Ticket Prices. Again.

As readers of this blog know, I have a very friendly relationship with Arena Stage.  I've been a freelance employee of them twice as a blogger covering their convenings, I think David Dower is a hero and count him as a friend and everything they're doing with trying to create a home for American plays and playwrights is wonderful.

That being said, $95.00-$110 feels way  too high for a ticket to a nonprofit production of anything. And that it's for a show in a 200 seat theater makes it even stranger.  I've complained about this about New York theaters (including to Bernie Gerstein's rather dismissive face), and what's true for them is true for the Arena.  I don't think Molly Smith needs to create a socialist utopia or anything like that, and I understand that there's only so many Major Problems In American Theatre one can reorient their institution to tackle, and tackling New Play Development is a great one to try to knock down. That being said, it saddens me that a theater positioning itself as uniquely American and speaking to as broad a swath of the populace as possible would create such a barrier to entry. I just hope over the coming seasons they can find a way to lower their prices. 

Or to put it another way, how many of the residents of Boligee, Alabama (the "backwater town" in which Marcus Gardley's play is set) could afford to see this play?

UPDATE: Just to clarify and head off a few more comments at the pass... via hunting around their website, what i have found thus far is that the bottom ticket price is $95.  That's a Tuesday night, sitting in the back row.  $95.00. Top ticket price (Fri-Sat night) is $110.  I am not sure if there are discount codes or not, but honestly, I think the question of discount codes is entirely irrelevant to the point I was trying to make, which has to do with barriers between potential audience members and an institution's show.  Discount codes largely reward those already in the know.  A $95-110 ticket price sends out a message about who is and who is not welcome at a theatre.

Comments

[adam807]

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again and again: I don't care how high your top ticket price is as long as there's a reasonable BOTTOM ticket price to go with it. Back in the day you could scoop up rear balcony, obstructed view, even standing room tickets (for Broadway anyway) in advance, without being a student or standing in some crazy line or doing a lottery. If people will pay for premium seats, bless them, they help support the work. But I want to be able to purchase tickets in advance that I can afford without going through contortions. I understand these seats won't be as "good," but that's okay. When nothing on Broadway (to say nothing of NFP off-Broadway and regionals) is below $85, that's not okay.

[isaac]

Adam,
The bottom is $95.00, as far as I can tell. I'm sure there's a discount code somewhere, but of publicly advertised seats, the price range is $95-110.

[Trisha Mead]

It sounds like $100 is their high end... do we know what the low end and special audience seats are going for? I don't personally have a problem with a $100 ticket if there are seats available on the right nights for the right audience in a more affordable range.

[99]

Disappointing. But then again: do brand-spanking-new centers for the New American theatre pay for their own operating costs with art? Not so much.

[adam807]

Right, sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was disagreeing with you. It was clear from your post that the bottom is $95 and I think that's unacceptable. Charge $500 for center orch if you can get away with it. Just let me pay $25 for the back without jumping through hoops.

[adam807]

Oh and 99, this is a constant problem. A theatre does a huge capital campaign to make a new building, without considering what the operating costs of that building will be (not to say that Arena has done this, I've just seen it happen elsewhere). Worse yet, the new building gives the appearance of wealth, and donors may feel tapped out from contributing to the campaign, so the money doesn't come in the way it used to. Huh, I guess art ISN'T easy...

[Aaron Andersen]

Adam, I agree with your opinions on wide price spread, but the cheapest seats to Memphis on Broadway on a recent Friday night were $45.

[adam807]

That's great! It's also rare!

[Donatella]

I would like to point out that Arena does offer various "Savings Programs" to attract younger audiences, families, SW residents, and commuters, though I realize not everyone knows about these offers:
http://www.arenastage.org/shows-tickets/single-tickets/savings-programs/

[Timothy Childs]

It's interesting to look at a show like last Broadway season's HAMLET: the seats in the rear row of the balcony sold for $25 a piece and they sold out *immediately*. When I attended a Saturday matinee mid-run, there were huge areas of empty seats...but that back row? Every seat was filled.

Is it worth the risk (of losing the possibility of the more expensive ticket revenue) to create more $25 seating? Maybe.

I think an even more interesting question is this: should there be a significant difference in pricing between Broadway and regional theaters (of high quality like Arena)?

- Timothy Childs
http://iblogbroadway.com/

[Adam807]

That's a great example of why dynamic pricing might be good for everyone. Good for the producers cause they sell more tickets at potentially higher prices. Good for audiences because if it's NOT selling they can potentially grab those seats for less. And fewer empty seats.