I was flattered to see that the press page for Sleep No More has a link to the Interlude. I don't think they're going to link to this post, however, because I'm going to complain a little bit: I had a hard time biting the bullet and spending $75 each for our tickets. Obviously, Catherine and I decided that it's ultimately worth the price because we ponied up to see a show that, in essence, we've already seen. Now, this is a commercial production—unlike the one in Boston, presented by American Repertory Theater—and I recognize that the producers, Emursive Productions, are not in business to lose money. They clearly believe this to be a reasonable price because, unlike many Broadway and commercial Off Broadway shows, I have yet to see any offer for discounted tickets; and based on the number of sold out shows on their ticketing page, they aren't wrong.To be fair, I have no idea what the costs for the show are—I know they're enormous because it's a huge production and nothing comes cheap in Manhattan. Even with donated materials for some of the installation, the producers said in this New York Times article that their expenses are "in the millions of dollars." However, a lot of my friends in the theater and performance community, who would gladly have paid $30-$50 for tickets, ultimately decided that $75 was just too rich for them. That's a shame because a company as innovative and adventurous as Punchdrunk shouldn't be financially inaccessible to New York's artists. I hope that success with this production will entice one of the larger non-profits to bring the company back with something a little more affordable to more people.
Photo by Thom Kaine
1 comment:
It was worth every penny. HIghly recommend. And, based on having seen the show and sets, I can believe that the pricing is fair based on what the costs likely were.
Post a Comment