NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Six days ago, Hedwig and the Angry Inch came away as one of the big 2014 Tony Award nomination winners. The musical revival has received critical acclaim since opening in March, leading to eight Tony nominations, the second-highest total for a show this year.
It's also been popular with audiences and has been dominating tickets prices on the secondary market.
According to TiqIQ, Hedwig and the Angry Inch tickets have an average price on the secondary market of $376.16 for the lower orchestra level. The average is 48% above the average price of the next most expensive Broadway show to earn at least five nominations. Hedwig benefits from some star power thanks to Neil Patrick Harris in the lead role. The How I Met Your Mother star was nominated for best actor in a musical.
Though Hedwig is making its Broadway debut, it is technically considered a revival of the 1998 off-Broadway version, forcing it to be nominated as Best Revival of a Musical category instead of Best Musical. Its biggest competition in the category will come from the revival of Les Miserables, which has been one of the more expensive shows on the secondary market. Les Miserables tickets have an average price of $228.92 for orchestra level seating. Hedwig is currently more expensive on the secondary market than some of Broadway's elite. It's currently 14.5% more expensive than the $328.58 average price of Book of Mormon tickets and 49% above the $252.56 average price of Lion King tickets. The only show to receive more nominations than Hedwig and the Angry Inch was A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder with 10 total nominations. To date, Gentleman's Guide has been more popular with the critics than the general public and that's being reflected in the ticket prices. A Gentleman's Guide to to Love & Murder tickets have an average price of $206.12 for the lower orchestra on the secondary market, 45.2% below the average for Hedwig. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical has the second-highest average price on the secondary market price of the leading nomination-getters this year. Nominated for seven Tonys, Beautiful tickets have an average price of $254.02 for lower orchestra seats. The amount of familiar Carole King songs from the 1960s and 1970s has kept the show popular with audiences, but could make it a longshot to win the major awards such as Best Musical.
The most expensive non-musical to receive multiple nominations this year was All The Way, with two nominations. The play focused on the early years of Lyndon B. Johnson?s presidency received two nominations, for Best Play and for Best Performance By a Leading Actor. The nominated actor, Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, is one of the biggest draws for the show, leading to $221.38 average price for All The Way tickets at the orchestra level. While some of these Broadway tickets would see a boost from a Tony win, critical hits like A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder would stand to benefit more than an already popular show such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Though for many shows, the biggest reward comes from just being nominated. As for the Tony awards themselves, they're also a big draw with an average $808 this year, which is more expensive than any of the nominated shows. Over the last three years, Madison Square Garden (MSG)-owned properties have hosted the Tony Awards. In 2011 and 2012, the show was held at the Beacon Theater. In 2013, the show moved to Radio City Music Hall where it was hosted last year and will be again this year. For fans looking to see the show in person, the cheapest price for a ticket is $500. This article represents the opinion of a contributor and not necessarily that of TheStreet or its editorial staff.
No comments:
Post a Comment