Now believe it or not, but a lot of interesting things happened in the theatre world on this day. In 2006, Academy Award winner Julia Roberts made her Broadway debut along side Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd in Richard Greenberg's Three Days Of Rain. Best Musical Tony Award winner Fun Home premiered on Broadway in 2015. And last but not least, Rodger and Hammerstein's Carousel opened in 1945 at the Majestic Theatre. However, I decided to focus instead on one of the biggest hit's of the 21st Century. No, it's not Hamilton. Although that would be a good guess.
On April 19, 2001, The Producer's opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. Not only was it the biggest hit since The Lion King, but it also hold's the record for the most Tony Award's in history, a record that will probably never be broken in our lifetime.When the show first opened, it broke box office records, and finished up with a gross of almost three hundred million dollars during it's six year run. Nowadays, shows grossing a million dollars a week is nothing new, with anywhere from eight to ten shows accomplishing that feat week in and week out.
Now when most people hear the words "Premium Seats", they know exactly what it means. They also know that they will be shelling out a little more money in order to get them. However, what most people don't know, is that the those two words didn't exist until 2001. And the reason they exist, is because of the producers of The Producers. Try saying that five times fast.You see shortly after the show opened, the demand for tickets was at an all time high. Now I have been in the ticket industry for a long time. Actually about three years before The Producers opened on Broadway.
Since that time, I have worked for three different ticket companies. Three companies, that are not only still in business today, but continue to thrive year after year. Unfortunately, not all ticket sellers are legitimate. Of course you can say that about a lot of businesses out there. Now as I was saying, tickets for the show were at an all time high. Which meant that the lines at the box office were long day in and day out. It also meant that those lines were full of what we in the industry call, "Ticket Scalpers".Look, we all know they exist. And we all know that they are not going away anytime soon. It's just the nature of the business.
Finally the producers wised up, and decided that instead of letting others reap the benefit's of all their hard work, they should be the one's that were reaping the rewards. And that theatre fans is how "Premium Seating" was born. My apologies for taking so long to get there, but to be honest there's not a whole lot of stuff to blog on these days. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon, and I can get back to writing about new shows and happenings on the Great White Way. Stay safe everyone, and keep looking out for each other. Until next time theatre fans.
JWB
Applause Theatre and Entertainment Service, Inc.
165 West 46th Street
Suite 1107
New York, NY 10036
212-307-7050
or 1-800-451-9930
http://www.applause-tickets.com/
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