Young Frankenstein: Insane Ticket Prices

This is friggin' unbelievable.

Top ticket prices for Young Frankenstein will be -- get this -- $450 on Friday and Saturday night. "Premium" seats will be $375. The lion's share will be $120, and seats in the balcony will be $60 to $80. The price scale will be somewhat less usurious the rest of the week, but the top price will still be $350. There will be a select few seats available to "most performances" for $25.

What a bunch of greedy motherf*ckers.

I can hear their defense now: "We've changed the price structure to allow more people to see the show at a lower price, and we've allowed those willing to pay extra for premium seats the opportunity to do so."

But what this means for me, someone who frequently pays full price to see a show in previews, is that I'll have to settle for rear or side orchestra. Because -- and I want to make this excruciatingly clear -- I will NEVER pay $450, or even $350, to see a Broadway musical. EVER. I wouldn't pay that much to see Barbra Streisand, or to have a one-on-one audience with Stephen Sondheim himself, or to witness the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Mel Brooks, Susan Stroman, and anyone else connected with this overpriced affair: Shame on you.

Comments

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Chris, I just clicked onto your site after posting my own item on this truly scandalous, shameful, greedy news. I already had my tix to see the show during its Seattle tryout when this news broke. But I won't pay one more cent.

[martin freeman]

I agree the prices for this show are out of site, but maybe instead of the creative team it is the producers and the theater itself that is to blame. After all it is so difficult to even get a theater.

[chris caggiano]

Martin, a potentially valid point, except that Mel Brooks is the lead producer, and Susan Stroman is, I would wager, getting a percentage of the gross. When you have as much clout at Brooks and Stroman have after The Producers, there's no way you wouldn't be involved in the pricing strategy.

[Richard Arsenault]

'mostly agree with your blog entry, Chris, but we won the ticket lottery and ended up in the front row center, which destroys some of the illusion. With Bart still out, we saw Labanca and think he's terrific, and Fitzgerald is wonderful as Igor, but everyone else doesn't have enough material or direction--what a waste. Now this isn't to say I didn't have some great belly laughs and find delight in many moments. Painful was the blind man's solo and the musical number at the end of act one. And the ending needs some work. But it's too soon to know. That's what we get seeing something in previews, eh?

[Taylor]

Wait, are you a Streisand fan? I love, but I've never seen you mention her!