SOME THOUGHTS ON THE EXPENSE OF TICKETS FOR ELF THE MUSICAL, DEAR.
Today the ticket prices were revealed for the much-anticipated
Elf The Musical – playing at the Dominion theatre over Christmas. There has
been lots of hype about the show – the musical was a hit on Broadway a couple
of years ago, the film is one of the most successful Christmas films of all
time (I laughed so hard my Miss Saigon blow-up-doll nearly burst), and they’ve
assembled a wonderful cast – although personally I’d have loved to see Elaine
Paige give her Santa, dear.
I know lots of young and old children who can’t wait to
see this production – which stars wonderful Ben Forster and Kimberley Walsh.
But to then see the ticket prices – starting from £48 for an upper circle
ticket right up to a vomit-inducing £250 – has really put me in a bah-humbug mood. I mean, the cost of one premium ticket could
buy me two bottles of 2004 vintage Dom Perignon, dear.
The question is - is it greed, is it necessity, or is it a sign
of things to come? Sadly it’s a combination of all three. Last year the show
had it’s UK premiere at Plymouth Theatre Royal (many of that cast are returning
this year) - where the show was very successful. Now of course, Plymouth is not
the glittering west end – but it’s very interesting to see that the ticket
pricing for the Plymouth production was £15-£42.50 - so the highest priced seat
there was in fact cheaper than the lowest price seat at the Dominion. In fact
it means that in the past year, and due to the fact that the show is in London
the ticket prices are six times higher. Obviously a theatre in the west end has
much higher rental costs (I know this only too well myself), contractors are
more costly and advertising is essential yet expensive. But hiking up the
ticket prices by such a ridiculous amount is insane (I’d understand if it
included return flights to Lapland and a little elf called Sondheim to take
home, dear).
It seems to me that the producers are wanting to get a very
fat Santa Claus belly from their takings – of course that’s what we producers
want – but they’ve increased the prices so steeply that it could in fact have
the opposite effect. It is interesting to note that last year Elf was produced
by a subsidised theatre – but now it has external investors and producers
turning it into a commercial production – where of course the aim is to make money.
Now this is not a bad thing, we all do this, indeed many of our most celebrated
theatre companies do – the National has recently
had huge success turning subsidised work into huge commercial ventures (War
Horse, One Man Two Guvnors) – but these shows had a big difference in pricing
offers available – starting from £10 day seats and other reduced rates. Elf
currently doesn’t appear to have any such availability, making it seem like a
project solely based on greed and vanity.
Let me try and defend the hefty ticket prices for a moment. The
stars of Elf are well known and seasoned performers – but I doubt they’ll be demanding
ridiculous wages. Including Ben and Kimberley there is a cast of 23 (excluding
the kids). So this all adds up – although the actors won’t be seeing much of
the profits, they never do. I imagine the set will be the one used at Plymouth
last year – although it may have been extended - and also many of the costumes
will be reused. There are the rights for the piece to pay for, theatre staff,
merchandising, musician’s wages – all of which is standard in a west end
musical. I didn’t see the show in Plymouth last year, but I know the set is
not a huge ‘Lord Of The Rings’ spectacular needing tens of millions. So in
terms of finances for putting on a west end musical it will be fairly standard,
certainly no more than the norm.
Of course one vital thing to remember is that this show only
has a limited 10-week season – which makes it harder for producers and investors
to recoup costs – but with tickets at such staggering prices it easily will (if
it sells). But of course there is no guarantee that a show will ever sell
anyway, although I’d be inclined to agree that this one will - but only if the tickets are priced right.
The problem now is that Elf The Musical has the reputation
of being the most expensive show in London - and consequently has a lot to live
up to. It had lots of good reviews when it was on Broadway, and indeed in Plymouth
last year – but it is not garnered with awards like The Book of Mormon (which
slightly helps justify it’s prices) - for £250 you want to be watching the
best piece of theatre you’ll ever see. But The Book of Mormon is not a family
show - Elf is – and the main audience it’s aiming at is children. And that’s why
it really is not fair. Most families have simply been priced out of seeing it.
Which leads me back to my main gripe - that theatre again is
becoming a luxury activity for the wealthy. Your average family certainly
couldn’t afford to pay £250 per ticket (top price tickets in the prime
Christmas dates of Elf) – indeed who in their right mind would part with that
kind of money for 2 hours of entertainment in the dark? Now of course I’m a big
advocate of theatre, indeed it is my job – but when things get like this people
really need to speak out – otherwise it will become a purely upper class hobby.
It is a fact that shows rarely make money. You’d be surprised at how many seemingly
‘successful’ shows only just covered costs (which deems them successful
anyway). Not every show is a sure-fire
hit. Indeed so many musicals and plays have recently closed alarmingly
early – but that doesn’t mean you should
try and re-coup for the failure of your other shows by charging ridiculous
prices for a show that has ‘hit’ written all over it. But will the ticket
prices put people off? Maybe, who knows.
I imagine the plan is to have Elf sledging its way into a
different west end theatre every Christmas now – if this year is successful. But I just don’t know how successful it will be. If the tickets were priced
fairly then it certainly would be – it would be the perfect family Christmas
show. But these absurd prices are enough to put anyone off – some purely out of
principle. So what can be done? Should people not go and see it? No – people
should just book the cheaper tickets. The last thing we want is the show to
close and those poor actors and people involved to be out of work. No – what I
hope is that Elf sells well, apart from the top price tickets – as that
will send a message to the people setting those ridiculous unjustified prices.
What is needed is a rethink. They need to put the ticket
prices down, starting from the most expensive, all the way down to the upper
circle seats. Admit you’ve made a mistake and make them standard west end
prices. People will forgive you straight away. Add some day tickets, and
concessions - and you will have a sell out show. It is worrying, it really is –
and makes one wonder if eventually we need a capping system in theatre pricing.
Of course even stating that is ludicrous, as if people are prepared to pay
these prices then companies will always charge them. So the trend has to stop. Theatre
is not just a luxury good that only the wealthy can access – it is an art form
that needs to be embraced and experienced by all. Otherwise live theatre will
be misunderstood and ignored by a large portion of society. And that in turn will
kill the whole community and creation of good theatre.
Anyhow. I’ve gone on long enough. I imagine Michael Rose
will be rather pleased with all this publicity - I certainly would – all publicity is good
publicity. Let’s see what happens. I hope it doesn’t flop. I just hope the
premium seats don’t sell, and that doctor theatre slaps someone somewhere
and changes the ticket prices. Otherwise they will become the norm -
and I’ll have to start a scholarship fund that allows people to go to the
theatre.
Nighty night, dear.
WEP
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