1,249 posts
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Post by joem on Dec 10, 2016 12:14:26 GMT
What is the most you would pay to watch a play or musical at today's prices?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2016 12:58:40 GMT
For me, it completely depends on the show/venue. For an off West End venue I think that £30 would be the cap for me. General West End though that would increase to £50 in exceptional circumstances, but again depends on the show itself. Something incredible like Harry Potter or Dreamgirls I would definitely pay higher on the first visit, and then if I went back it would be only if I found tickets a lot cheaper.
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4,804 posts
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Post by Mark on Dec 10, 2016 13:41:32 GMT
Genuinely depends on the show. I paid over £300 for Hamilton in New York. For most things I try not to go over £25/£30
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2016 14:39:04 GMT
Theatre prices are ridiculous now.
I don't mind paying £70 when I go for a special occasion but usually try to keep it under £50.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2016 16:59:33 GMT
Genuinely depends on the show. I paid over £300 for Hamilton in New York. For most things I try not to go over £25/£30 My thoughts exactly. Most I've ever paid was for Hamilton and did not feel slightly bad about it, got my money's worth and then some. Other times I've spent £50 on something and felt like I've wasted my money. I will pay up to $200 to see a show I'm really excited about on Broadway. In London I will pay around £80 for the same. For West End shows I just quite want to see, it's more like £40. For anything fringe, nothing more than £35. I tend to be of the belief that shows should charge whatever they want providing they can sell the tickets for those prices. What I can't abide is mediocre shows or shows with no pulling power selling tickets (or attempting to) over £100. |
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Post by viserys on Dec 10, 2016 18:07:12 GMT
I tend to think that €100 is my limit. I've spent more on Broadway on my last trip for two shows but that was luckily before the Euro tanked completely against the dollar. Right now I'm just not bothering with Broadway (or any trips to the US).
In London I am willing to pay regular top price when it's something I really want to see (£70-80, recently paid for Dreamgirls and soon presumably for Hamilton), but generally try to go with discounts, dayseats or other cheaper options. On the fringe I'd say £30-35 but it depends on the place and show. I was willing to pay £40 for Funny Girl at the Menier since I knew it would only be more expensive in the West End.
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Dec 10, 2016 20:09:01 GMT
£65 is my limit for a WE play or musical.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2016 21:02:53 GMT
I work very hard to pay less than £20 for the vast majority of my tickets, so if I do fancy treating myself with a ticket costing £25, £30, £45, £65, or even more, my ticket budget is not already pre-blown. Keeping it to UK theatre, I last paid "a lot" for Gypsy, and will next pay "far too much" for Hamilton. I'm willing to go to £90 for that, as a special treat. Love it or hate it, it's a pretty once-in-a-lifetime show. (And £90 is still less than I paid to see it on Broadway.)
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Post by BGLowe on Dec 11, 2016 13:28:54 GMT
West End I try to keep everything under 40 pound, although this is becoming more difficult. For something I am really excited about (Hamilton) I would be willing to pay up to double.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 14:51:04 GMT
Do you value the experience you have more if you pay a high full price than if you went for free or at a discount?
In my opinion it is all relative and comparative to what the average income and hourly earnings are of the people going to see the shows
If you are paying more than you would make yourself per hour to sit there it feels wrong to me
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Post by mapleglaze on Dec 11, 2016 15:09:51 GMT
The most expensive ticket I've ever bought was to see The Book of Mormon on Broadway ($200 couple of years ago). It was my limit back then, but now it has lowered considerably. So it's no more than £90 nowadays and by nowadays I only mean things like Hamilton or Harry Potter. So I'd say the real limit is £40-50. If sometimes I manage to grab a great £15 seat for something I'm dying to see, I feel like a superhero. Don't we all?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 15:38:53 GMT
If you are paying more than you would make yourself per hour to sit there it feels wrong to me By extension, you're saying that a 3 hour show is better value than a 75 minute show, but I know I almost never take the length of a show into account when booking it, and I only consider it when thinking about the overall quality of the show if it was detrimentally long. |
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Post by ptwest on Dec 11, 2016 15:42:19 GMT
I dont have an upper limit as such, although I will only pay premium prices in the most exceptional circumstances, and that is under duress. But what the prices have done is make me much more picky about where I sit in terms of view and comfort.
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 11, 2016 18:07:19 GMT
I have never paid a premium ticket, wha is the point?
If most of the tickets are premium it means it is selling well anyway and likely to get extended, so will see it eventually.
Hamilton I could have seen twice, but still looking forward to seeing it, in the Victoria Palace.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2016 18:57:43 GMT
For most things in west end theatres I roufhly pay about £20-£35 even if the seats can be a bit restricted but I like to day seat or find ways to get cheaper tickets. There are exceptions were I will pay more for things like Gypsy or other shows. For the national theatre I love the £15 travelex tickets but I will be willing to pay more for Follies or Angels in America. The least I have spent is at the Almeida which is £10 for Oil and Mary Stuart which I will see next year. I feel the less I spend on a show the more money I have for other shows.
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Post by mistressjojo on Dec 12, 2016 1:59:39 GMT
I have never paid a premium ticket, wha is the point? If most of the tickets are premium it means it is selling well anyway and likely to get extended, so will see it eventually. I have bought premium tickets once, and that was only because I was treating a friend. And it included autographed programmes. In Sydney, most theatres just have the one price regardless of where you are seated, although Saturday nights are slightly more expensive . No cheap seats for us! We will get the odd Lastix offer, but they are not discounted that much. Sydney Theatre Company's standard prices for the upcoming season are around 60 GBP, 45 GBP for concessions. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 9:47:18 GMT
Like most of us it seems, I keep it cheap as much as possible- I probably average about £20-£25 for most of my tickets given that many locally will be less than £10 and/or deals/restricted view in London that keep them under the £20 mark.
For a 'want a good seat but it's not super special' I usually go up to about £30 on tour (which in Cardiff's New or WMC gets a good, if not 'best' seat)
And for a special special treat I will pay a lot. I paid a lot for Great Comet because as a Groban fan for years who had to give up concert tickets this year for him, it was worth it. Likewise Falsettos I paid a lot for (over $100) because having studied that play, it had a special meaning for me.
In London my limit is usually £60-70 which I've rarely paid, but given I save a lot on other tickets I don't mind. Hamilton is this year's Christmas present to me and Mum so we'll fork out top (not premium) prices.
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Dec 12, 2016 11:00:00 GMT
This year I have averaged about £24 a ticket, and the most I paid was for The Crucible on Broadway, which was just over £100. For West End I haven't gone over £70, and that's very rare. I don't do Premium seats - I will do 'normal' top price for Hamilton.
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117 posts
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Post by ldm2016 on Dec 12, 2016 11:11:27 GMT
The most I've ever paid was £60 for Clarence Darrow at The Old Vic in 2014. This stands out as it is over 3 times my average ticket cost.
What would be the most I would be willing to pay? Despite the above, I would struggle to justify more than £30-£35 99% of the time. I am able to attend the Theatre so often as I have my ear to the ground and manage to buy tickets for productions when they first go on sale meaning I am able to stick to my average of around £15 per ticket. |
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Post by schuttep on Dec 12, 2016 12:00:02 GMT
I won't buy Premium seats on principle, but I've sat in them when the seat has been discounted.
I prefer top price seats but in some theatres (e.g. the National) sometimes cheaper seats are as good.
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Post by Mr Crummles on Dec 12, 2016 12:08:23 GMT
A very long time ago (1989-1990), I paid (through an agency) 160 USD to see Phantom of the Opera in New York. According to a website called US Inflation Calculator, that would be about 295.92 USD in today's money.
I don't think I would ever do this again, not for a musical anyway.
If I remember correctly, in the early eighties, when Nicholas Nickleby was brought to Broadway, you could see the whole show in one day for 300 USD. That would be in today's money the equivalent of 751.49 USD.
So, I suppose high prices for theatre tickets have been around for quite a while.
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5,058 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 12, 2016 12:26:56 GMT
Like most of us it seems, I keep it cheap as much as possible- I probably average about £20-£25 for most of my tickets given that many locally will be less than £10 and/or deals/restricted view in London that keep them under the £20 mark. For a 'want a good seat but it's not super special' I usually go up to about £30 on tour (which in Cardiff's New or WMC gets a good, if not 'best' seat) And for a special special treat I will pay a lot. I paid a lot for Great Comet because as a Groban fan for years who had to give up concert tickets this year for him, it was worth it. Likewise Falsettos I paid a lot for (over $100) because having studied that play, it had a special meaning for me. In London my limit is usually £60-70 which I've rarely paid, but given I save a lot on other tickets I don't mind. Hamilton is this year's Christmas present to me and Mum so we'll fork out top (not premium) prices. There Emma, I saw Comet with Josh Groban and it was over 40% on TKTs. I think the only ticket I pre-booked for New York was Sweet Charity off Broadway with Sutton Foster. I got to see all the shows I wanted to see and everyone had a discount, also I didn't get ripped off by extortionate booking fees. Oh I had to pay full price fro Dear Evan Hansen. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 12:34:37 GMT
Like most of us it seems, I keep it cheap as much as possible- I probably average about £20-£25 for most of my tickets given that many locally will be less than £10 and/or deals/restricted view in London that keep them under the £20 mark. For a 'want a good seat but it's not super special' I usually go up to about £30 on tour (which in Cardiff's New or WMC gets a good, if not 'best' seat) And for a special special treat I will pay a lot. I paid a lot for Great Comet because as a Groban fan for years who had to give up concert tickets this year for him, it was worth it. Likewise Falsettos I paid a lot for (over $100) because having studied that play, it had a special meaning for me. In London my limit is usually £60-70 which I've rarely paid, but given I save a lot on other tickets I don't mind. Hamilton is this year's Christmas present to me and Mum so we'll fork out top (not premium) prices. There Emma, I saw Comet with Josh Groban and it was over 40% on TKTs. I think the only ticket I pre-booked for New York was Sweet Charity off Broadway with Sutton Foster. I got to see all the shows I wanted to see and everyone had a discount, also I didn't get ripped off by extortionate booking fees. Oh I had to pay full price fro Dear Evan Hansen. I know it was available on discount, but for me Comet and Falsettos were the only shows I HAD to see on my recent trip, and the ones I therefore wanted to be sure of good seats for. If I'd been 'meh' about it I wouldn't have bothered. Also I went to TKTS to see what was available one day and "half price" for the shows I asked after was over $100 so not much of a saving there.
Personally I also had a full schedule of holiday related things to do during my trip and didn't want to spend time queuing for tickets. So that's why I pre-booked.
Also it's Emily not Emma. Hence it being EmI with an I.
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5,058 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 12, 2016 12:35:50 GMT
Also the greatest adage in theatre is "Booking Early to Avoid Disappointment"
This should be re-worded to "Book Early to Pay Extortionate Booking Fees" or you end up paying so early that when the event comes round it clashes with something else more important, so you end up forfeiting the money you splashed out, just so you don't get left disappointed.
Apart from Harry Potter or Hamilton on Broadway, there is nothing you have to get excited about, nothing really sells out.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 12:45:22 GMT
Unfortunately Phantom, for those of us living outside London (or other major theatre cities) a degree of planning is required otherwise we WILL miss out on our desired dates for the shows we really want to see. And to save a 'wasted' and expensive trip where we end up seeing shows that are not really what we want to see. Or in seats that mean we are uncomfortable or miss the show.
I'm all for a bargain, and I'm through necessity careful with money, but if it's something you really want to see, and you have to travel, fork out for accommodation to see it then to my mind it's worth seeing less and paying more for the tickets.
So personally I 'go cheap' on my local stuff, utlise discount offers and I now see less in London but I pick carefully.
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