I wrote a play some time ago. Its been sitting in my computer fro quite a few years now. Its short. I always felt it needed something more. So I recently added a bit more, made some adjustments, tightened it a bit. And then I did something really scary. I invited some friends over to read it.
I hosted a reading in my apartment and cast friends of mine in the various roles. I was nervous. Oh, who am I kidding? I was scared. Really scared. What if it wasn't any good? What if no one got any of the jokes? Or if they thought my story was lame? I mean it is somewhat semi-autobiographical. It reflects my own thoughts and some of my own experiences. What if they laughed at that and therefore laughed at me? I couldn't take it. That's why it was sitting on my computer for so long with our anyone seeing it.
So, they came over. I gave them a brief rundown of the script and the characters they were about to read and they read it. And it was funny. They all laughed in the right places. And appreciated the heart of the story. It was a great relief to me. I mean this was me. I was putting myself out there so to speak. Putting my life on the line, in a way. Its scared me. You see, its difficult for me to share my writing, my thoughts, my ideas, my acting, etc. I'm so scared of rejection, so sure no one gets me. So her it was. Once again, I was proven wrong.
I got nothing but positive feedback. Everyone loved it. Liked my writing. It was fun. But then, of course, once we got past all the positives, I did get some notes. And I have taken them all to heart and done some re-writes. I still have more to do. I've added a couple of scenes to develop the main relationship more. I've given one of the supporting characters a speech at the end where he tells off the bad guys. I've given one of the villains more of an arc to get to their decision to turn on the lead.
So now, I have booked a theater and invited people to come and see a staged reading. All the actors are back. I'm replacing two with actors who are more age appropriate for their roles. I've invited many people. I need to invite meow., I'm scared again. Not sure the re-writes will work. Well, some of them do, but I'm not sure about all the new scenes. Of course, it makes it longer. But it was really short to begin with.
So here we go again. June 19th at 7pm at The Attic Theatre on Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles. The jury will be out. Will it go any further from that? I don't know. It may be a film. Maybe continue as a play. That's what this is for. Hopefully, the right people will come and see this and maybe someone will champion this. And I can develop to even further and get up a full production.
If you're in Los Angeles on June 19 and are looking for something to do, come see it. There will be wine and cheese and a talk back after.
BTW...I should be writing right now. Bye! See you on the 19th.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Why I love the classic TV series Green Acres
In one of my first blogs, I spoke of my love for classic TV. I may have mentioned i collect complete TV series season sets on DVD. I just bought two new sets this week, Maude Season 4 and Newhart Season 5. This past week, I finished watching Designing Women Season 4. I now own 120 different TV series season sets.
I am currently in a show (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Glendale Centre Theatre See link below for tickets). I share a dressing room with another actor the same age as myself. Last night we spoke of the shows we grew up watching and the lineups of the various nights of the week. As good as TV is now, its not the same. I long of the days of good old broadcast network television (ABC CBS and NBC). We all watched the same programs together as families. Each network had something for everyone. They didn't each cater to a different audience. They all shared one big audience together.
Glendale Centre Theatre Tickets
But I digress. Today, I would like to talk about one particular classic television series. And state my case for why I love it. That show, wait for it, is Green Acres. Yes, you heard me right Green Acres, Not Mary Tyler Moore, Seinfeld, Lucy, MASH, Cheers, All in the Family., Dick Van Dyke, Friends, Fraser. Green Acres.
Now, I know the tendency is to lump this show with the 1960s CBS rural comedies, Beverly Hillbllies and Petticoat Junction in particular since they were all from the same producers and crossed over with one another. In fact, Green Acres was a sort of skin off of Petticoat Junction taking place in a neighboring town and sharing a couple of supporting characters. Beverly Hillbillies, as popular as it was in its day, and it was HUGELY popular. Its ratings still rank among the all time highest ever for episodic TV. It does not continue on in syndication like Lucy, Seinfeld, Andy Griffith or The Golden Girls. And its not that great. I'm not a fan. And Petticoat Junction never did anything for me. Its kind of lame.
But Green Acres is a different. And I recently converted a friend after having this conversation. There are sone great running gags. And the show was kind of ahead of its time. You heard me right. Ahead of tits time. Why? They broke the fourth wall. There were inside jokes. That was not common on TV shows in the 1960s. Its common now. There episodes that start with the characters noticing the opening credits floating in front of them. There's one where the written by and directed by credits are spelled out on the pancakes (or as Lisa called them, hotcakes) that Lisa is cooking on the grill.
In another one, Eb is lip synching to Eva Gabor singing the opening theme song as he goes about his chores.
In another running bit, every time Oliver starts to wax poetic about the American farmer and working the land, there's patriotic music playing underneath and the men in Drucker's Store comment on the fact that there is music coming from somewhere.
In addition, the show has a real absurdist sense of humor to it. Things work backwards. The house is never finished. The phone is on top of a telephone pole. Only a couple of kitchen appliances can be plugged in at one time and you can't mix up the outlets. The Ziffels pig Arnold is treated like their son and in one episode goes off to Hollywood to be a movie star.
My favorite characters: Mr. Haney and his shyster ways. Somehow always having for sale exactly what the Douglases need when they need it and for a price. The carpenters, the Monroe Brothers Alf and Ralph (who is actually a woman but they are afraid they won't get any business if they call themselves brother and sister. Talk about sexist!) who never get the job done. Mr. Kimball and his constantly going off course in the middle of a sentence and forgetting what he was saying in the first place is probably my favorite character of all.
And then there's that theme song. I mean c'mon. Who hasn't sung that theme song? Its right up there with Gilligan and The Brady Bunch.
I'm telling you have to give this show another shot. Its better than you may remember. I think it ranks close behind Get Smart in its humor. So there you have it. I love Green Acres. I own the first three seasons on DVD. Unfortunately, they stopped with three. We need the remaining three! C'mon Shout Factory or MPI. Do like you did with so many other classic TV shows that the studios stopped releasing. Pick up the rights to Green Acres and give us the full six seasons.
I am currently in a show (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Glendale Centre Theatre See link below for tickets). I share a dressing room with another actor the same age as myself. Last night we spoke of the shows we grew up watching and the lineups of the various nights of the week. As good as TV is now, its not the same. I long of the days of good old broadcast network television (ABC CBS and NBC). We all watched the same programs together as families. Each network had something for everyone. They didn't each cater to a different audience. They all shared one big audience together.
Glendale Centre Theatre Tickets
But I digress. Today, I would like to talk about one particular classic television series. And state my case for why I love it. That show, wait for it, is Green Acres. Yes, you heard me right Green Acres, Not Mary Tyler Moore, Seinfeld, Lucy, MASH, Cheers, All in the Family., Dick Van Dyke, Friends, Fraser. Green Acres.
Now, I know the tendency is to lump this show with the 1960s CBS rural comedies, Beverly Hillbllies and Petticoat Junction in particular since they were all from the same producers and crossed over with one another. In fact, Green Acres was a sort of skin off of Petticoat Junction taking place in a neighboring town and sharing a couple of supporting characters. Beverly Hillbillies, as popular as it was in its day, and it was HUGELY popular. Its ratings still rank among the all time highest ever for episodic TV. It does not continue on in syndication like Lucy, Seinfeld, Andy Griffith or The Golden Girls. And its not that great. I'm not a fan. And Petticoat Junction never did anything for me. Its kind of lame.
But Green Acres is a different. And I recently converted a friend after having this conversation. There are sone great running gags. And the show was kind of ahead of its time. You heard me right. Ahead of tits time. Why? They broke the fourth wall. There were inside jokes. That was not common on TV shows in the 1960s. Its common now. There episodes that start with the characters noticing the opening credits floating in front of them. There's one where the written by and directed by credits are spelled out on the pancakes (or as Lisa called them, hotcakes) that Lisa is cooking on the grill.
In another one, Eb is lip synching to Eva Gabor singing the opening theme song as he goes about his chores.
In another running bit, every time Oliver starts to wax poetic about the American farmer and working the land, there's patriotic music playing underneath and the men in Drucker's Store comment on the fact that there is music coming from somewhere.
In addition, the show has a real absurdist sense of humor to it. Things work backwards. The house is never finished. The phone is on top of a telephone pole. Only a couple of kitchen appliances can be plugged in at one time and you can't mix up the outlets. The Ziffels pig Arnold is treated like their son and in one episode goes off to Hollywood to be a movie star.
My favorite characters: Mr. Haney and his shyster ways. Somehow always having for sale exactly what the Douglases need when they need it and for a price. The carpenters, the Monroe Brothers Alf and Ralph (who is actually a woman but they are afraid they won't get any business if they call themselves brother and sister. Talk about sexist!) who never get the job done. Mr. Kimball and his constantly going off course in the middle of a sentence and forgetting what he was saying in the first place is probably my favorite character of all.
And then there's that theme song. I mean c'mon. Who hasn't sung that theme song? Its right up there with Gilligan and The Brady Bunch.
I'm telling you have to give this show another shot. Its better than you may remember. I think it ranks close behind Get Smart in its humor. So there you have it. I love Green Acres. I own the first three seasons on DVD. Unfortunately, they stopped with three. We need the remaining three! C'mon Shout Factory or MPI. Do like you did with so many other classic TV shows that the studios stopped releasing. Pick up the rights to Green Acres and give us the full six seasons.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
My Body Hurts! I Hate Aging. But I Still Look Good!
I've mentioned in the past that I take a cardio dance class that I love. I've been in it going on two years now. I've been proud of the fact that at my age I can still dance well and I can mostly keep up with the younger ones. Sometimes, I have some issues with my knees. Or I might wake up in the morning with some stiffness in my legs and/or joints. But it doesn't last more that part of a day. However. it has been happening with more and more frequency however.
This past week, it hit me the very next day and it hit me hard. And its still with me. My left knee has not been right since Wednesday and I'm experiencing pains in both legs and especially in my right butt cheek. You heard me. My right butt cheek. If I sit on it for too long, it starts to hurt. My lower back has been bothering me. I've noticed recently, that sometimes when I lift one leg to put on a pair of pants I have trouble keeping my balance. What?
Until recently I could whip my legs into my pants real quick and with great agility. Where has that gone? I guess the days of bragging about how agile I am even at my age (mid-50s) are gone. I'm no longer one of the go-to guys for picking up the choreography in the chorus of the show real quick. I'm officially one of the older character actors who gets to stand in the background while the younger guys dance around. I. Am. Not. Happy.
I refuse to deteriorate and go to my grave a stiff weakened older gentleman. There must be something I can do. Some medication I can take. A miracle pill that gives me my high kick back. My bell kicks are not what they used to be. I'd like to be able to do those again.
Oi! My neck is killing me too. This has been going one for about a year. I've been in physical therapy for that. You know what this blog is beginning to sound like? I'm one of those older men complaining about all the things on my body that don't work as well as they used to. Oi! The Lumbago! I need some liniment to rub on my back. Hack! Hack! My sinuses! Excuse me. I just need to cough up this phlegm that's caught in my throat.
Do me a favor roll that chair over here so I can sit for a spell and rest my feet. This hike is a little too much for me. Would open this bottle of ibuprofen for me? My arthritis is acting up.
G'night. Its past my bedtime. Yes! I know it's only 9:00. Get off my lawn you noisy kids or next time your ball comes into my yard, I'm keeping it.
This past week, it hit me the very next day and it hit me hard. And its still with me. My left knee has not been right since Wednesday and I'm experiencing pains in both legs and especially in my right butt cheek. You heard me. My right butt cheek. If I sit on it for too long, it starts to hurt. My lower back has been bothering me. I've noticed recently, that sometimes when I lift one leg to put on a pair of pants I have trouble keeping my balance. What?
Until recently I could whip my legs into my pants real quick and with great agility. Where has that gone? I guess the days of bragging about how agile I am even at my age (mid-50s) are gone. I'm no longer one of the go-to guys for picking up the choreography in the chorus of the show real quick. I'm officially one of the older character actors who gets to stand in the background while the younger guys dance around. I. Am. Not. Happy.
I refuse to deteriorate and go to my grave a stiff weakened older gentleman. There must be something I can do. Some medication I can take. A miracle pill that gives me my high kick back. My bell kicks are not what they used to be. I'd like to be able to do those again.
Oi! My neck is killing me too. This has been going one for about a year. I've been in physical therapy for that. You know what this blog is beginning to sound like? I'm one of those older men complaining about all the things on my body that don't work as well as they used to. Oi! The Lumbago! I need some liniment to rub on my back. Hack! Hack! My sinuses! Excuse me. I just need to cough up this phlegm that's caught in my throat.
Do me a favor roll that chair over here so I can sit for a spell and rest my feet. This hike is a little too much for me. Would open this bottle of ibuprofen for me? My arthritis is acting up.
G'night. Its past my bedtime. Yes! I know it's only 9:00. Get off my lawn you noisy kids or next time your ball comes into my yard, I'm keeping it.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Batman v. Superman Review (Mostly Spoiler Free)
December 1978. Fox Colonie Theatre on Wolf Road in Colonie, NY (just outside of Albany). It's a Saturday night. I'm in line with what seems like half the kids from my high school waiting to see Superman, The Movie. The commercials have been playing for a long time. A shot of clouds and the camera working its way through the clouds promising us that we'll believe a man can fly.
The movie starts. A movie curtain opens to reveal a black and white shot of Action Comics. A boy;'s hand opens it up. The camera pans into a panel of the Daily Planet building. It dissolves to a scale model of the Daily Planet pans out and up to the moon and beyond as John Williams score grows and we start to see the opening titles zooming out at us. Goose bumps.
In case you couldn't tell, I am a hug fan of that movie. I went back the following weekend to see it again. Probably the first time in my life that I ever did that. I don't go to see movies in the theater more than once. I loved that movie., I grew up on reruns of the 1950s Adventures of Superman. I read the comics, World's Finest with Batman and Superman, Shazam. I was a DC kid. Not a huge superhero reader but I went through a phase. I was certainly familiar with them.
Flash forward to 2016. Its a different world. Comics are now written for adults (graphic novels). They can be darker. Its believed that today's audiences want grittier more realistic. And it can work. It works for Batman. But Superman? I understand the need to modernize him. But you can't take away everything that we grew up loving about him.
Batman vs. Superman. The reviews have been mixed. Most internet social media squabble would have you believe this movie is bad. It is not. It's also not great. It's decent. It's dark. Very dark. Please, Zac Snyder. Could we have SOME sunshine? But my opinion is that its mostly told from Batman's perspective. Mostly, not all. For him it works.
I don't know that I agree with the whole Superman is an alien in our modern world. So he is raised and placed on a pedestal word worshipped like a God. And then of course he is torn down by others because that is what we do. We tear down our idols once we put them up there. He is feared by Bruce Wayne as an alien. And I get it. But, again. Can we lighten this up some? It is a comic book character after all. Comics book characters! Give me some bright reds and blues!
The story is decent. But I couldn't help wonder what if there were more humor injected and the brighter colors. And oh maybe Richard Donner directing or at least consulting. But I digress.
Ben Affleck as Batman. Great job. Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Awesome. Would have liked more. Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark. Not really given much to work with was he? I mean he was good with what he was given. They could have given us more back story on the Lois/Clark romance. They just were a couple. Just there already. And she knows he's Superman. Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White has the best lines. Honestly, the scrip needed more levity. This movie takes itself way too seriously.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Well it was a different take on him. But then why call him Lex Luthor. He could have been some other character. He basically was a filthy rich young man who inherited daddy's money and has a lot of strange tics eventually driving him into madness. I honestly didn't mind his portrayal. But to me that wasn't Lex. That was some new bad guy. I also thought in retrospect that if this movie is predominantly told from Batman's POV, then this portrayal totally makes sense. He was like any other Batman villain who either exceed from or belongs in Arkham Asylum. Good theory. Right?
I will admit that seeing Batman Superman and Wonder Woman standing side by side to fight together was pretty cool. But I then had a second thought. This story could have been told with a lighter touch. Not so dark and serious.
It was cool to see a few other DC cameos and obviously setup future DC movies which is basically how this ends. As a setup to the Justice League.
I also didn't like the CGI. There's way too much of it. I don';t like how every time Superman takes off its like a sonic boom. Wouldn't that do some damage? And the climactic fight sequence. Too Much CGI! Geez! And i didn't believe for one second that the ----- they were fighting was real. It looked CGI.
Cool that they brought in another big bad other than Lex and they used a very famous Superman storyline for the movie. After all, I am tired of every single Superman movie having Lex Luthor and kryptonite in it. Man of Steel is the only one that didn't.
Overall, I liked it with some qualifications. It was good. Not great. But I do hope that they let someone else take over and direct these movies and add more humor. And color! Please. What's a comic book without colors? Now if you don;t mind, I'm going to pop my Superman the Movie DVD in to the Blu Ray and watch that.
The movie starts. A movie curtain opens to reveal a black and white shot of Action Comics. A boy;'s hand opens it up. The camera pans into a panel of the Daily Planet building. It dissolves to a scale model of the Daily Planet pans out and up to the moon and beyond as John Williams score grows and we start to see the opening titles zooming out at us. Goose bumps.
In case you couldn't tell, I am a hug fan of that movie. I went back the following weekend to see it again. Probably the first time in my life that I ever did that. I don't go to see movies in the theater more than once. I loved that movie., I grew up on reruns of the 1950s Adventures of Superman. I read the comics, World's Finest with Batman and Superman, Shazam. I was a DC kid. Not a huge superhero reader but I went through a phase. I was certainly familiar with them.
Flash forward to 2016. Its a different world. Comics are now written for adults (graphic novels). They can be darker. Its believed that today's audiences want grittier more realistic. And it can work. It works for Batman. But Superman? I understand the need to modernize him. But you can't take away everything that we grew up loving about him.
Batman vs. Superman. The reviews have been mixed. Most internet social media squabble would have you believe this movie is bad. It is not. It's also not great. It's decent. It's dark. Very dark. Please, Zac Snyder. Could we have SOME sunshine? But my opinion is that its mostly told from Batman's perspective. Mostly, not all. For him it works.
I don't know that I agree with the whole Superman is an alien in our modern world. So he is raised and placed on a pedestal word worshipped like a God. And then of course he is torn down by others because that is what we do. We tear down our idols once we put them up there. He is feared by Bruce Wayne as an alien. And I get it. But, again. Can we lighten this up some? It is a comic book character after all. Comics book characters! Give me some bright reds and blues!
The story is decent. But I couldn't help wonder what if there were more humor injected and the brighter colors. And oh maybe Richard Donner directing or at least consulting. But I digress.
Ben Affleck as Batman. Great job. Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Awesome. Would have liked more. Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark. Not really given much to work with was he? I mean he was good with what he was given. They could have given us more back story on the Lois/Clark romance. They just were a couple. Just there already. And she knows he's Superman. Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White has the best lines. Honestly, the scrip needed more levity. This movie takes itself way too seriously.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Well it was a different take on him. But then why call him Lex Luthor. He could have been some other character. He basically was a filthy rich young man who inherited daddy's money and has a lot of strange tics eventually driving him into madness. I honestly didn't mind his portrayal. But to me that wasn't Lex. That was some new bad guy. I also thought in retrospect that if this movie is predominantly told from Batman's POV, then this portrayal totally makes sense. He was like any other Batman villain who either exceed from or belongs in Arkham Asylum. Good theory. Right?
I will admit that seeing Batman Superman and Wonder Woman standing side by side to fight together was pretty cool. But I then had a second thought. This story could have been told with a lighter touch. Not so dark and serious.
It was cool to see a few other DC cameos and obviously setup future DC movies which is basically how this ends. As a setup to the Justice League.
I also didn't like the CGI. There's way too much of it. I don';t like how every time Superman takes off its like a sonic boom. Wouldn't that do some damage? And the climactic fight sequence. Too Much CGI! Geez! And i didn't believe for one second that the ----- they were fighting was real. It looked CGI.
Cool that they brought in another big bad other than Lex and they used a very famous Superman storyline for the movie. After all, I am tired of every single Superman movie having Lex Luthor and kryptonite in it. Man of Steel is the only one that didn't.
Overall, I liked it with some qualifications. It was good. Not great. But I do hope that they let someone else take over and direct these movies and add more humor. And color! Please. What's a comic book without colors? Now if you don;t mind, I'm going to pop my Superman the Movie DVD in to the Blu Ray and watch that.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
New Head Shots
I recently had new head shots done. I've picked some serious photos taken by my friend Anthony Campanella, which you can find on my fb page and my personal website.
Today, I'm trying to pick some lighter looks that I can use for commercials, musical theatre and sitcoms. Attached are some of my options. Let me know which ones you like.
Leave comments in the comments section below. All photos above courtesy of Sarah Kreig Photography.
Today, I'm trying to pick some lighter looks that I can use for commercials, musical theatre and sitcoms. Attached are some of my options. Let me know which ones you like.
Leave comments in the comments section below. All photos above courtesy of Sarah Kreig Photography.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Why is London's West End so much cheaper and easier to access then Broadway?
Last week, I was in London for six days. Before I went on my trip, I bought tickets online to three West End shows. I got very good seats to all shows. I did not get discount tickets. I paid full price online just days in advance of my trip and had no trouble with sold out performances (except for one show which it turns out was just opening and in fact had tickets available for nights later in my trip when I had other plans). I did not pay more than $65 for a single ticket.
One of the shows I saw was The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night Time. I saw the Saturday evening show and sat in the balcony. I paid $62...full price. If I had bought those tickets for the Broadway production of the same show on a Saturday night, the price would $121. Orchestra seats for $134 to $197.
Why is Broadway so much more expensive? Even at half price, I would spend more for the Broadway production than the West End production. What? And on Broadway the big shows sell out. Oh! And I forgot to mention that this is a play and not a musical. They are even more expensive.
How is it that in London theater is so much more affordable? Think about it, for a family of four to go see a Broadway show like Matilda or Wicked on a Saturday night, it would cost them anywhere from $149 to $232 a seat depending on where the seats are. And there's also premium seating which is over $300 a seat. So that is a potential $728 for four orchestra seats. The of course there is the cost of driving into Manhattan from New Jersey or Long Island and parking. That's another $25 - $45. And then dinner for four. That can vary widely. So let's go on the assumption that the average cost with meal, drinks, dessert and tip is about $30 each (and that's conservative). You're talking another $120. Let's add that all up: $883. $883 for a family of four to go see a Broadway musical. And that's not counting drinks or snacks, souvenirs.
You'd need to take out a loan! What the hell? So, I'll say it again. Why is it so much more affordable to see shows on London's West End? Is it cheaper to produce there? Its a lot of the same shows. Bigger stars. Maybe its the unions her in the US and higher salaries to pay. I don't know. But something isn't right.
It used to be, over 100 years ago, that theater was the main form of entertainment. So it was much more affordable. Pre-radio, pre-movies, pre-television. Theater was the popular entertainment form.
Hell. Even when I started going to theater in the early 1980s, I remember buying two tickets to a big Broadway musical in the mezzanine of the Palace Theatre and only paying $32 to $35. When I lived in NYC in the 1990s, tickets were upwards of $60 - $75, but I could get half price tickets at TKTS. Or I could do standing room for sold out shows at $20 to $25. It was still affordable. Now a half price ticket can be over $100. WHAT!?
Again, why is London so much cheaper? DO they care more about theater there? Is it more common and not considered a special event like Broadway? Top price for Matilda and Wicked on the West End in 125 GBP which is $170. A lot but still less than Broadway and there are plenty of seats for way less than that.
C'mon Broadway, what gives?
One of the shows I saw was The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night Time. I saw the Saturday evening show and sat in the balcony. I paid $62...full price. If I had bought those tickets for the Broadway production of the same show on a Saturday night, the price would $121. Orchestra seats for $134 to $197.
Why is Broadway so much more expensive? Even at half price, I would spend more for the Broadway production than the West End production. What? And on Broadway the big shows sell out. Oh! And I forgot to mention that this is a play and not a musical. They are even more expensive.
How is it that in London theater is so much more affordable? Think about it, for a family of four to go see a Broadway show like Matilda or Wicked on a Saturday night, it would cost them anywhere from $149 to $232 a seat depending on where the seats are. And there's also premium seating which is over $300 a seat. So that is a potential $728 for four orchestra seats. The of course there is the cost of driving into Manhattan from New Jersey or Long Island and parking. That's another $25 - $45. And then dinner for four. That can vary widely. So let's go on the assumption that the average cost with meal, drinks, dessert and tip is about $30 each (and that's conservative). You're talking another $120. Let's add that all up: $883. $883 for a family of four to go see a Broadway musical. And that's not counting drinks or snacks, souvenirs.
You'd need to take out a loan! What the hell? So, I'll say it again. Why is it so much more affordable to see shows on London's West End? Is it cheaper to produce there? Its a lot of the same shows. Bigger stars. Maybe its the unions her in the US and higher salaries to pay. I don't know. But something isn't right.
It used to be, over 100 years ago, that theater was the main form of entertainment. So it was much more affordable. Pre-radio, pre-movies, pre-television. Theater was the popular entertainment form.
Hell. Even when I started going to theater in the early 1980s, I remember buying two tickets to a big Broadway musical in the mezzanine of the Palace Theatre and only paying $32 to $35. When I lived in NYC in the 1990s, tickets were upwards of $60 - $75, but I could get half price tickets at TKTS. Or I could do standing room for sold out shows at $20 to $25. It was still affordable. Now a half price ticket can be over $100. WHAT!?
Again, why is London so much cheaper? DO they care more about theater there? Is it more common and not considered a special event like Broadway? Top price for Matilda and Wicked on the West End in 125 GBP which is $170. A lot but still less than Broadway and there are plenty of seats for way less than that.
C'mon Broadway, what gives?
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