" (now 120$+) that isn't enough to get you a good seat anymore. It's horrible. It's a plague. This makes me mad. Can you tell?
Unfortunately, goldenboy, the economics, not just of Broadway but of New York City, just don't allow for a top ticket price of $25 (though I hope that you would be willing to concede a somewhat higher price adjusted for inflation from those days when it was the top ticket price). The reality is that, in addition to the inflated costs associated with the physical production, the people who are working on that production need to be able to pay their rent, buy food, and live their lives. That just wouldn't be able to happen with a top ticket price of $25.
Though I do agree that the blocking off of so many seats as "premium" is now more than a bit ridiculous. The good thing though, for those of us who don't need to plan their ticket purchases very far in advance, it leaves us with good options for day of sales when a majority of shows are unable to sell all those seats at the premium price.
Premium seats were better when they were controlled (as in a few rows here and there). But now with "dynamic pricing" and premium sections being expanded, audiences are being priced out.
I think premium seats get a bad image from shows like THE BOOK OF MORMON and WICKED that have premium seats in the $200 range and higher, but these shows are extremely popular and people are willing to pay these prices for theses shows, but shows like LION KING have premium seats that top off at $200 which is a reasonable increase if these are the best seats. It's only about $50 than the regularly priced seats. If they're the best seats then they should be more expensive. It's just when you have to fork over an entire paycheck for a single seat that it seems ridiculous. But, if you really want to see THE BOOK OF MORMON and you can afford it, then the price isn't that much of an issue.
Shows that have lotteries and general rush tend to charge more for premium seats than shows with only student rush, it seems. One thing I can't stand is premium section is getting bigger and bigger everyday. Used to be few rows in center orchestra but now it's like first 15 rows in the center orchestra and 4-5 rows on front mezzanine center. So no one but only select few can afford to go see a broadway show nowadays...
Here's the deal with "premium" seats... in my honest opinion the first five to ten rows of the center Orchestra is NOT the best seats in the house. So those who want to pay boatloads for a seat to be seen sitting in, more power to you. My favorite place is Center Mezzanine Row A. What makes me sad, is that producers/ticket sellers are catching on, so now some places use Center Mezzanine Row A as a premium seat too.
The Premium Seat practice is not that bad - it is only a select number of seats. If they are not sold, they are usually released on the day of performance for standard orchestra price (albeit still an expensive proposition). I don't even like those seats.
The more insidious practice (that no one has ever commented on) is the relatively new, side aisle seats sold ONLY IN PAIRS. Those are my favorite seats as you have a direct view of the stage and no one with a big head in front of you to block your view. I come from SF to NYC 3 times a year, alone, by myself, just me. So, I need just ONE ticket but get shut out of my favorite seats (although I also like front mezz).
As for being alone, don't feel sorry for me. I get to do what I want when I want and I usually see 9 shows in 6 days - and I don't have to ask my partner if he is enjoying the show (which he usually just tolerates for my sake because he knows I really enjoy it).
Not all theaters do it, but the practice is becoming more common. I find THAT practice abhorent and kind of discriminatory against single theatergoers (now you can feel sorry for me). I don't hear anyone complaining about that.
I've always thought the "theater party" craze in the 50's and 60's could be seen as the precursor to the "premium seat" business. Theater parties basically were (are) scalpers for charity- marking up prime seats to a hit show and pocketing the difference- for a "Good cause."
Scalpers have always been with us (under many names) and people have ALWAYS paid more for prime seats at hit shows. 50 years ago, most seats were sold by "Ticket services" that would add a "Convenience charge" to the tickets they sold. People paid a per-ticket fee, a delivery fee and an annual membership charge to have access to tickets for sold-out shows.
I agree with Taz- if someone creates a hit, I'd rather they get the money than an outsider who buys tickets for $130 and sells them for $250 or more.
I totally agree with the complaint about selling side aisle seats in pairs only. That is my favorite seat as well. 2nd or 3rd row, side aisle. I also travel from DC to NYC 3 or 4 times a year alone to catch as many shows as I can. I hate that so many theatres will only sell those seats in pairs.
Hey Rob, thanks - at least I am not the only one. I often thought of trying to schedule a trip with someone else just to get around that horrible new selling strategy. LOL.
"So no one but only select few can afford to go see a broadway show nowadays"
Not true at all. I'm not a student and I generally pay 45 bucks or less for tickets. I'll occasionally shell out some more money if I want to see a show on a late notice.
There are plenty of options out there if you really want them.
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Posted: 7/3/12 at 09:48pm