THEATER TALK

Summer is the quiet season in New York theater. With very few openings—especially on Broadway—it's a good opportunity to step back from individual shows and think about theatergoing in general and how to improve your chances of having a rewarding experience.

The best place to keep track of what's playing now and what's coming up is Playbill.com. In addition to theater news and feature articles, it lists Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, with summaries, running times, opening and closing dates, and information about where to buy tickets.

One word of caution: I usually ignore the ticket link on Playbill and instead go directly to the show's official website. When you search online, type the name of the show (or opera, concert or ballet) followed by "official website" to make sure you've reached the real site. That's the safest way to buy tickets. More than one friend has unknowingly purchased tickets from a website that looked official but wasn't, only to discover later that they had paid inflated prices and unnecessary fees. Friends who have used TodayTix have reported mixed experiences.

I also recommend signing up for the email lists of Telecharge, Ticketmaster, and Criterion Ticketing. They frequently announce new productions before tickets go on sale to the general public and often include worthwhile discount offers.

Many of New York's best Off-Broadway productions come from nonprofit theater companies such as Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Second Stage, Signature Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, MCC Theater, and Classic Stage Company (CSC). These companies depend heavily on subscriptions, although they also sell tickets to individual productions. If you find yourself enjoying several shows from the same company each season, a subscription can be an excellent value—and it may encourage you to discover plays you might otherwise have overlooked.

There is, however, one trend that concerns me. Many nonprofit companies have been squeezed by rising costs and reduced government support. As a result, some have cut back on the number of productions they present, rented their theaters to outside producers, relied more heavily on familiar revivals that are likely to sell well—or all of the above. Broadway faces its own challenge: the cost of mounting a new production has become so high that producers are understandably more cautious about what they are willing to risk.

Despite these challenges, I'm optimistic. Every season brings worthwhile discoveries, and the coming one already looks promising. In my next column, I'll highlight some of the productions that I think are most deserving of your attention.

 

Robert Sholiton has been writing a theater blog called Gotham Playgoer (https://gotham-playgoer.blogspot.com) since 2010. If you would like to be on his distribution list to receive each new review, send him a request at rsholiton@gmail.com