October 04, 2005

'Odd Couple' tickets on sale for tonight's preview

Tickets were on sale this morning for tonight's preview of "The Odd Couple" with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, but the only seats available were going for $250 each.

The box office had 10 premium tickets available for tonight's show, and 10 to 15 for Wednesday. Regular seats for the entire run sold out months ago, through group sales and to American Express card holders who got early access.

Tickets will be available on a daily basis for standing room, but at least not until this Friday. A sign on the door at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre this morning announced there will be no standing-room tickets for shows on Oct. 4, 5 or 6.

That was bad news for Suzanne Fradette of Honolulu, who showed up with her husband at 8 a.m. to buy a pair for $25 each. "We went by yesterday afternoon and they said they had (regular-priced) tickets available in the back for the next three nights," she said. But she opted to try for the cheaper standing-room tickets instead. As it turned out, the theater decided it didn't want people standing at the back of the orchestra section for the initial shows.

Tina Laney and Linda Trompeter, flight attendants for America West/US Airways, were also among the small crowd waiting for the box office to open at 10 a.m., hoping to snag standing-room or cancellation tickets. "We can almost never buy tickets in advance. We actually took an earlier flight so we could see this," said Laney, who raved about how she and Trompeter got preview tickets to see Lane and Broderick when they were in "The Producers."

Once the Brooks Atkinson allows standing-room viewing, there will be 12 tickets available for each performance. They will cost $25 each, sold only one per person. They are sold the day-of-show only, starting at 10 a.m., according to the box office representative.

Cancellation tickets can go on sale anytime, he said. Sometimes they are available right before show time when people find they have an extra ticket because a friend got stuck in traffic. Other times, they are available in the middle of the day when a tour group gets to town and they turn in the extra tickets they bought through group sales.

Fortunately Fradette and her husband Steve didn't have to wait much longer. Around 10:20 this morning a pair a tickets were returned to the box office. The price was $100 each for partially obstructed view box seats, row A. "We are very happy," she said.

Also in line this morning was William "PeeWee" Scheidt, who said he was first in line when "Odd Couple" tickets went on sale this summer. However, the tickets had already been mostly been cleaned out by American Express card holders. Scheidt said the only thing available then were obstructed-view seats. He bought a pair for his daughter and granddaughter.

The first sale of the day went to a woman visiting from London. She didn't want to give her name, but said she was here on business. She said the $250 ticket still felt like a bargain, especially considering the exchange rate. Had she gone through a ticket agency online, she could have paid about $600.

The Brooks Atkinson Theatre is located at 256 W. 47th St. Map.

Update: Fradette e-mailed this morning with praise for the first preview and mentioned Senator John Kerry was in the audience as well. "The show was EXCELLENT - one of the most enjoyable nights I've ever spent at the theater. The entire cast was great, but Nathan Lane really stood out. He and Matthew had great chemistry and timing."

Earlier: Standing room tickets for 'Odd Couple' priced at $25
Hilton hotel 'Odd Couple' packages start at $1,299
'Odd Couple' entirely sold out for general public
'Odd Couple' tickets for $1,000 and up
'Odd Couple' tix on sale to plebeians starting Tuesday
'Odd Couple' may sell entire run to AmEx cardholders
Tickets to Lane/Broderick 'Odd Couple' on sale July 5
Broderick and Lane to star in 'Odd Couple' revival

October 4, 2005 11:09 AM in Broadway

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