Sunday In The Park with George - Savoy

[theoracle]

I do enjoy my premium seats haha. Doing my bit to support the industry

[londonpostie]

Looking at the prices now, I wouldn't be seeing this at all had I not booked a year early. Almost doubled from the first day - long way out of my range.

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2019 7:59:40 GMT theoracle said:

It looks like some people have already been mad enough to buy their tickets a year in advance though... it just give producers reason to feel that they can charge these sorts of prices. Do you reckon they’ll come down once we get into the new year? I’ll be gutted if I don’t get to see this

Well I'm mad then (and I don't take kindly to bring labelled that in any context) - I didn't want to pay ridiculous prices so I booked in advance to get a cheap seat Not sure what's wrong or mad about that.

If you're that desperate to see it the only way to guarantee (health permitting of course) is to book.

[sparky5000]

Seems lots of tweets now calling the show ‘Sunday In The Park With Greed’ 😆 The current prices are just ridiculous!

[theoracle]

I do want to see a breakdown of how the ticket price gets used; how much goes to the actors, how much to the the theatre, producers etc.

That being said, I do understand the costs of producing a show has gone up as audience expectations have also gone up. Hamilton has been charging £250 for top premium seats for a while now so I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise Sunday is following suit. As I’ve said, I’ll probably end up purchasing one of those premium seats knowing me and my love for sitting smack bang in the centre of mid-front stalls. I do hope @posterj is not calling me “ridiculous” for doing so though as it is in part, because there are those of us who are willing to pay these “ridiculous” prices, that there are more lower priced seats available

[Someone in a tree]

Aug 14, 2019 16:57:50 GMT @sharpe12 said:

So having got over my Sondheim nerves with Company and Follies, and loving a ticket buying frenzy, decided to continue with a ticket for SITPWG. And then bough the CD. Oh my God it's hard work! There are no stand out melodies at all on first listen (quite like the other two), just sounds like a collection of notes. Don't doubt will sound lovely played by a big orchestra live and with Jake at the front but it's not exactly easy to connect with.

Is this a known thing in the Sondheim world or do all the fans find it as easy to listen to as Follies/Company, and it's just me!?

I do feel like the odd one out as most people on this thread seem to think it's the best thing ever!

@dom which recording are you listening to? I really like the most recent Broadway one. Jake and the orchestra sound superb.

Try starting at Beautiful and carrying on through to the end, it the most melodic part of the show

Dot is not meant to sound nice - hope that bit helps!

[Mark]

Surprised at all the outrage over ticket prices when Hamilton/Les Mis concert charge similar. Prices are inflated so to allow for discounting and if they sell at full price - good for them.

[viserys]

Aug 17, 2019 12:09:32 GMT Mark said:

Surprised at all the outrage over ticket prices when Hamilton/Les Mis concert charge similar. Prices are inflated so to allow for discounting and if they sell at full price - good for them.

Agree. They offered some bargains when booking first opened and they are now hoping to cash in on the strength of a Hollywood A-Lister, for whose fans this may be a "once in a lifetime" thing they're willing to pay for, just like people are willing to pay crazy prices for their favourite rock/pop stars when they do a concert once in 4-5 years. And if can't sell all the tickets, they will be discounting them. There were similar grumblings about Light in the Piazza early this year and they ended up discounting massively, too. 

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2019 10:40:31 GMT theoracle said:

I do hope @posterj is not calling me “ridiculous” for doing so though as it is in part, because there are those of us who are willing to pay these “ridiculous” prices, that there are more lower priced seats available

Ridiculous for me. Not all of us can afford to or want to spend a lot of money for a couple of hours of entertainment.

[robertb213]

Everyone has different priorities though. I don't drink for example, so people spending lots of money on alcohol to me seems strange, but each to their own. I booked this on the day it came out, paid £85 to be 3 rows away from Jake, and I'm thrilled 😀

[apubleed]

This is high quality and high value theatre - a classic Sondheim musical with an a-list or at worst b-list academy award nominated star in an acclaimed production that has already been tried and tested in NYC. If you don’t see the value then don’t pay for it. Either someone else will and you have to miss out, or you’ll easily be able to get discounts. I personally don’t see the issue - if you want cheap theatre I’m sure you can get a rush ticket for Thriller. Personally, I’ve seen this production in NYC and am not going to go again unless I can get a cheaper price. But I get the rationale.

[BurlyBeaR]

Also, isn’t it the case that the mad people paying full price are subsiding the discounts?

[londonpostie]

I tend to think they paid the bills early on, and all the later silly prices are cream for the producers. If the overheads are covered why not fish for easy money, there's plenty of time.

[shady23]

Aug 17, 2019 12:09:32 GMT Mark said:

Surprised at all the outrage over ticket prices when Hamilton/Les Mis concert charge similar. Prices are inflated so to allow for discounting and if they sell at full price - good for them.

We had row H central tickets for Les on Tour today. For my budget, I find that very expensive but I know full well that had I sat in the same seat in London it would have been premium and with probably not much change from two hundred pounds.

[danb]

Aug 17, 2019 12:09:32 GMT Mark said:

Surprised at all the outrage over ticket prices when Hamilton/Les Mis concert charge similar. Prices are inflated so to allow for discounting and if they sell at full price - good for them.

Once again it is the entitlement that surprises me...Apple don’t think “oooh why don’t we make a few cheap iphone x’s for some kids that think they deserve a cheap one”. They have to believe in their quality product and price it as high as they can get away with. I’m all for a bargain ticket for something that isn’t that important, but for something like this, or ‘Sunset’; a star vehicle where you want to get up close with a performer you’re unlikely to see again I’m happy to ‘invest’ in that memory. This is a relatively new attitude for me, but one I do ‘get’. It is highly likely that, like ‘Sunset’ etc the stupidly priced tickets will end up heavily discounted Mon-Wed and only sold at full price to weekenders and as business sweeteners. Like anything it will only be worth what people will pay for it.

[Deleted]

Aug 17, 2019 19:38:35 GMT danb said:

Once again it is the entitlement that surprises me...Apple don’t think “oooh why don’t we make a few cheap iphone x’s for some kids that think they deserve a cheap one”.

It's hardly entitlement when people don't buy the expensive tickets because they can't afford them. Pricing people out of going to the theatre is a real problem, and decent seats shouldn't be the preserve of the rich.

The level of judgement of people on here to people who dare to wish theatre would be cheaper so they could afford to go and sit in a decent seat is astonishing.

[Rory]

The prices ATG are charging for this are outrageous. I don't care if it's market forces, if it stars Jake Gyllenhaal or the Pope, it's plain greed and it will damage theatre in the longterm. It will put off people who would like to see this and who simply baulk at forking out £100 for a front row seat in the Grand Circle. I hope it backfires on them massively.

[robertb213]

If you don't want to pay it, that's fine, don't pay it. If people want to pay it, that's fine too. No one is in the wrong here. Yes it's expensive, but then some people pay £300 for a handbag. It's all relative.

And not all tickets are that expensive, there are loads at £50 or less on the dates I've just checked. And as others have said, it might discount.

[Rory]

The point surely is that no-one, whatever their means, should have to pay so much for a visit to the theatre. There is no justification. There are people who will want to see it but simply can't afford to. And I have certainly not seen very many affordable seats for this after the first week.

As I mentioned in another thread, ten years ago I paid £52 for a superb seat at the Apollo to see Mark Rylance in Jerusalem. An equivalent seat at the Savoy to see this would be four or five times that price. That's one helluva price hike in a decade and I really can't fathom how we, as theatre lovers, are not all protesting to the rafters about pricing. It amazes me how prepared people are now to accept this as the norm. It damn well shouldn't be.

[Jon]

At the end of the day, it's a business plus it's a limited run so the producers rightly or wrongly are trying to make as much money to be able to at least recoup the investment.

[danb]

Aug 17, 2019 23:00:50 GMT @posterj said:

Aug 17, 2019 19:38:35 GMT danb said:

Once again it is the entitlement that surprises me...Apple don’t think “oooh why don’t we make a few cheap iphone x’s for some kids that think they deserve a cheap one”.

It's hardly entitlement when people don't buy the expensive tickets because they can't afford them. Pricing people out of going to the theatre is a real problem, and decent seats shouldn't be the preserve of the rich.

The level of judgement of people on here to people who dare to wish theatre would be cheaper so they could afford to go and sit in a decent seat is astonishing.

You do still have the choice not to go though. Nobody has their jackbooted foot on anyones throat forcing them to go. I just find the whole overreaction and OUTRAGE on twitter a bit insincere and sensationalised. Buy the cheapest ticket or wait for a cinema screening if it’s that important y’know? The entitlement thing is a result of a relatively small group of mostly teenage/young adult theatregoers who have got used to ‘day seat’ level pricing as a norm, rather than the realistic cost of a theatre ticket. They see this as a cause to get behind, lest their weekly pilgrimage to the day seat line, theatre cafe and a show is curtailed.

[apubleed]

The great thing about capitalism is if it’s priced ‘too high’ things will correct itself when the producers offload a bunch of discounted seats closer to showtime.

[Deleted]

Can anyone recall what the prices were like for this on Broadway?
As ATG produced this in the US, it could just be the US branch taking this over with Broadway prices. Have they just converted the value and amended for 'Inflation' (or lack thereof in Britain)?

[apubleed]

You can see public information about the NYC production finances here:

www.broadwayworld.com/grosses/SUNDAY-IN-THE-PARK-WITH-GEORGE

I personally paid approx. $220 pounds to see it in NYC. Of course, my understanding is that NYC costs are higher and the local wages are higher than London, so I would expect it to be cheaper here. Especially as Jake G and Sondheim is probably less popular here.

The other thing I'll mention of course is that in a limited run they need to make their money back - they don't have 12+ months like many open-ended runs. So I'd also expect the prices to be a little higher.

Personally, taking again at a seating chart I don't think the prices are absolutely ridiculous unless you expect a perfect seat for a low cost. But we just can't have everything sometimes. Not in this business.

[Deleted]

Company was a short run, from a relatively new production house compared to the behemoth ATG. With Patti. Lu. Pone. Arguably of far more theatrical prestige than Jake Gyllenhaal (granted, JG is a bigger 'name'). Prices were nowhere near the same for Company as SitPWG is seeing so I don't think the 'short run' argument is a valid excuse.