NYC Theatre Companies: How NOT to Discount Tickets

Because Catherine and I go to see so many plays and concerts, we have to plan our schedules pretty carefully. This month, there's a lot for us to juggle with the Under the Radar, Coil and Culturemart festivals, in addition to seeing productions by or featuring our friends. Since the performance times for many of these festival shows are irregular, it's made advance planning even more critical. So, last week, we sat down with our calendars and tried to figure out which shows we'd see on which nights. Once we'd gotten it all worked out, we went ahead and bought tickets online for many of them.

Imagine our consternation when we received e-mails a few days later offering discounted tickets to two of those productions.

Now, I don't have any problem with a company offering discounted tickets: I use discount codes all the time that I get from my friends and I'm a member of Goldstar which offers a lot of excellent deals for theatre, dance, comedy and music performances. But most often, the discount offers I get are to encourage early purchases: the pitch is usually, "buy your ticket by X date and it's only $10" or something. New Georges is especially good at rewarding their regular patrons this way, as is Flux Theatre Ensemble. The e-mails I received last week, however, made me feel like a chump: I could have waited until the last minute to commit to seeing these shows and saved a fairly significant amount of money. I mean, neither show was sold out, so it's not like I wouldn't have gotten a seat: after all, that's why the discounts were offered.

As a producer, I know the value of a full house. Sure, we need the money from admissions to help cover our costs but as important to me is that I'm making the art to be seen: empty seats are missed opportunities. I'd rather have someone pay even a percentage of the full price than have them stay at home. But I also don't want my loyal patrons to be penalized: in fact, I'd like to reward them for being loyal. This is what New Georges and several other NYC companies do with their e-mail discounts and pay-what-you-can nights throughout the run.

Am I done buying my tickets in advance? No, because for every instance that I get burned like this there'll be another when I would not have gotten to see the show otherwise. But there are a few companies that may not know I'm coming until the last possible minute... maybe even when I show up unexpectedly at the box office.

I Mock Shows I Have Not Seen and Probably Will Not See

My friend Nomi is one of a handful of people I know who goes to see more performances than Catherine and I do. Nomi has Cristal taste—from the opera, to ballet, Broadway, and concerts—but, like all of us working day jobs to support our theater habit, she has to finance it from her PBR income. Over the years, she's acquired several memberships with organizations that allow her to see the best entertainment that NYC has to offer for little (and sometimes even no) money. Theatre Development Fund is the primary one because Nomi has told me several times that she would be a TDF member even if they didn't have ticket services; you have only to read their mission statement and history to understand why.

The one that inspired me to write today, however, was Goldstar. While Goldstar has many wonderful offers on tickets, what struck me today when I looked over their weekly e-blast of events was the incredible range of entertainment options in NYC, many of which I would really like to see. I thought I might randomly run down the list of possibilities and then either mock or praise them, depending on my mood and my opinion of each event's merit (or lack thereof). The titles below, you will see, are exactly as they appear on the Goldstar site:

Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening. I have not seen this and, while I like the Coen brothers' films a great deal (we own almost all of them), I will not be seeing it. That's not to pass judgment on it other than to say I have not been sufficiently interested by anything I've read to make the effort. Instead, I will see The Importance of Being Earnest in Queens... twice.

New York City Opera Presents Leonard Bernstein's Candide with Richard Kind, Daniel Reichard. I love the nasty little Voltaire novel; I love Bernstein's music from the play; the play itself... enh! If I can swing it, time-wise, I would be somewhat interested in seeing this.

Mary Poppins: Disney's Classic Broadway Musical. Yeah, that's going to happen. I can't even see myself renting the movie...

1950s Lesbian Pulp Fiction Drama Beebo Brinker Chronicles. I've already posted how much Catherine and I liked this show. Unless my wife is in it, however, I rarely go to see a show more than once; if I had more free time, I would seriously consider it with this piece, if only to see how well it transferred to a bigger house.

ZZ Top and Creedence Clearwater Revival Tribute Bands at B.B. King's. My friend Eric Jensen is a fan of B.B. King's, which surprised me, it being located on the touristiest trappiest street in Manhattan, West 42nd. However, Eric is a connoisseur of music venues and every one he's ever recommended has been great—he introduced us to the wonder that was The Bottom Line—so his opinion means a lot to me. But I don't care how good the venue, I will NOT being going to see a tribute band of any kind, anywhere. I mean, for cryin' out loud: ZZ Top is still together and still touring! There's also a Beatles and a Billy Joel tribute later in the month.

In the Mood: A 1940s Musical Revue. Isn't this pretty much the same thing as a tribute band? For much, much, much older people? Actually, if you're into CCR tributes, maybe not that much older...

My First Time: I'll Tell You Mine if You Tell Me Yours. I have great respect for interview-created theater: The Vagina Monologues, Fires in the Mirror, The Laramie Project; sometimes, presenting a variety of real perspectives on a difficult or controversial subject can be a powerful experience. But c'mon, folks: the Internet is already filled with these stories—do we really need someone to read them to us?

Mini Kiss and Tragedy: Heavy Metal Tribute Bands at Canal Room. Okay, I might break my tribute band rule to see this...

Reverend Billy's Hot & Holy Highline Revival: Putting the "Odd" Back In God. I have seen Reverend Billy on stage (and even in the street) many times, saw the movie, wore the t-shirt... go see them!

Lennie Watts in Manilow '73-'83 at the Metropolitan Room. Oh dear.... that's just fish in a barrel, my brethren...