Thursday, November 19, 2009
Theater Half-Priced Tickets Coming Back to Seattle
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Since Ticket/Ticket closed, Seattle's been without a half-price ticket distributor for theater, opera, ballet, etc. But a California-based company called Goldstar will set up shop here in a couple of weeks and bring back the half-priced ticket.
How it works: Venues allocate a number of tickets for Goldstar (since shows rarely sell out). Goldstar puts those tickets on its site without charging the venue. Customers buy the tickets and pay a service charge (averaging around $4.50, according to the Goldstar publicist I just talked to).
Brian Colburn, the new-ish managing director of Intiman—which just announced its new season—knew of Goldstar while he was in Los Angeles and rallied the Rep, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Meany Hall, the 5th Avenue and other big houses to sign up for the service.
The magic thing about Goldstar is its marketing. It aggressively recruits audiences under 40—just what every performing arts organization needs these days. (Which is why Teen Tix was shortlisted for organization Genius this year—they make $5 tickets available to people under 20, which is even more golden than Goldstar.)
It'll be interesting to see how strongly Seattle audiences respond to the Goldstar option. Nobody seems to know how much price is a barrier to entry for theater, dance, etc. But cheaper tickets for young(ish) audiences is good for everyone, even if they come with a service charge.
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