Print“They’re just too damn expensive, man.” That’s pretty much the answer you are bound to hear upon asking Columbia students why they don’t take advantage of what is arguably the greatest theater in the world, just 15 minutes downtown. Desmond Cole, a freshman in CC, continued, “I mean, I love theater. But who the hell can afford paying $100 a night to see something that lasts about as long as a movie but costs ten times as much?”
Luckily for Columbia students, we have an on-campus organization whose goal is to make sure such a sentiment never persuades students to miss out on the thriving theater scene. The Ticket Information Center, whose booth is located in the lobby of Lerner Hall, aims to solve two problems University students have with partaking in New York theater: sorting through the numerous theatrical choices offered, and affording whichever they choose.
TIC is a relatively new member of the CUarts Initiative program, which University President Lee Bollinger created, according to a retrospective of the Initiative’s first five years, “to re-invent the role of the arts at Columbia and Columbia’s role in the arts” through programs like Passport to New York, ArtsLink, the Columbia Alumni Arts League, and of course, TIC.
Launched in January 2008, TIC is a growing presence in students’ lives, offering cheap movie vouchers, tickets to all of Columbia’s on-campus theater organizations’ productions, and discounted tickets to theater all across the city. On average, TIC reports selling about 10,000 tickets a month. According to a more specific number breakdown, a little more than 35 percent of the total tickets sold since TIC’s inception have been for off-campus events.
Numbers are all well and good, but as Frontiers of Science teaches us, they are never the whole story. So now, exactly two years since TIC opened its proverbial curtains, it is appropriate to congratulate the organization on what it has done for campus theater: TIC has centralized the ticket sales for all on-campus events, and has pulled in the students who would otherwise forgo the scavenger hunt that was ticket-buying before its creation. As for achieving its original two goals, TIC’s success may not be as clear cut.
Tackling the issue of affordability is easier simply because we can take a more objective look at how much cheaper TIC’s prices are compared to the numerous other discount ticket organizations in New York City. For example, a ticket for The New Group’s production of Sam Shepard’s “A Lie Of The Mind” is being sold at TIC for $23 on Feb. 23. Though online orders have a definite price advantage, your final seat location is a mystery until after you’ve paid and pick up your tickets. The risk of buying a bad seat isn’t too high when dealing with a small theater, but when it comes to buying tickets for shows actually on Broadway, in theaters that hold over 500 people, knowing the view that you’re paying for is imperative.
Usually though, tickets sold through any form of student discount organization will turn out to be lousy seats. The price TIC offers students for “A Lie Of The Mind” cannot be beat if you’re only looking for the cheapest seat. However, Columbia students have a variety of different ticket-buying options for all shows, “A Lie Of The Mind” included. One such option is signing up to receive The New Group’s weekly newsletter; almost all Off-Broadway companies have these and they usually offer great prices for some the best seats in the house.
Recently, The New Group sent out two discount codes to use when buying tickets, the first of which could be used for the opening weekend of previews, a time when the show is still working out the rough patches and making tweaks here and there. This code offers any seat in the house for the relatively low price of $39. Though a good $17 more, the extra money spent would guarantee seventh row, dead-center seats for the first Saturday of previews, usually the busiest night of the week. The second code, which is good from after the first weekend of previews until the official opening night on Feb. 18, secures you seats for $48. As expected, the extra price means a better seat, guaranteeing you second row center for the Tuesday night performance only a week before the performance TIC is selling. Though pricey, that will still save you about $15 off the regular price.
Such savings aren’t just exclusive to Off-Broadway shows either. As Rosie duPont,a senior in BC and ArtsLink Associate for the CUarts Initiative, puts it, “If you buy tickets to “FELA!” through regular ticketing services, the cheapest ticket you are going to find is around $84.40. If you go through Collegetix at the TIC, tickets are only $37! That is hard to beat.”
There is truth in duPont’s claim—even with the potential risks involved, TIC seems to offer the best price out of all other discounted ticket options for the shows they actually offer tickets for.
Which brings up the other problem TIC was created, in part, to solve: the difficulty of sorting through the vast array of theatrical choices thrust upon new and old students alike. Filtering through the hundreds upon hundreds of shows creates two problems—choosing what show you want to see and then finding the lowest price for said show. Determining whether TIC has actually succeeded in solving this dilemma highlights the giant discrepancy between the ticket booth located in Lerner Hall and its little-known Web site.
If one were to judge the variety of theatrical tickets TIC sells simply by looking at the selection sold at the booth, then the verdict would be mixed. On the TIC flier, advertising the shows on sale for the rest of this semester, there is a whopping total of six different productions, only one of which is actually a play. Though more productions are usually added as the semester progresses, many students appropriate their spending money at the beginning of the semester. “I decided where I was going to spend my money for this semester during Winter break,” said Ethan Kogan, a freshman in CC. “So far, nothing [no shows] at TIC has piqued my interest.” When I asked Kogan whether he had ever checked TIC’s Web site for possible options, he responded that he didn’t because he “thought they were the same thing,” which is both far from the truth and a pretty widespread notion. Whereas the booth sells hard tickets, the Web site is less dedicated to selling tickets and more focused on directing students to other discount Web sites that offer the cheapest prices, such as Broadwaybox.com, givenik.com, and broadwayoffers.com.
Regarding taste, Rudy Scala, the manager of TIC, said in an e-mail, “I am extremely responsive to the request of the students, both at the TIC and through our social media network (blog, Facebook, Twitter). We try to purchase tickets for events which students have asked for in the past as well as events we think will have a major draw on campus.”
Columbia seems to straddle the line between studying the entire spectrum of a given field and stressing the importance of classically beautiful or “important” works. The latter can be seen in any Core course. Students are always told to look at an event from every different angle and perspective, and to try to reserve judgment until they do... Following this thinking, mindlessly expensive musicals such as “Wicked” should be offered at TIC simply to give students the opportunity to choose what kind of art they wish to enjoy. And yet the design of the Core appears to stand in opposition to such thinking. The Core Curriculum passes judgment on our educational system and decides what students should and need to learn. If TIC were to operate under such a system, then selling tickets to “Wicked” would be akin to including “Twilight” in the Lit Hum syllabus.
The accuracy of TIC’s self-described role of sorting through all of New York City’s theatrical choices is a tad questionable when one looks at some of the shows on sale every semester. However much teenyboppers love to groove to the beat of “Defying Gravity,” you’d be hard-pressed to find people at Columbia who consider “Wicked” high art. Granted, who says high art should be the only type of art available to Columbia students? A robust TIC can only complement the Core.
Even with these few flaws, TIC provides students with theatrical opportunities very few other college students get to experience. Where else can you see a two-and-a-half-hour Sam Shepard play directed by Ethan Hawke for only $20?
BEST TIC PICS
A Lie Of The Mind— $23. Feb. 23.
Ethan Hawke directs a stacked cast in Sam Shepard’s 1985, which opened to universal accolades.
Sondheim On Sondheim— $37. April 15.
A technology-infused retrospective of one of the greatest composers in the history of musical theater, whose work includes such masterpieces as Sweeney Todd, Company, and Sunday In The Park With George. Note: the Roundabout Theater Company offers $20 tickets through their Hiptix program, and all it will cost you is filling out an application online.
Race— $60. Ongoing.
Though still a tad pricey, this is a 30 percent discount on a David Mamet play, and he’s arguably one of the greatest working playwrights. And this time, he’s chosen a subject— race relations in America—ripe for his type of dissection.
Time Stands Still— $32. Ongoing.
A fascinating exploration of what global journalism can do to a relationship, Donald Margulies delivers one of the better plays of the Broadway season starring such heavy-hitters as Laura Linney, Brian d’Arcy James, Eric Bogosian, and Alicia Silverstone.
As You Like It and The Tempest— $25. Ongoing.
Straight from the West End of London as a part of The Bridge Project (with performances near both the London Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge), Sam Mendes directs a double dose of Shakespeare at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Though a real schlep from campus, BAM is one of the best theaters in the city, and Mendes is one of the most talented directors working today in any medium.
The Picture of Dorian Gray— $10. Ongoing.
An adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s only novel, the show promises to be an intellectual endeavor. Not to mention, Columbia theater group NOMADS helped develop the production!
Happy Now?— $15. Ongoing.
Primary Stages, a theater company that always produces interesting productions, presents Lucinda Coxon’s newest play straight from a widely-loved run at The National Theater in London. Note: When ordering tickets, use discount code STUD to knock the $60 price tag down to $15!
Mr. & Mrs. Finch— $30. Ongoing.
Second Stage Theater—one of the best Off-Broadway houses in the city—brings Douglas Carter Beane back after his last play’s Broadway premiere, and this time they have John Lithgow to add to what is sure to be a scathingly funny look at gossip columnists.
A View From The Bridge— $70. Ongoing.
Though still pretty expensive, the production will almost assuredly be worth the price because A) the most beautiful woman alive—Scarlett Johansson—stars, B) the show received rave reviews, and C) Gregory Mosher, the director of CUarts Initiative, also directed the play.
My First Time— $20. Ongoing.
A series of monologues based on stories found on myfirsttime.com, which is a collection of true stories about losing one’s virginity.