The highest-grossing show on Broadway last week wasn’t any of the big dogs: “Wicked,” “The Lion King” or “Hamilton.”
No. 1 wasn’t even a musical.
The winner was “Othello” starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, which sold a mammoth $2.63 million in tickets last week over just seven performances.
That’s right — a Shakespeare play took in $1 million more than Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop history hit, and it managed the feat during the post-holiday/pre-spring break period that’s usually the slow season for Broadway.
But this is not a triumphant victory for the classics.
It’s a war on your wallet.
People are paying as much as $921 — that’s $79 less than $1000 — to sit as far back as Row M.
Aka 14 rows from the stage.
Can you believe it?
To quote “Oklahoma!”: It’s a scandal! It’s a outrage!
“Othello” is one of several limited-run, celebrity-fueled plays this spring that are charging obscene prices — exacerbating Broadway’s reputation of being only for the wealthy and debt-prone.
Wanna see recent Oscar winner Kieran Culkin in David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” from Row M? That’ll set you back $574. Front row is $724.
The back row of the mezzanine at “Good Night and Good Luck,” starring George Clooney, is $272. Front row center is about $600.
Row D at “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” with “Succession” Emmy winner Sarah Snook, is a relatively kind $450.
Tickets costing the same as an apartment rental in Kansas City is especially rich coming from an industry that prides itself as a warrior against inequality.
Um, none of the people you’re fighting for can afford your freakin’ shows!
Expensive tickets are nothing new, of course. Scalpers make a mint selling hot tickets to high rollers.
“The Producers” caused a stir in 2001 when its face value jumped to $100. How quaint.
Row A of Bette Midler’s final weeks in “Hello, Dolly!” in 2017 cost $998. During the early days of “Hamilton” in 2016 some premium seats had that same price tag at holidays.
But over at “Othello,” “premium” can mean your seats are almost on the sidewalk. It’s a terrible and discouraging trend.
True, the costs of putting on Broadway shows have skyrocketed since the pandemic.
And “Othello,” “Glengarry” and “Good Night” are selling extremely well. There are plenty of people willing to fork over nearly $1000 for an uncomfortable chair at a play with a star.
The producers of these shows will surely make a tidy profit off their greed.
But, with young audiences dwindling, pricing out normal people is bad for the future of theater. Commercial theater, in theory, should be our most accessible — not completely unaffordable for the common man.
And nine times out of 10, requiring a payment plan to attend a show just isn’t worth it. That needs to be said more often.
Generally, critics, who go for free, don’t factor the cost for the general public into their opinions. To be consumer advocates, some feel, cheapens what they do. They believe they are the spawn of Aristotle. George Bernard Shaw 2: Electric Boogaloo.
They are mistaken.
If Broadway is going to charge more than Le Bernardin for a less filling experience, reviewers should hold them to the fire for it.
Because mediocre for $1000 is a lot less appetizing than horrible for $100.
