That the national touring production of “Wicked” will return to the Buell Theatre in 2007 is not, in itself, surprising news. The hottest touring Broadway property in the country has sold every seat for its limited three-week Denver stay that ends Sunday.
What’s unprecedented is that tickets to the return engagement in 2007 go on sale in 2005 – as in Monday. That’s nearly 20 months before the wicked green witch flies anywhere near here again. Subscribers to the Denver Center Attractions season were even given the opportunity to start snatching up tickets Wednesday for the musical’s May 16-June 3, 2007, return.
By Sunday, the “Wizard of Oz” prequel will have drawn about 69,000 to the Buell Theatre, grossing an estimated $3.5 million in ticket revenues. Two tickets to one of the few remaining performances were offered on craigslist.com Wednesday for $800. A lottery that has been held before every performance for 24 obstructed-view seats has drawn up to 150 potential buyers each.
The strategy to sell the next round of tickets so far in advance is unprecedented for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. There are risks, notably that fans won’t have any idea who might be starring in the show by then. But with so many left out, the marketing team felt it was best to strike while the broom is ablaze.
“People are so charged and excited about the show right now that it’s a ‘seize the day’ kind of thing for us,” said Jeff Hovorka, the DCPA’s director of marketing. “There has been so much excitement generated by this production that we want to allow those people who were not able to get in the opportunity to purchase their tickets now.”
Peter Jeans of Evergreen says you can count him in. Jeans, 33, and his wife, Jennifer, are fans of the Gregory Maguire book upon which the musical is based. But they could not get tickets.
“So I look at this new opportunity as an investment,” Jeans said. “This way, my wife and I can rest easy knowing we will get in – and if for whatever reason we can’t go, we won’t have any trouble finding people to buy the tickets.”
Denver Center Attractions stands to gain from both a marketing and a fiscal point of view. Selling the seats now means it won’t have to spend anything to market the show later. Plus it gets to collect up to another $3.5 million now, with its accruing interest. If the show sells out quickly, the show could be extended.
Denver Center Attractions took heat for booking the show for only three weeks when Denver has proved capable of sustaining shows such as “The Lion King” for up to 10 weeks. Some accused DCA of underbooking to force theatergoers to buy season-ticket packages just to guarantee their seats to “Wicked.”
“But that was out of our control,” Hovorka said, “because that decision was made by the show’s producers. They severely underbooked Denver and other cities as well. … We would have loved to have this show for two or three months because we would have made a lot of money.”
Tickets to the 2004 Athens Olympics went on sale about 14 months in advance. Tickets to other major sporting events, such as the baseball All-Star Game and college basketball’s Final Four, go on sale no more than a year in advance. Spots on certain climbing expeditions such as Mount Everest can take up to three years.
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
Something “Wicked” this way comes back in 2007
MUSICAL | National touring production, presented by Denver Center Attractions
| Buell Theatre at the Denver Performing Arts Complex | MAY 16-JUNE
3, 2007 | $30-$80 |Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Monday. Call 303-893-4100,
866-464-2626 or, outside Denver, 800-641-1222, or go online to
www.denvercenter.org.
