\n<\/p>\n
The hottest play on Broadway was written more than 400 years ago. Demand to see Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal face off in Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cOthello<\/a>\u201d is so strong that many center orchestra seats are selling for $921, helping the show break box office records.<\/p>\n During its first week of previews, its average ticket price was $361.90, more than double that at the next highest-average-price show (\u201cThe Outsiders,\u201d at $155.02). And last week \u201cOthello\u201d grossed $2.8 million, more than any nonmusical has ever made in a single week on Broadway.<\/p>\n The huge numbers, for a show that has not yet been reviewed and that was selling briskly long before anyone had seen it, come at a time when the prices for the most sought-after pop concerts<\/a> and sporting events<\/a> are also quite high.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And theater prices \u2014 at least for the most sought-after shows \u2014 are no exception.<\/p>\n At its peak, \u201cHamilton\u201d charged $998 for the very best seats during holiday weeks, and at one point a revival of \u201cHello, Dolly!\u201d charged $998 for front row seats<\/a>, which allowed fans of Bette Midler the possibility of being brushed by her glove as she strolled along a passerelle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But \u201cOthello\u201d is distinguished by the large number of seats being sold at the highest prices, which is driving up its average ticket price. At many upcoming performances, the show is asking $921 for the first 14 rows in the center orchestra, and for much of the first two rows in the front mezzanine.<\/p>\n The show, like others, uses variable pricing \u2014 prices are higher for the most-desired seats at the most-desired times. Early in previews, the top price was $897, and there are some future performances at which the top price is $721. The show reported a lowest regular ticket price of $197 last week, and at every performance there are some partial view seats made available via an online lottery for $49.<\/p>\n With many movie stars and television stars appearing on New York stages<\/a> this season, a number of shows have been charging high prices for their best tickets.<\/p>\n A production of \u201cRomeo + Juliet,\u201d starring Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, sold well throughout its 20-week run, which ended just eight days before \u201cOthello\u201d began. (Yes, it\u2019s been a good season for Shakespeare.) During most weeks the top ticket price for \u201cRomeo + Juliet\u201d was $574.50, but it sold some seats for $974.50 during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year\u2019s weeks, and it charged $1,478.50 for some seats during its final week. But its average ticket price was substantially lower than that for \u201cOthello,\u201d peaking at $225.07 during its final week, and often much lower.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Another starry spring play on Broadway, \u201cGood Night, and Good Luck,\u201d with George Clooney in his first professional stage appearance in nearly four decades, is asking $799 for the best seats at some performances, while a revival of \u201cGlengarry Glen Ross\u201d has some tickets on offer for $724.50. And prices for those shows could rise if demand spikes.<\/p>\n Off Broadway, a one-man \u201cVanya\u201d starring Andrew Scott is charging up to $449, while the Brooklyn Academy of Music is seeking up to $435 to see a revival of \u201cA Streetcar Named Desire\u201d starring Paul Mescal.<\/p>\n Washington is highly acclaimed and enormously popular. He has won two Academy Awards, for \u201cGlory\u201d and \u201cTraining Day,\u201d and a Tony Award, for \u201cFences\u201d; in 2020 he was named by New York Times film critics as the greatest actor of the 21st century so far<\/a>. \u201cOthello\u201d is his sixth starring role on Broadway, where he is now one of a tiny handful of performers who reliably sell strongly.<\/p>\n But \u201cOthello\u201d sales are next-level, seeming to reflect the appeal of the combination of two well-known actors with a well-known title, and also a \u201cTaylor Swift<\/a> effect,\u201d meaning that consumers are getting used to paying top dollar for live entertainment.<\/p>\n \u201cShows like \u2018Othello,\u2019 that are limited-run star vehicles, do so much to build the brand of Broadway, and they are a unique part of the ecosystem,\u201d said Deeksha Gaur, the executive director of TDF, a nonprofit that tries to make theater more accessible and that oversees the TKTS discount theater booths. \u201cAt the same time, obviously, it\u2019s important for us as an industry to think about making sure people are aware of all the price points available to audiences \u2014 there is a huge range of shows available to audiences, and we\u2019re not hearing that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Gaur pointed out that, during the week ending March 9, 10 of the 26 shows running on Broadway had an average ticket price under $100 (the average price for all shows combined was $120), and she said that 21 of the 26 shows had at least one performance for sale at the TKTS booths, where last-minute tickets are sold for up to 50 percent off.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible, of course, that prices for \u201cOthello\u201d could fall. If reviews, or word-of-mouth, are not great, that could lead to a reduction in prices for remaining ticket inventory at the box office, and could also diminish demand on the resale market.<\/p>\n But thus far, \u201cOthello\u201d has been taking in more at the box office than any other show on Broadway, outgrossing \u201cWicked,\u201d \u201cHamilton\u201d and \u201cThe Lion King,\u201d even though those shows are playing in larger theaters and selling more seats.<\/p>\n \u201cOthello,\u201d like every Broadway show these days, cost a lot to stage, which is how producers tend to explain high ticket prices. The show, which opens on March 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, was capitalized for up to $9 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. And, like most plays featuring movie stars, who tend to have limited time available for stage work, it has a short run: It is scheduled to last just 15 weeks. That makes recoupment, and profitability, challenging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The lead producer, Brian Moreland, declined to comment on the show\u2019s pricing. But the subject is clearly a sensitive one \u2014 after the New York Post entertainment critic Johnny Oleksinski wrote a column<\/a> referring to the \u201cOthello\u201d prices as \u201cobscene\u201d and based on \u201cgreed,\u201d the production declined to accommodate<\/a> his request for free press seats, which the production, following industry standards, had previously offered to him along with other journalists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n