Hugh Jackman in THE RIVER on Broadway

[jo]

Another promo poster ==




I wonder if they are about to start rehearsals now? Or are they already in rehearsal?


Jo

[jo]

TV ad --

www.facebook.com/video.php?v=939794762713755&set=vb.867958786564020&type=2&theater


Mysterious!

Maybe it is just me -- but it evokes scenes/background music from Hugh's triumphant dramatic performances ( The Fountain, The Prestige, and even Prisoners) - there is the sense of intrigue and dark depths!


Jo

[jo]

The Box Office for THE RIVER at Circle in the Square Theatre is now open --

[jo]

Not too sure whether this is a fresh interview or not -- but we learn when they are starting rehearsals!

www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/hugh-jackman-fishes-inspiration-article-1.1943087

Hugh Jackman fishes for inspiration for his Broadway role in 'The River'


BY Joe Dziemianowicz /

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /

Sunday, September 21, 2014, 2:00 AM

Hugh Jackman is just one of the many Broadway actors who is doing outside reach for his role.


Susan Watts/New York Daily News

Next stop, motivation.

Hugh Jackman and his castmates in Broadway’s “The River” are planning a fishing trip on Oct. 1 — one day before rehearsals begin.

But his fishing excursion isn’t really about catching speckled trout for dinner. It’s about reeling in inspiration. In the Jez Butterworth drama, Jackman plays an angler who takes a woman fishing on a moonless night. He has already gone on fishing trips, including one with his son, to inform his portrayal. The sport appeals to him.

“There is a beauty to it,” he told New York magazine about his fly fishing hobby. “It’s really becoming one with the fish, understanding the fish, how to seduce them to the end of your line. Everyone who does it talks about how their mind goes blank, it’s like a form of meditation. And the people who do it, it’s like a drug to them — you’re connected to something very elemental in nature, and I think that’s what the play explores.”

But Wolverine isn’t the only star angling for ways to help boost his performance on the world’s toughest stage...

I guess unlike A STEADY RAIN, which was directed by a new director and cast with new leads for Broadway -- in the case of THE RIVER, the same London director ( and other members of the first creative team), as well as Laura Donnelly from the London cast, are veterans of the initial staging at The Royal Court!

But will the Broadway team create a different motivation for this transfer from London? Hugh Jackman is usually a strong theatrical personality and he might provide the impetus for some changes? I have wondered in the past whether the additional 10 minutes added to the London staging for the Broadway production will change the new production to some extent? Did Jez Butterworth write new material? Or will it just be the staging that may change the production somewhat for Broadway?


Jo

[carouselkathy]

"Becoming one with the fish." Hmmmmm....FINDING NEMO just pops into my head. Sorry. Can't help myself. Giggling now. I'm all into finding deep meaning in a play, but this quote gives me the giggles. Sorry. Can't help it.

[jo]

A fairly cynical article from Deadline.com re the foray into the Broadway stage by Hollywood actors --

deadline.com/2014/09/hugh-jackman-broadway-maggie-gyllenhaal-rupert-grint-837003/#comment-list-wrapper

I did submit my comments ( awaiting moderation) to the article, under a pseudonym.

Note To Glenn Close, Hugh Jackman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rupert Grint: Broadway’s Not A Whistle Stop

by Jeremy Gerard

September 21, 2014 10:55am



The most shocking stage news of the week was that Angela Lansbury is getting her Noel Coward act together and taking it on the road. Having filled theaters on Broadway and the West End over the decades, the soon-to-turn-89-year-old will re-create her role as Mme. Arcati in Blithe Spirit, beginning December 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA and ending in March on the other side of the continent at the National Theatre in Washington. She’s been playing the eccentric spirit guide off and on since a 2009 Broadway revival.





Hugh Jackman The River Sunday Page.


Talk about bucking the trend. In ye olde olden days, a star like Mary Martin or Ethel Merman might stay with a show for two years and more – first on Broadway, then in London, then on the road in the U.S. That tradition is gone with Sunshine Raisin Biscuits.

With the new season building up steam, Times Square soon will be awash in big-name stars with commitment issues. (Apparently, no amount of disrespect from the Tony nominating committee can keep them away.) The three most popular words in the Broadway lexicon these days are “Strictly Limited Run.”


And the economic model is the extremely non-artsy-fartsy double-punch of scarcity marketing and “dynamic pricing.” Translation: Tell the consumer your product will be gone in a flash and then hike prices as they walk through the door and amble over to the box office.

GLENNCLOSESo: There are 17 shows opening in the coming weeks. “Big stars are not just back on Broadway this season,” wrote critic Linda Winer in Newsday. “They are its biggest news.”

Michael Cera is making his Broadway debut in This Is Our Youth. You have about 12 weeks left to catch him.

On Halloween, Hugh Jackman, the biggest star Broadway has produced in a generation, opens in Jez Butterworth’s The River at the Circle In The Square — with under 800 seats, one of Broadway’s smallest houses — for 13 weeks. That’s about 83,200 people, many of them likely to pay $1,000 or more to impress a date. Even when he doesn’t sing, Wolverine goes clean, as they say in the business.

BRADCOOPERA week later, Bradley Cooper begins performances in a revival of Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man. This one’s at the Booth, a beautiful, intimate theater with 766 seats. You have 14 weeks to see him.

Beginning this month, Glenn Close and John Lithgow will headline a revival of Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance, the cast superbly rounded out by the evanescent Lindsay Duncan, Claire Higgins, Bob Balaban and Martha Plimpton. They’re here for four-and-a-half months, including previews.

Two star-packed comedy revivals – Terrence McNally’s It’s Only A Play and George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s You Can’t Take It With You – are running for 18 and 17 weeks, respectively.

Tickets to the McNally show have been going faster than they can print them, for people willing to bet top dollar on a cast that includes Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, F. Murray Abraham, Megan Mullally and, in his Broadway debut, Harry Potter alum Rupert Grint.

Not to be outdone, the Kaufman and Hart chestnut has James Earl Jones, Rose Byrne (a few blocks away from her Damages pal Close), Elizabeth Ashley and too many others to count.

"Frank" New York PremiereThe Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing has Maggie Gyllenhaal for 14 weeks including previews. (Brother Jake Gyllenhaal will also be on Broadway this season, in Constellations, courtesy of the Manhattan Theatre Club.)

The door is revolving practically nonstop with stars for the revival of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, which just opened to glowing notices for Mia Farrow and Brian Dennehy. With couples committing to just 31 to 43 performances, the roster includes Carol Burnett, Diana Rigg, Alan Alda, Martin Sheen, Stacy Keach and Anjelica Huston. Blink and they’re gone.

The roster grows after the New Year, with two more acclaimed London imports: Helen Mirren in The Audience and Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan in Skylight, both for strictly limited runs.

This is a very good deal for the stars, who only have to sign on for a few months and walk away with a not inconsiderable amount of cash (two years ago, Al Pacino earned $1.25 million during a 10-week run of Glengarry Glen Ross; Tom Hanks earned $150,000 for each of the 15 weeks he headlined Lucky Guy, not shabby for an actor making his Broadway debut).

And it’s a great deal for Broadway’s landlords, who have sexy bold-face names on their marquees and outta-sight rental income in the till as customers pay through the nose for seats, the frenzy rising as that final curtain approaches.

BILLNIGHY“Broadway is all about creating have-to-be-there live experiences,” says Jordan Roth, president of Jujamcyn Theaters, of whose five Broadway houses, four are booked with with non-star-driven, long-running shows including The Book Of Mormon, Kinky Boots, A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder and Jersey Boys. “A great star live on stage is certainly one way to create that, as is a unique director’s vision or author’s voice.”

Is it good for Broadway? Yes. I mean, No. Well, of course it depends on your point of view. Typically, hit shows produce a spillover effect that is good for the industry: If you can’t get into one show, you may well spring for another. A star-driven hit, however, isn’t the same thing. The season Pacino and Hanks and Bette Midler were putting couture-sheathed rears in seats, Broadway registered its worst attendance in eight years. More important, the star phenomenon and the consequent real-world disconnect in ticket prices leaves a monochrome audience, the color being green.

I asked Lansbury why on earth she was subjecting herself to the outré grind of a tour.

“As my career in the theater has been a succession of long runs over a number of years, taking a show on the road was the normal thing to do,” she said, nonplussed. “It is only now that it has been brought to my attention that this is not necessarily the thing to do. Having been in the business as long as I have, and having built an audience both young and old, I get a terrific kick out of their reaction to seeing me in the flesh.

“In London this past winter I appeared in Blithe Spirit, audiences hailed me like a rock star!” she added. “Why? Because they are still watching Murder She Wrote, Bedknobs And Broomsticks, Beauty And The Beast — every day all over the world.”

Not to mention The Manchurian Candidate. Neither trouper nor star could have said it better.

Jo

[jo]

Is Hugh on the cover of Deadline's Sunday supplement?





Jo

[jo]

I found the original of the photo

[JH4HJ]

Hugh Jackman in ‘The River,’ One of Several Compact Shows

Keep it simple. Keep it short. Those dictums, so often and so disastrously ignored by campaigning politicians and banquet speakers, would appear to be words to live by for many of this season’s more tantalizing shows. . .

The last time Mr. Jackman appeared on Broadway in a straight play, in Keith Huff’s “A Steady Rain” in 2009, it was as part of a cast of two, the other star being Daniel Craig. In “The River,” an eerie and imagistic tale of shifting identities in a rural cabin, Mr. Jackman is allowed the luxury of two other performers, Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo. He also has the privilege of a top-flight director in Ian Rickson, whose earlier work on Broadway includes “Jerusalem” and the magnificent “The Seagull,” starring Kristin Scott Thomas.

There's a generic photo of Hugh, and more about the upcoming theater season here. . .

[foxie]

On Halloween, Hugh Jackman, the biggest star Broadway has produced in a generation, opens in Jez Butterworth’s The River at the Circle In The Square — with under 800 seats, one of Broadway’s smallest houses — for 13 weeks. That’s about 83,200 people, many of them likely to pay $1,000 or more to impress a date. Even when he doesn’t sing, Wolverine goes clean, as they say in the business.

[jo]

I find it quite hard to believe that the above article from DEADLINE.COM was supposed to have been authored by a newly-designated and supposedly well-experienced Executive Editor of this newsgroup to head the theatrical unit.

deadline.com/2014/04/deadline-names-jeremy-gerard-executive-editor-and-chief-theater-columnist-719794/

If Mr. Gerard is supposed to be so knowledgeable about the Broadway theatre scene, why did he adopt that cynical tone and even misleading stance for this article -- did he do it for the shock value or is he himself not in favor of the foray of film actors into the theatrical community ?

Performing is performing - no matter the venue! If these actors give their best in the pursuit of their art, who really cares about whether the acting chop is displayed on a live stage or on the big screen.

Also, he makes it sound as if the Hollywood actors are there only for the money <boo>


Wolverine pay versus weekly Broadway wages smiley-rolleyes010

Jo

[jo]

www.backstage.com/interview/laura-donnelly-debuts-bway-hugh-jackman/

Laura Donnelly Debuts on B’way with Hugh Jackman

By Jack Smart | Posted Sept. 19, 2014, 3 p.m.




This fall marks the second time Laura Donnelly will appear in Jez Butterworth’s “The River,” but for her, it’s a new beginning.

“It feels like this is almost its first proper entrance into the world,” she says of the enigmatic drama opening Nov. 16. Because the play’s 2012 run lasted three weeks at London’s Royal Court Theatre, not many people have actually seen it—which, as Donnelly points out, only increases the show’s mystique.

“It is quite difficult to talk about because of the nature of the play,” she confides. “There’s kind of a secret to it that I wouldn’t want to ruin for anyone who wasn’t familiar with it already. Suffice to say the play focuses on a man and his relationship with women, and I’m one of those women.... Most I can say, really.”

We also know “The River” marks Hugh Jackman’s return to the New York stage. Donnelly, who acted opposite Dominic West in London, read scenes with Jackman and director Ian Rickson in preparation for her Broadway debut. “I really purposefully didn’t look at the script again before I went in because I didn’t want to be re-creating anything that I had done before,” she says. “I really wanted to be free to play and discover new things in the room with him.”

Donnelly knows that rediscovery will continue at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Rickson, a longtime collaborator with Butterworth and director of the London premiere, approaches each incarnation of a play with fresh energy, a mentality Donnelly has embraced. “One of the things Ian really, really loves to do is restart a play and treat it as if it was a whole new production,” she says. With her new co-stars and a brand-new venue, who knows what kind of life this mysterious new play will take on?

[jo]

Okay - who is game to sit by the "riverbank"

THE RIVER is like a subtly crafted piece of chamber music. It is teasing, haunting and hushed.
It is also damnably difficult to write about, as there is a mystery at its heart that I must not reveal.”
Charles Spencer, THE TELEGRAPH


TICKET ACCESS POLICIES ANNOUNCED FOR

HUGH JACKMAN

THE RIVER

LAURA DONNELLY CUSH JUMBO

A NEW PLAY BY
JEZ BUTTERWORTH

DIRECTED BY
IAN RICKSON

PREVIEWS OCTOBER 31, 2014
OPENING NIGHT NOVEMBER 16, 2014

ON BROADWAY AT CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE

THE RIVER, a new play by Jez Butterworth, starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo and directed by Ian Rickson, is pleased to announce three new ticket access policies for $35 day-of seats, standing room and an additional ticket block which is being added to the theatre’s seating configuration for the production. THE RIVER begins preview performances on Friday, October 31 and will open on Sunday, November 16 at the Circle in the Square Theatre (50th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). The production will play a strictly limited 13-week engagement through Sunday, January 25, 2015.

$35 TICKETS

The production will sell $35 tickets for every performance. There will be two ways to purchase these tickets.



OPTION ONE

Starting every Monday for the current week of performances, 20 seats for each of that week’s performances (160 seats per week) will be available for advance purchase for $35, only at the Circle in the Square box office. Customers will be able to purchase one or two tickets with a photo ID. The customer will receive a receipt and the tickets will be held in their name at the box office. The tickets will be available for pick-up at the box office one hour before the purchased performance and the ticket holder will need to show ID and receipt to receive the tickets. The policy will go into effect starting on Monday, October 27 at 10:00 AM at the Circle in the Square Theatre box office for the first week of performance.



OPTION TWO

There will also be 20 tickets available for $35 and sold for day-of performances, available for purchase when the box office opens daily at 10:00 AM (noon for Sunday performances).





RIVERBANK SEATING

A new section of “riverbank” bench seating has been added to the theatre’s configuration for the production of THE RIVER. These seats are located in the front two rows, encircling the set design. The seats, which will be $95 and will be available online at www.telecharge.com and at the box office, will provide a unique and personal vantage point for this intimate production.





STANDING ROOM

The production will have $30 standing room locations available for purchase. The seats will be on sale at the box office and available when the performance is sold out.



On a moonless evening, a man brings his new girlfriend to a remote cabin for a night of trout-fishing. But before the night is over, it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems… and as memory collides with desire, the truth becomes the most elusive catch of all.

THE RIVER was first developed by Sonia Friedman Productions and was subsequently produced by the Royal Court Theatre. It was presented from October 18-November 17, 2012 in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, in a production directed by Mr. Rickson, also featuring Ms. Donnelly, who makes her Broadway debut alongside Ms. Jumbo.

Hugh Jackman, Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo are appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

The production marks the sixth collaboration between Mr. Butterworth and Mr. Rickson. Mr. Rickson has previously directed the world premiere productions of Mr. Butterworth’s Mojo, The Night Heron, The Winterling, Parlour Song and the multi-award-winning London and Broadway production of Jerusalem.

Circle in the Square’s unique configuration and intimacy has made it a favorite of many stars who have graced its stage over the decades in both classics and new plays, including Colleen Dewhurst, Lillian Gish, George C. Scott, Julie Christie, Al Pacino, James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Kevin Kline, Joanne Woodward, Rex Harrison, John Malkovich, Nathan Lane, Philip Seymour Hoffman and many others. The 2009 critically acclaimed and Tony Award®-winning revival of The Norman Conquests, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, also played at the theatre.

THE RIVER is designed by Ultz, with lighting by Charles Balfour, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, music by Stephen Warbeck, and casting by Jim Carnahan.

Tickets for THE RIVER are available at Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400.

I am glad I woke up quite early to reach the riverbank


If I could sit on the ground ( without back support) for a Michael Ball concert -- riverbank seating will be like heaven! Like manna from heaven



Riverbank seating means wooden benches, with back support and cushions. This reminds me of the close-by seating for the famous Donmar Warehouse in London. Maybe that was what gave Sonia Friedman (The River producer, who has also produced shows at the Donmar, if I recall right) this inspired idea? Has there been bench seating by the stage on Broadway in the past?



Good luck to everyone getting to sit by the riverbank!


Jo

[jo]

This is how the Donmar Warehouse seating looks like in some productions --




It can be more intimate than one imagines for a theatrical production.

Will riverbank seats be configured like this?


Jo

[jo]

Someone on ATC was wondering if bench seating would be comfortable enough. To which another person pointed out that since the weather at the time of the run will likely require wearing a coat -- that could be the source of extra padding. LOL!

Has there been wooden bench seating on Broadway before? Ellen?

Who cares smiley-happy082


Jo

[mamaleh]

I'm sure I've sat on bleachers/benches at plays, especially at Off- and Off-Off B'way venues--but I can't remember if I've ever done so at a Broadway house. In any case, the type of seat didn't affect my opinion about, for instance, shows such as STUNNING or BRONX BOMBERS at the Duke on 42nd St.

Ellen

[jo]

It was Sonia Friedman's Production Office which announced the new ticket policies --

www.soniafriedman.com/news_and_press_releases

A new section of “riverbank” bench seating has been added to the theatre’s configuration for the production of THE RIVER. These seats are located in the front two rows, encircling the set design

What's on a riverbank? Will my seat look like the grass or weeds that grow near the water or trees whose branches hang over the flowing water ? Or will it look like a piece of rock...or pieces of river stones?

LOL - this is all intriguing. Hope we don't get wet sitting by the mysterious river!


Jo

[foxie]

"Riverbank" Seating Will Let Fans Get Up-Close to Hugh Jackman on Broadway
By Adam Hetrick
23 Sep 2014


Hugh Jackman
Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Broadway producers of the new Jez Butterworth play The River, starring Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman, have announced an advanced rush ticket policy for the new drama that begins performances Oct. 31 at the Circle in the Square. A unique, up-close seating experience will also be available.

Each Monday (beginning Oct. 27), theatregoers will be able to purchase advance $35 tickets for the current week of performances at the Circle in the Square box office. Twenty tickets per performance will be made available. The customer will receive a receipt, and the tickets will be held in their name at the box office to pick up on the day of the show. Photo ID and receipt will be required.

A separate group of 20 tickets will be available at $35 for day-of performances, which will go on sale when the box office opens at 10 AM (noon for Sunday performances).

Producers also announced "Riverbank Seating," which consists of up-close bench seating that has been added to the Circle in the Square's seating configuration for the mysterious play that is set in a remote cabin in the woods.

Located in the first two rows, the seats will encircle the set design, promising to "provide a unique and personal vantage point for this intimate production." This unique seating is available online at Telecharge.com and at the box office for $95. For sold-out performances, $30 standing-room tickets will also be available.

Advertisement

Sonia Friedman Productions presents the limited 13-week engagement that officially opens Nov. 16. Performances are currently scheduled through Jan. 25, 2015. The play had its premiere in 2012 at the Royal Court Theatre.
Ian Rickson (Jerusalem), who helmed the London premiere of the play, will again direct.

Tony winner Jackman (The Boy from Oz, A Steady Rain, "Les Misérables") will be joined by original London cast member Laura Donnelly and Cush Jumbo, who was seen in the all-female version of Julius Caesar at St. Ann's Warehouse last fall.

According to producers, "On a moonless evening, a man brings his new girlfriend to a remote cabin for a night of trout-fishing. But before the night is over, it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems... and as memory collides with desire, the truth becomes the most elusive catch of all."

The River will have production design by Ultz, with lighting by Charles Balfour, sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph and music by Stephen Warbeck.

For tickets, visit Telecharge.com or phone [phone].

[jo]

The "riverbank" seating seems like a very clever idea -- and it seemed to have drawn much stronger interest on the play. You will likely find devoted Hugh fans or devoted theatre fans seated there ...But I am sure quite a few now have double tickets for the same dates ( especially if one has only limited time to be in NYC) - LOL! Blame it on Hugh...or blame it on Sonia??

I have reread the play -- and if, as they say, the riverbank seating will tie in with the set -- I wonder if we are going to be in for a surprise? In the play, the cabin where the play happens is located on top of a cliff. Down below is the river ( and presumably a riverbank) or would the edge of the cliff be the riverbank??

Haha - my imagination is too rich!

Btw, do we need to dress in deep green, to blend in with the set giggle


Jo

[suefb]

I feel bad for any of his fans who scrimped and saved to be able to fly to NY to see him even in just one showing, purchasing early at the premium prices, and suddenly they learn they could have bought tickets for nearly half the price AND sat closer. That seems odd to me.

I'm sure people could try (or could have tried, since I think it's close to selling out) to get the Riverbank tickets on the same date as their travel plans and then sell their others, but it still seems like a bit of a hassle. I suppose, compared to the plane tickets, the difference between $175 and $95 is not quite so significant, but $80 is not a small amount for everybody.

[jo]

It's the opposite for the ticket pricing for BACK ON BROADWAY. They called it "dynamic pricing" ( which was started by the Shubert theatres), which means the closer the performance date comes, the steeper the premium price becomes. This has been employed for some of the sold-out shows ( such as Book of Mormon, where if you get tickets on the day or a few days before the performance date, the more shocking the price becomes - in the case of BOM, I think it reaches a peak of almost $ 500 a ticket).

People who bought early tickets at premium prices for THE RIVER could have faced the opposite situation ( and come out grinning) , especially if the show is starting to sell out -- which it didn't seem to be, if you have observed the seats offered for a protracted period. Although this seems also the case with BOB, where initial previews were not sold out...and only after the ecstatic reviews came out did the ticket buying frenzy start, including secondary market ticket sales ( e.g., Stubhub)... But I was actually expecting the AA/BB pricing to have moved way upwards, not downwards as what happened. I think in the case of "Fences", the Denzel play was charging around $ 450 towards the end of the run. I thought we would have faced a $ 500 per ticket situation in the case of THE RIVER. Maybe the fact that this is a new and relatively unheard of play may not have caused an initial ticket-buying frenzy and led them to rethink the marketing strategy?? Plus some revivals like Elephant Man ( with Bradley Cooper) had the lowest ticket priced at $ 99 right from the start.

Maybe the riverbank seats ( which are wooden benches without arm rests) happened because it has become almost part of the set -- not sure if they could also be a little obstructed viewing or not as comfortable viewing - I can only speculate. Maybe it is not eye level viewing, but like the front row of a regular Broadway house where one has to look upwards to see the actors? Maybe it is the start of premium priced-seats which are eye-level viewing?

But I am not surprised that ticket pricing has gone in this direction ( maybe it is also to stimulate more ticket sales??) - actually, it looked like manna from heaven for those expecting a different direction for front rows?? Many veteran theatregoers ( such as the ATC regulars) have perked up in their interest because of the riverbank and the new rush policies!

Ticket-buying for Broadway shows ( and oftentimes for Hugh shows) has been like this in the last half-decade or so. You win some, you lose some, I am afraid.

Jo

[mamaleh]

What irks me is the memory of the show's disingenuous initial ad a couple of months ago, which read, "Act now for best seats." Yeah, right. Best for the producer's bottom line. But I guess that's why they call it show BIZ.

Ellen

[jo]

To me, it is the mental stress of making a decision on whether to gamble and get the tickets early ( in case they sell out or if AA/BB became super-premium) or wait for a better opportunity to get better-priced tickets (which seemed remote to me) that was somewhat annoying. I know it is a judgment call -- and I should be used to it, after years of ticket-buying, but still...

Blame it on Hugh ( our devotion to Hugh!)

Jo

[jo]

This reminds me of THE BOY FROM OZ ticket-buying

*When the presale started, I was so miffed because they wouldn't allow "international" Amex cards to be used for the presale and I was told to come back two weeks later when regular sale starts. I was so afraid that I wouldn't get good seats at all - in those days the pre-sale could be a system-crashing exercise ( I remember someone saying she had landline, cellphone, and computer working all at the same time - LOL).

So, when I came back two weeks later and had told Telecharge ( I did telephone purchasing then) that I wanted tickets for several dates -- he offered me all ROW AA!!! Row AA, we know, became fhe most sought-after tickets during the run! And at regular prices, too! Premium started at the row behind. When I asked why they were available - he said no one usually wants front row seats!

I hedged - bought two dates for ROW AA and two more dates further back ( because I wasn't sure if the people going with me would have appreciated front row)! Haha!

*Long story short -- by the time, the show became a hit -- Row AA was the seats to be had! And they remained at non-premium prices if you can get them officially, but paid through the nose if they came from the secondary market!

*During the closing show - All the orchestra seats on that day were priced at $ 350 ( which they didn't sell till the last minute), if I remember right. Row AA -- they were going for an unbelievable price -- I remember there was an auction and they went for $ 15,000 for a pair!

*One thing I learned -- if you had once sat on Row AA - Hugh would be able to see you ...I took a photo op for Broadway Cares early on ( it was still fairly inexpensive then) and when we were introduced ( I was with a sister and a niece) -- he immediately told me " I saw you on the front row!" . Hoped he didn't see me gushing throughout the show


Jo

[suefb]

My mental stress ended on day 1 of the pre-sale, when I got tickets to two matinees during holiday-period dates, when my husband and I could travel to New York AND (crucially) when our kids could be left with family members. The Riverbank option gave me a slight pause as I wondered what might have been, but that's all it was, a pause. It's an intimate enough theater that I know I will enjoy myself, and the view, regardless.