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i love this articles somewhat subtle way of showing how ironic it is that this show is about the middle class and the only people who can see it are above the middle class. it's funny because the people who are being excluded from seeing shows like billy elliot, are like billy elliot. doesn't make much sense to me.
This article brings up the interesting point that theatre producers no longer have a need for the middle class. However, by slowly making the cost of a couple going to the theatre on a saturday night upwards of $400 w/ a babysitter, Producers are working themselves out of a market.
I understand the importance of getting the highest gross income as possible, but they seem to be just bighting themselves in the foot by increasing competition between producers for an increasingly narrow market.
It seems unfair that today on Broadway you have to sell your kidney to get even the back row seats. Sure Broadway is the best of the best and the prices have always been high. But new shows coming out that keep raising their tickets to the $400 range how is anyone besides the rich class suppose to be involved in this community. Broadway now wants nothing to do with the lower classes, which will soon become a problem. Only few will be able to afford that price for theatre seats and soon the theatre going population will decrease. It seems that in the long end the best thing for both worlds would be to lower prices to a reasonable amount. The lower classes will be able to buy tickets and the theatre will sell more seats and bring in more people.
what's odd to me about this article and afew I have read latley is that they're only talking about certain shows and not others in this context. Cry Baby has hardly been publisized at all and it's going into rehersals in a month or so. That has the same power house team that made Hairspray and it's going to be reasonably priced, but we never hear anything about a good, entertaining show that doesn't cost a fortune to see and is almost a sure hit.
This is a real problem with Broadway today. We want to expose our art to as many people as possible, especially if we want it to have any sort of effect on the social atmosphere of today. So the fact that you have to spend hundreds of dollars a night (plus transportation, plus babysitter, plus dinner etc) is absolutely absurd. Especially considering the message and the context of this one particular show, it is not something that should be a privelege for the rich, but something that is as accessable as a movie theater. No wonder producers are trying to cut costs with their stagehands. But unfortunately it is clear that ticket prices are bound to keep rising until Broadway is solely a huant for the wealthiest of America.
This ultimately underlines why stagehands are so frustrated with producers and their demands. Not just are the costs for tickets going up but the cost of labor, maintenance and people in the theatre. Rico is right in saying that they are running themselves out of the market. However I can't see how prices would change seeing the amount of money a show needs in order to be successful.
6 comments:
i love this articles somewhat subtle way of showing how ironic it is that this show is about the middle class and the only people who can see it are above the middle class. it's funny because the people who are being excluded from seeing shows like billy elliot, are like billy elliot. doesn't make much sense to me.
This article brings up the interesting point that theatre producers no longer have a need for the middle class. However, by slowly making the cost of a couple going to the theatre on a saturday night upwards of $400 w/ a babysitter, Producers are working themselves out of a market.
I understand the importance of getting the highest gross income as possible, but they seem to be just bighting themselves in the foot by increasing competition between producers for an increasingly narrow market.
It seems unfair that today on Broadway you have to sell your kidney to get even the back row seats. Sure Broadway is the best of the best and the prices have always been high. But new shows coming out that keep raising their tickets to the $400 range how is anyone besides the rich class suppose to be involved in this community. Broadway now wants nothing to do with the lower classes, which will soon become a problem. Only few will be able to afford that price for theatre seats and soon the theatre going population will decrease. It seems that in the long end the best thing for both worlds would be to lower prices to a reasonable amount. The lower classes will be able to buy tickets and the theatre will sell more seats and bring in more people.
what's odd to me about this article and afew I have read latley is that they're only talking about certain shows and not others in this context. Cry Baby has hardly been publisized at all and it's going into rehersals in a month or so. That has the same power house team that made Hairspray and it's going to be reasonably priced, but we never hear anything about a good, entertaining show that doesn't cost a fortune to see and is almost a sure hit.
This is a real problem with Broadway today. We want to expose our art to as many people as possible, especially if we want it to have any sort of effect on the social atmosphere of today. So the fact that you have to spend hundreds of dollars a night (plus transportation, plus babysitter, plus dinner etc) is absolutely absurd. Especially considering the message and the context of this one particular show, it is not something that should be a privelege for the rich, but something that is as accessable as a movie theater. No wonder producers are trying to cut costs with their stagehands. But unfortunately it is clear that ticket prices are bound to keep rising until Broadway is solely a huant for the wealthiest of America.
This ultimately underlines why stagehands are so frustrated with producers and their demands. Not just are the costs for tickets going up but the cost of labor, maintenance and people in the theatre. Rico is right in saying that they are running themselves out of the market. However I can't see how prices would change seeing the amount of money a show needs in order to be successful.
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