Saving Green On The Color PurpleYou read about its
closing notice here first. Now score two-for-one seats on
The Color Purple before it vacates the
Broadway Theatre on February 24.
Oprah's apparently going all out to sell the musical's remaining seats in advance. According to an offer I just received, if you buy one ticket, you'll get another one free.
To take advantage of the offer, click
here or visit
BroadwayOffers.com and enter code
CPEURWB (you may also call 212.947.8844 and use the same code). This offer is valid through the remaining lifetime of the show,
except for Saturday matinees and evening performances, as well as those scheduled February 15-17.
Each order requires a minimum
purchase of two tickets and is limited to four tickets (although the confusing disclaimer also says later "limit 8 tickets per order"). When I tried my hand at getting the best seats for the "random" date of February 24, I was able to secure four at a time -- Right Orchestra Row H, Seats 11-17 -- for a total price tag of $236.00 or $59 per ticket. With the added $26.00 in "service charges" and $2.50 "handling fee" for the entire order, the total came to $264.50.
So how does that compare to normal ticketing? Actually, I was able to find what I consider to be better seats for the same performance using the special offer, surprisingly enough. Using a regular search, I found four tickets in Center Orchestra Row R, Seats 102-105 for $466 -- almost twice the price, although with fees added in, the grand total came to $494.50.
Enjoy!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Color Purple Turns Pink, As In Slip (January 24, 2008)
End Of Purple Reign? (December 13, 2007)
Coloring The Town Purple With Discounts (December 1, 2007)
The Color Purple (The SOB Revisit) (August 11, 2007)
Curse Of The Understudy - Part III (July 23, 2007)
Winter Blues For Color Purple (February 5, 2007)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Musical, Oprah Winfrey, Special Offers, The Color Purple, Ticket Prices
A Matter Of TasteThe latest issue of
Forbes includes
its annual listing of "The Tastemakers" for "affecting the way we read, eat, listen and live."
Fortunately (no pun intended, of course), the publishers know their well-heeled demographic includes a higher number of theatre lovers per capita, so they've devoted
one of their top ten lists to those individuals whom they deem as having had the most impact on Broadway.
While the selection process may seem a bit dubious -- they "chatted with producers and professors, critics and industry experts; studied media coverage; and looked to see who lined their bookshelves with the most awards" -- the results are certainly interesting:
- Scott Sanders, Producer (The Color Purple)
- Harry Connick Jr., Actor (The Pajama Game)
- Des McAnuff, Director (Jersey Boys)
- Judy Craymer, Producer (Mamma Mia!)
- Duncan Sheik, Composer (Spring Awakening)
- John Doyle, Director (Sweeney Todd)
- Bob Crowley, Designer (The History Boys)
- Christine Ebersole, Actress (Grey Gardens)
- Oprah Winfrey, Producer (The Color Purple)
- Bob Martin, Actor and Author (The Drowsy Chaperone)
Does it really matter that exactly 40% of the above list walked home with Tony Awards last year? Or that the producer (
Marc Platt) behind last year's biggest and ever-expanding hit
Wicked was excluded? Or that the playwright (
Tom Stoppard) of the year's most talked about drama
The Coast Of Utopia was nowhere to be found? Or that the producers (
Barry and Fran Weissler) of the
Chicago revival that celebrated its tenth anniversary weren't even provided an honorary mention? Of course not. It's
Forbes' list and their editors can write it up anywhere they please.
To their credit, the
Forbes editors were careful to note Broadway's banner year that attracted nearly 12 million theatregoers who collectively shelled out a total of $906 million. That's an average ticket price of $75.50.
But it's more than the Great White Way's big money that's attracted the magazine's attention. The writers of the "Tastemaker" list provide an appropriate nod to theatre's intrinsic and lasting allure: "[W]hatever the thrills of the small and big screens, there is a special magic and immediacy of live performance that continues to draws theatergoers to the hushed houses on Broadway." I can certainly live with that definition of taste.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Bob Martin, Broadway, Christine Ebersole, Des McAnuff, Forbes, Harry Connick Jr., John Doyle, Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders
