Article
Off-Broadway Theatre In New York
by Alan J. Miller on 7.30.10
The original off-Broadway cast of Avenue Q at New World Stages. Photo by Carol Rosegg.
The principal difference between Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway relates to the sizes of their respective audiences. Broadway theatres generally accommodate 500 or more patrons; off-Broadway theatres between 99 and 499; and off-off-Broadway fewer than 99. But what difference does this actually make?
Well, for one thing, since Broadway theatres are so much larger, the rental cost of such theatres is considerably greater – which has a direct impact on production costs right from the get-go. And with so many seats to fill, producers can only afford to stage shows there that they expect to attract very large audiences.
One way to accomplish that is by catering to broad middle class tastes in their selection of shows. Another is through the use of marquee name star power. And a third is through the pizzazz of the productions themselves. All of which explains why musicals tend to fare better on Broadway than straight plays, why high-priced stars appear more often in major Broadway shows than in smaller downtown productions, and why a dramatic (and costly) crashing chandelier can catapult a show like The Phantom of the Opera to an all-time record Broadway run.
But this creates a vicious cycle: if large sums must be spent on extravagant sets, special effects and star salaries, high prices must be charged for tickets, which leads theatre goers to demand even bigger stars and greater opulence to justify their paying those prices, which prompts producers to raise prices even higher, which … you get the idea.
In light of all this, in my last column I discussed some of the strategies Broadway theatergoers might employ to minimize their theatregoing expenses – including avoiding the use of ticket brokers, utilizing discount codes, frequenting the TKTS Booths, purchasing tickets through TDF online, etc., but there is another even easier and more straightforward way of enjoying theatre in New York at small expense. Simply eschew Broadway and explore the worlds of off-Broadway and off-off Broadway instead. In this column, I’ll address the subject of off-Broadway. I’ll save off-off-Broadway for next time.
While off-Broadway productions are generally somewhat less ambitious than Broadway productions in scope, they can provide you with wonderful theatrical experiences in their own right. Just consider some of the shows currently running off-Broadway:
Avenue Q originally opened off-Broadway in 2003 where it won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Musical. It moved to Broadway later that same year where it had a long and successful run of more than six years, winning the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical in the process. Late last year, in an unusual move, it closed at Broadway’s Golden Theatre and returned off-Broadway, at New World Stages, just five blocks away. In this current incarnation, orchestra seats are available for $89.50 – considerably less than the $126.50 that orchestra seats cost when the show was still on Broadway. Get $70 seats through September 2, 2010 with discount code AQBBOX707.
Our Town, Thornton Wilder’s classic play about small-town America, opened to rave reviews at the Barrow Street Theatre some eighteen months ago with David Cromer, the director, originally playing the key role of Stage Manager. Orchestra seats are available for $69. Get $40-$50 seats through September 12, 2010 with discount codes TAP39 and TAP49.
David Cromer in Our Town at the Barrow Theatre. Photo by Carol Rosegg.
The Fantasticks, the world’s longest running musical, played a record-breaking 17,162 performances in its original run in Greenwich Village and another 655 performances at the Snapple Theater, winning a Special Tony Award in 1992. It is now being revived at the Snapple Theatre 50 years after it originally opened. Seats are available for $76.50. Get $39 seats through August 16, 2010 with discount code BBOX10.
Love, Loss and What I Wore is a collection of vignettes and monologues by Nora and Delia Ephron, based on a book by Ilene Beckerman. The show is unusual in featuring three different all-star rotating casts, who perform in four-week cycles. From July 28th through August 29th, the cast includes Jayne Houdyshell (Well), Adriane Lenox (The Blindside), Allison Mack (Smallville), Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek) and Kristine Nielsen (Les Liaisons Dangereuses). And from September 1st through October 3rd, the cast includes Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), Sandy Duncan (Peter Pan), Nancy Giles (CBS Sunday Morning) and Stacy London (What Not to Wear). Seats are available for $79. Get $45-$59 seats through October 3, 2010 (buy before August 15, 2010) with discount code LLBBX15.
And, if you’re willing to forego the crashing chandelier on Broadway, you actually can find a much more modest production of The Phantom of the Opera off-Broadway. This show, at The Players Theatre, is entirely different from the Andrew Lloyd Webber production which has been running for years on Broadway. You can buy seats to it for $45-65. Get $36-$44 seats through August 29, 2010 with discount code PHANTOMBOX.
But it gets better yet. Earlier I suggested that there were two different ways to reduce your theatergoing expenses: (1) by avoiding ticket brokers and availing yourself of discount opportunities provided by codes, TDF online, TKTS Booths, rush tickets, etc. and (2) by focusing on off-Broadway productions rather than Broadway shows. But these two strategies are not mutually exclusive: there’s no reason you can’t do both and thereby save even more. The codes provided above are from broadwaybox.com. Check out Theasy's Cheap Tickets page for more information on theatre discounts.
Two other points about Off Broadway deserve mention before we conclude:
(1) Many off-Broadway shows (and some Broadway shows as well) are produced by theatre clubs as part of a season’s series. Three examples are Roundabout Theatre Company (roundabouttheatre.org), Manhattan Theatre Club (manhattantheatreclub.com) and Lincoln Center Theater (lct.org), Both Roundabout and MTC offer package deals whereby one can buy a subscription to all or several of the plays in that year’s series at a price discounted from what the combined total cost of tickets to all of those plays would have been had they been purchased separately. If you’re prepared to commit in advance to see a number of shows, these savings can be considerable – as much as 50% or more.
Lincoln Center operates a little differently: it charges an annual membership fee which entitles members to purchase tickets to any or all of the shows it produces that year at discounted prices. This won’t save you quite as much money (because of the up-front membership fee) but it won’t lock you into purchasing tickets to shows you might not really be that interested in.
(2) Finally, you might consider purchasing vouchers through TDF which can be used to see a large number of non-Broadway shows. Here’s how this works: Anyone (not just TDF members) can purchase TDF vouchers online for $9 apiece (in packages of four for $36). These vouchers are good for a year and may be exchanged for tickets for selected off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows providing that seats are available at curtain time. In that sense, using vouchers is similar to taking a chance on purchasing Rush Tickets – you may or may not get in to the show you want to see - but a big difference is that if you are able to use your voucher, your ticket will only have cost you $9 – a lot less than even a $20 or $25 Rush Ticket would have cost. These mostly apply to smaller scale shows, but over the course of a year, there are likely to be enough exceptions to make your advance purchase of a small number of vouchers worthwhile: earlier this year, for example, voucher holders had an opportunity to see Roundabout Theatre’s excellent production of The Glass Menagerie (for less than the cost of a movie ticket). If you are going to try to use a voucher, my recommendations are that you call the theatre box office first to get an idea of how good your chances will be of getting in. And have a backup plan as to what you will do in the event you’re unable to use your voucher – maybe see a nearby movie, explore the neighborhood or just settle in at a convenient pub or café for a beer or cappuccino.
And that about does it for off-Broadway in New York where you can experience great theatre at a fraction of the cost of Broadway. And we haven’t even gotten to off-off Broadway yet which, to my mind, provides the most exciting theatrical experiences and best theatrical values of all. We’ll get to that next time.