| Ticket Prices: Stop Complaining - no good old days. | |
| Posted by: Musicals54 01:59 pm EST 11/25/24 | |
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| People forget that scalping was a thriving business in the bad old days. Read this “The clamor for South Pacific tickets went into overdrive as soon as the late editions hit the streets on the evening of April 7. Rarely in the history of Broadway had a pair of tickets been in such demand. Scalpers were getting up to $500 for a pair of orchestra seats that had been bought for $6.00 each.” South Pacific Companion, pg. 149 $500 in 1949 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $5,443.30 in 2020! The top ticket price at opening was $6.00 which included a 20% federal tax, prices quickly raised to $7.20. At least today the big bucks go to the production etc. and and ensemble members get good pay. The federal tax was gradually removed. NYC slapped on a 5% on ticket price over 1$. As a result of the 1960 Actors Strike, NYC did away with the tax on the condition that the amount that would be collected would go to a pension fund (Now covering all). That is still in effect. It used to be that the entire orchestra was the top price - often not the case now. More importantly, producers who made the cheap seats really cheap were punished. Enter Laughing, charged 99 cents for the second balcony. Seats went unsold. Price increased to the the current cheap price and they sold. Hal Prince raised the top price for the best seats for Cabaret from 10 to 12 $ and the cheapest seats were sold for $2. He raised them to the the current cheap price and they sold out. Guess what the second balcony at the Henry Miller's and the Broadhurst were no closer nor further away from the stage. Sight lines unchanged. Same number of stairs. Stop with the complaints. |
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| Previous: | re: Lansbury's cast album is the only one I listen to besides Merman - Cinephile 07:26 pm EST 11/25/24 |
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