By Christina Morningside | Posted on March 10, 2020 4:12 PM
Scott Rudin Slashes Broadway Ticket Prices At All Of His Five Broadway Shows To Just $50 Each To Help Alleviate The Impact On Revenue From The Coronavirus Outbreak In New York City.
Broadway Drops Ticket Prices to Cope With Coronavirus Impact
The dreaded Coronavirus is making a big impact on Broadway audience numbers and Scott Rudin, a big-time producer on Broadway, has decided to try and turn things around for his own shows with a ticket fire sale for all unsold ticket inventory. Rudin has seen the current Broadway ticket sales figures and the future projections for his shows go into the toilet and the poor outlook has pushed him to finally act.
Broadway-goers Not Taking Chances With COVID-19
With Coronavirus (COVID-19) now getting a great deal of attention and Westchester New York now under the protection of the National Guard, Broadway ticket sales are in trouble. The number of people getting infected with the Coronavirus in NYC has not increased much in the last few days, but New York State just became the most infected state in the nation and people are not going to take any chances when going into enclosed spaces with lots of people of unknown medical status.
Broadway theatre is especially popular with older people and they are the ones who are most likely to get infected and/or die from this virus. As an aside, most patients do not actually die from Coronavirus itself, as the virus is associated with pneumonia which is the true killer. This is something that elderly Broadway fans are all too aware of and are understandably concerned.
Scott Rudin Drops Ticket Prices
Coronavirus has now come to effect New York City in a big way and Broadway sales figures have been far lower than anticipated for this season. This is because NYC residents and tourists are scared to go out into crowded spaces where the chances of catching the uncured deadly virus is greater and the pros of seeing a great Broadway show, do not outweigh the cons, despite the Broadway ticket price reduction.
Rudin is trying to counteract the low Broadway attendance by offering the unsold tickets to his five big Broadway shows for just $50 each. His deal starts at 12:00 PM on Thursday, March 12th 2020 and plans to go through to Sunday, March 29th 2020. Other shows may follow suit and Rudin may extend the end date of his offer depending on how the Coronavirus progresses over the next few weeks.
Ticket Buyers Not Showing Up
Another problem facing Broadway producers is sold empty seats. Rudin has not yet made an attempt to deal with the empty seats that were purchased where the buyer just did not turn up to see the show, which is a relatively new phenomenon in this Broadway landscape and will require some consideration going forward. The buyer’s reasons for not showing up include the fear of infection at the show, which could lead to their own actual infection with the virus, or even their own death.
This situation is leading to many empty seats in theatres even though the show’s have sold out of all of their regular tickets, but actually have very few audience members in their seats when the curtain opens. Broadway has always been about butts-in-seats, but selling tickets and not actually getting a butt-in-the-seat is a very dangerous precedent to set.
Broadway Shows And Tickets Being Discounted To Just $50
All of the shows listed below are produced by the famous Broadway show producer Scott Rudin and none of these shows listed have ever seen ticket discounts of this magnitude. These show tickets are expected to sell-out fast once the new discount ticket offer is put in place, but it is another tithing if people actually turn up. Rudin reportedly discussed fining no-shows another $100 if they did not arrive at the theatre, but this idea was rejected by the Broadway League as far too aggressive.
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon has been performing in the Eugene O'Neill Theatre since the beginning of 2011, this show is the longest running show with this unprecedented $50 per ticket discount offer. The show has a theatre capacity of 1,108 seats to fill per performance. Chances of getting tickets to this show with the new ticket discount are medium-high, but these odds may dwindle as time goes on and inventory goes down.
BUY TICKETS FOR THE BOOK OF MORMON
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is performing in the Shubert Theatre and has consistently been in the top five highest grossing Broadway shows since it opened in early November, 2018. This show has a theatre capacity of 1,468 seats to fill per performance. Chances of getting tickets to this show with the new ticket discount are low, because the show is extremely well liked. Fans are encouraged to act fast in order to get the discounted tickets before they are sold out.
BUY TICKETS FOR TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
West Side Story
West Side Story is performing in the Broadway Theatre and despite some media backlash from the #MeToo movement this show quickly rose to the top of the charts since its red-carpet opening on February 20th, 2020. This show has a theatre capacity of 1,761 seats to fill per performance which is the most out of all the shows on this list. Chances of getting tickets to this show with the new ticket discount are low, only because this show is so popular and the fact that the show is already a Broadway classic. Fans are encouraged to try and get show tickets as soon as possible, while they are still available for purchase.
BUY TICKETS FOR WEST SIDE STORY
The Lehman Trilogy
The Lehman Trilogy is the newest show on the list. The show began its in-preview performances in the Nederlander Theatre on March 7th, 2020. This show has a theatre capacity of 1,232 seats to fill per performance. Chances of getting tickets to this show with the new ticket discount are high, because the show is not yet in its final form and is new to Broadway so the demand for the show is still unclear, despite it being a great show.
BUY TICKETS FOR THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is performing in the Booth Theatre and has also recently began its in-preview performances. The show began performing on March 3rd, 2020. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has a theatre capacity of 783 seats to fill per performance. Chances of getting tickets to this show with the new ticket discount are medium, because the show is not as well liked as the other shows on this list and because there are not as many tickets being offered per performance.
BUY TICKETS FOR WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
How To Take Advantage Of The Scott Rudin $50 Broadway Ticket Deal
All remaining / unsold tickets to Scott Rudin’s Broadway shows are being offered for $50 each. The sale starts on Thursday, March 12th 2020 at 12:00 PM EST and the tickets will remain on sale until Sunday March 29th 2020 at 8:00 PM EST. Fans can purchase Broadway tickets for $50 directly from the official online Broadway ticket sellers, Telecharge and Ticketmaster, or from the show’s ticket booth. Fans can also call Telecharge or Ticketmaster to get the discount tickets, but buyers should anticipate long lines and busy signals.
For the best chances of getting tickets to a preferred show, fans should login to their online Telecharge or Ticketmaster accounts by 11:30am on Thursday and have their tickets selected to ensure that they are first inline by the time the sale starts 12:00 PM.
Disclaimer: The Scott Rudin ticket deal is unprecedented but does come with the inherent risk of being exposed to the currently incurable, and possibly deadly, Coronavirus COVID-19. Fans should keep this in mind when purchasing these greatly discounted tickets. New York Show Tickets inc. is not responsible for any hospital costs, illnesses or death as a result of viewing a show in a Broadway theatre. Facemasks, gloves, hand sanitizer and even hazmat suits are recommended to be used in any crowded venue in NYC during the COVID-19 pandemic.
