THE (BROADWAY) SHOW MUST GO ON, WE HOPE

 

Dear Theatergoing Friends

I don't think it was my imagination, I really don't.  It was starting to feel like Broadway Theater's comeback was just the ticket to bring back life to just about every one of us that enjoy life in NYC and the surrounding area.  And life to so many friends and clients we've worked with over the past 44 years or so throughout the country and around the world.  Our small business at Applause-Tickets.com was selling tickets to all the shows in town again, hardly skipping a beat.

My favorite part of selling tickets again was being able to talk with our friends and clients, catching up on their lives, their family and work lives as well.  Sure, we did some business again and most bought tickets for one show or another to celebrate going out once again to attend one of the fabulous Broadway Shows playing in New York City.  I had just been saying to my wife Celeste that the "Broadway comeback" was going really well but I guess I spoke too soon.

No sooner did I say those words, then I had heard that Radio City Christmas Spectacular was cancelling its Friday December 17,2021 performances.  All four of them.  Then an hour or so later, I heard that they were cancelling the remainder of the seasons schedule-60 performances or so I would think.  We had sold lots of tickets for this annual New York City attraction.  We are spending most of this weekend organizing and preparing for refunds to Applause-Tickets.com friends and clients. 

Then we had heard that a few Broadway shows were cancelling one or two of their performances on the weekend as well.  Mrs. Doubtfire, Tina the Musical, Jagged Little Pill, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton, Ain't Too Proud, Hadestown, Moulin Rouge! and a few others had cancelled some shows as well.  So hopefully when these shows resume playing again in a few days, that'll be the end of it.  Wishful thinking on my part.  Even though I'm an optimist in general, I'm feeling quite uneasy about this Broadway comeback-at least for now.

Just earlier today we learned that Aladdin cancelled two performances today.  And Edie Falco's final performance in Morning Sun today was nixed also.  Oh well.  What can we do, right?

Not knowing what to expect for our little business as far as a "comeback" is concerned, as we look into the future (which is only this week right now), we are prepared to do whatever we have to, to comfort our friends and clients, make refunds for cancelled shows and get people into shows that are still playing.  Most of the shows have been unaffected so far.  Let's hope it stays that way.

Whether you buy your tickets from Applause-Tickets or from somewhere else, we hope you'll call on us with a question or an inquiry on possibly making a purchase for one of the fabulous Broadway Shows in New York City.

Please stay the course my friends and let us know if we can be of service to you or someone you know, with regards to attending a show, getting information on cancelled performances or just want to talk about theater or anything else for that matter.

Cheers to one and all and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy New Year.  Above all, please be careful and stay safe.  After all, that's really all that matters in the end.  Broadway Theatre will comeback full force eventually and without cancelled shows due to the virus.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post.  Call me personally anytime if you want to talk about Broadway or anything else.

Best Regards                                          

Rich Gladstone

President

Applause-Tickets.com

Phone 800-451-9930 or 212-307-7050

REFLECTIONS ON BROADWAY SHOW REOPENING'S

 

To my fellow Broadway Show fanatics,

 It’s so great that we can all attend live theatre again isn’t it?  I’ve seen six shows so far these last several weeks and have plans to see several more in January 2022 when our ticket selling business at Applause-Tickets begins migrating into its usual “off peak” season in New York’s Winter months.

 Broadway ticket sales surpassed $26 million dollars last week. Can you imagine that? And 83% of the seats were filled.  This is a small drop from the previous Thanksgiving Week but still fantastic numbers since Broadways official reopening in September.

 Although several of our friendly competitors closed their business during the pandemic, we decided to keep ours open. And we are sure glad we did. We are pleased to report that business is back and Applause-Tickets is on its way back to busy times. Like we haven’t seen in a very long time. Apparently our out of town business is starting to travel again and with a fervor I thought was long gone. Not only are people now purchasing higher priced seats, often “premium” category seating but they are buying two and three shows at a time. I guess there’s something to the concept of being a “pent up demand”.  I imagine most of us shut in these last 16 months or so would tend to agree with.

 My wife, Celeste (who has been a huge help with Applause-Tickets reopening) and I are planning to go and see Moulin Rouge!, Ain’t Too Proud, Mrs. Doubtfire, Tina the Musical, MJ, the Michael Jackson Musical, Plaza Suite, which starts in February and stars Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, Company, Girl from the North Country, Six The Musical and Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in The Music Man.  And I almost forgot, we are looking forward to seeing Funny Girl, the show that launched the career of Barbra Streisand. I feel like that’s gonna be a great one. And what about Billy Crystal returning to Broadway in Mr. Saturday night, a show written by Billy, who will star in it as well. How awesome is that?

 I may make a living being in the Broadway ticket selling business, but I actually still get a thrill walking through the theater district just before going in to see a show, often after having a great meal in one of the theater district restaurants.  Or a quick slice of pizza if we are rushed for time.  Maybe even two slices.  I love New York City and have the great pleasure of sharing my experiences with my out-of-town friends and clients. It’s so awesome. I’ve been very lucky to have this job for over 44 years now.

 Lastly, I would like to say thank you to all of Applause-Tickets wonderful friends and clients that have supported our business over the years. I wouldn’t be able to write this post if it weren’t for you helping us to achieve the level of success that we have.

 And a special “shout out” to our travel industry friends, who have also had a difficult time during this pandemic. We all seem to be on our way back to business in our “new normal”. I hope you'll consider using a travel agent to book your trips.  They are experts and can be so helpful when traveling to places you might not know too much about.

 We are thankful to have our health and to have the great privilege to attend live theater on Broadway once again.  Although things are clearly not the same as they have been for most of our lives, a simple thing like attending a live Broadway show or just about any other live entertainment event, helps bring us back to days gone by. Thank goodness for this.

 I sincerely appreciate you taking a moment to read this post.  If you want to talk about Broadway Theatre, please call me anytime.  I’d love to talk about New York Theatre, restaurants or even just things to do in The Big Apple.

 Cheers to Broadway’s triumphant return. And good luck to all of us. Enjoy your holidays and have a very Happy New Year.  And a healthy one. Stay safe friends.

 Best Regards,

Rich Gladstone

President

Applause-Tickets.com

212-307-7050

800-451-9930

BROADWAY, LONDON AND LAS VEGAS SHOWS BOUNCE BACK WITH MUCH NEEDED HELP FROM OUR TRAVEL AGENT FRIENDS

Please enjoy our "salute" to the travel agent and hospitality industry as Broadway Theater reopens as well as shows and events in London's West End and Las Vegas.

https://preview.mailerlite.com/k2l1e9/1820399082502363151/y2c1/

Please support your local travel agents as they do so much for the traveling public, day in and day out.

Regards

Rich Gladstone

President

Applause-Tickets.com

Phone 800-451-9930

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Ready For Some Live Broadway Theatre?

 And just like that, when we last left off when the last Broadway shows played on March 11, 2019,  there are now more than 20 Broadway shows playing once again with the balance to begin performing in November and December. It’s already an exciting season. Many of the old standby shows are selling very well like Wicked, Chicago the Musical, The Lion King, Aladdin, Hadestown, Ain’t Too Proud, Dear Evan Hansen and some of the newcomers like Moulin Rouge, Tina the Musical, and Six the Musical are selling  in an off the chart fashion. 

Broadway shows have been reopening, one after the other since early September and from the looks of it, things are going very well. Personally, I’ve been to three shows myself and the crowds seem to be enjoying themselves like they always have.  Sure, patrons are asked to show proof of vaccination, identification and wear masks during all the performances but Broadway is not skipping a beat, not for even one moment.

And our small family business, Applause-Tickets.com has had the pleasure of serving the needs of the theater going public once again. Many of our friends and clients from the hotel and hospitality industry around the country have been calling us nonstop since early July now. We are getting busier and busier every day and are thrilled to be talking to these wonderful people once again.

 And some new shows are coming to Broadway. Diana the Musical, Mrs. Doubtfire and the return of a shortened version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, originally a two-part production, now able to be seen in one sitting, are going to be settling into their theaters for open ended runs in the days ahead.  

Sitting in the theater and once again and witnessing the laughter and the joy of theatergoers is thrilling to say the least. I’m looking forward to going to see as many Broadway shows as I can this season.  How about you?

If you want to talk about any of the shows on Broadway or need any help with making plans to see one of the great shows, it would be my pleasure to assist you.

I hope you’ll consider calling Applause-Tickets at 212-307-7050 whenever your plans include a visit to see a Broadway show.  We are here for you to help you in any way we can to make sure your Broadway experience is a great one.

Bravo! To everyone associated with Broadway’s comeback. We are so glad to see you once again.

Sincerely 

Rich Gladstone

President

Applause-Tickets

NY NY

Phone 800-451-9930

212-307-7050

https://www.applause-tickets.com/

‘Six’ finally opens on Broadway

 

Photo credit: Joan Marcus

Rare is the girl-power show in which the characters died 500 years ago.

But that’s “Six,” the new musical about Henry VIII’s sextet of wronged wives that finally opened Sunday night on Broadway. It was a victorious moment for this upbeat, high-energy British import. The show was originally slated to open on March 12, 2020, but hours before the curtain went up, all theaters were shut down for what turned into an 18-month eternity. Now “Six” is back and vivacious as ever.

80 minutes, no intermission. At the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 West 47th St.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Updated Vaccine & Mask Requirements

Keeping you safe and informed is our top priority. The following health and safety protocols established by all Broadway theatres have implemented the following vaccine and mask requirements for all Broadway performances.

VACCINE REQUIREMENTS

All ticket holders must be fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination at their time of entry into the theatre with their valid ticket. 

The only exceptions are:

• guests under the age of 12, who must be accompanied by an adult that meets the vaccination requirements; or

• guests who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical exception or a sincerely held religious belief, must present proof of a negative COVID-19 test. (negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time, or negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance start time.)

MASK USAGE

Masks are required to be worn properly at all times except while actively eating or drinking when seated.

QUESTIONS?

If you have purchased tickets through our service, feel free to call us with any questions at any time.

TRAVEL AGENTS

Travel Agents, please make sure that you call your clients and tell them of the new Broadway Theatre requirements.

Broadway Show Re-openings Are Growing Daily-More Than Twenty Shows Are Coming Back

I'm very pleased to say that it looks like a show or two announces its Broadway comeback every few days or so.  And the phone calls and email requests we are receiving at my ticket company Applause-Tickets on a daily basis, are building slowly but surely.

Although I don't think most shows are likely to bounce back to near full capacity in the near term as Broadway starts to reopen, it sure feels like over the next 6 months to a year or so, we may very well see a marked improvement in people coming back to see a live show in a Broadway theater.

Here's a current list of Broadway scheduled re-openings along with the dates of their restarting to play again to live audiences.  I hope you'll consider a call to my company www.applause-tickets.com whenever your plans include a visit to Broadway again.

If you need any assistance obtaining great seating options at reasonable prices for your friends, family or yourself, I hope you'll consider a call to Applause-Tickets.com today.

Here's a list of Broadway Show re-openings on the Applause-Tickets.com web site below

https://www.applause-tickets.com/broadway-theater.html

Welcome Back Broadway- we sure did miss you old friend.

Cheers and good luck to everyone associated with the Broadway Theater.

Rich Gladstone

President/ Applause-Tickets.com

NY NY

Phone 212-307-7050