Exploring $30 Tickets of HIPTIX & MTC’s 30 Under 30
Nurturing the love of theatre in the next generation of theatre goers should be high on the priority list of theatres across the Great White Way. If you aren’t pumping new blood into seats, your audience will ultimately shrink and vanish with the times. The essential problem is younger theatre patrons don’t have the financial flexibility to afford Broadway’s loftier ticket prices. To combat that sticker shock, the Roundabout Theatre Company and the Manhattan Theatre Club have created discount ticket programs to allow young theatre goers to enjoy Broadway shows without mortgaging their future to do it.
The Roundabout Theatre Company’s HIPTIX program is available to theatre goers between the ages of 18-35. HIPTIX is free to join and provides “$20–25 tickets to all Roundabout shows, plus exclusive event invites, discounts for theatre around New York City, and a free subscription to Time Out New York,” according to the official site for the program. Approximately 10-40 seats (normally located in the Mezzanine section) are reserved at all Roundabout performances for Hiptix members. Todd Haimes, the company’s artistic director, said in a prepared statement, “We hope HIPTIX will motivate younger audiences to attend plays and change their perception that a night at the theatre is beyond their financial means.”
For a donation of $75 or more, young theatergoers can become HIPTIX Gold members which offers benefits such as exclusive access to insider-only events and $25 orchestra seats for Roundabout productions (subject to availability). Closing out the 2013-14 season are the shows Cabaret, Violet, and Just Jim Dale. Shows in the 2014-15 season include Indian Ink, Into the Woods, and Little Children Dream of God.
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or at the box office. Purchased tickets are held at the box office and valid ID must be presented by the HIPTIX member in order for tickets to be released.
The Manhattan Theatre Club also offers a discount ticket program to young theatre patrons called the 30 Under 30 Club. Joining the MTC club is free and provides members with the ability to buy a pair of $30 tickets to each show in the MTC season. There are also exclusive event invitiations that come along with the membership. The 2014-15 season includes The Country House starring Blythe Danner, Lost Lake starring John Hawke and Tracie Thomas, Constellations starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and The World of Extreme Happiness with Ruy Iskander, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim, Jodi Long, Joe Mei, and Andrew Pang.
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or at the box office. Purchased tickets are held at the box office and valid ID must be presented by the 30 Under 30 Club member in order for tickets to be released.
Kudos to the Roundabout Theatre Company and the Manhattan Theatre Club for having found a way to make the theatre more affordable for the youth of today. Hopefully, these programs will be a huge success and spawn other theatres to follow suit. The next generation of Broadway addicts depends on it.
Author: Diamond Grant