The pricing manipulations at the McKittrick Hotel have gotten out of hand.
It started getting ridiculous a few years ago, when they roped off the tables at the Manderley Bar. New fans may not even realize - you used to be able to sit anywhere in Manderley. Now, often all the seats are "reserved" for those who pay a 50-60% premium for "Maximilian's List."
These people are literally just paying for a table that used to be included with a regular ticket, and that they won't sit at if they actually go in to watch the show that they are ostensibly attending.
One of my best friends lives a 5 minute walk from Sleep No More. Twice, I tried to take her to Manderley Bar after the show, to watch the band. I knew she'd love the aesthetic of the bar. But she has mobility issues, and can't stand for extended periods of time. Both times, we stood in front of a velvet rope, looking at empty seats that she was not allowed to sit in, and we left because my friend was in pain. I don't try to take her to Manderley anymore.
The latest indignity is the "Champagne table." This comes at a 200% markup - a show where tickets are $85 has champagne tables for $255. A single guest who buys this is paying $170 for a bottle of champage. If three people attend together, they still only get one bottle - a $510 bottle of champage.
On one level, fine, let people pay an idiot tax if they want to. Presumably anyone who chooses this is rich enough to afford it. I hope (but somehow doubt) that it goes to increase the salaries of the cast and staff. Maybe they can even start paying their interns.
The real problem is that they are reducing the availability of regular priced tickets in favor of these price gouging options. Regular priced tickets now automatically convert to inflated prices once a certain theshold is reached. It seems to vary per timeslot - for example, you can usually only buy a same day ticket to a weekday show at Max's List prices now. Saturday after 5pm all the tickets to the Saturday late show switched to Max's List prices, even though there were plenty of regular priced tickets available at 4:45pm. If you try to buy tickets at the door, even to a show that isn't sold out, they may offer only Max's List prices. Right now (Sunday afternoon) if I wanted to go to the Monday show, I could only buy a $255 "champagne table."
Other shows offer discounts for last minute tickets. Sleep No More charges a 50-200% markup.
Ironically, it's often the most devoted fans who want to buy tickets last minute. We go to accompany friends, or because we had a bad day at work, or because we hope to catch interesting casting. (Which, because of the massive secrecy, we only find out about last minute from other fans who went to recent shows.)
There has never been any kind of program to welcome frequent visitors. Instead, we are facing a massive price increase.
Sleep No More has also never offered discount tickets. Student discounts are common at many other NYC shows, and The Drowned Man offered low priced concession tickets for students, young people, and the unemployed. If Punchdrunk really is the future of theater, shouldn’t students at least be able to attend affordably?
Even Punchdrunk's supporters, the "Keyholders" who donate directly to Punchdrunk and were welcomed with unique experiences and events at Drowned Man, are not recognized at all at Sleep No More.
If the show is really full, I understand there is no more space for anyone to enter. But when there are tickets left, it's awful to offer them only at inflated prices. In their pursuit of rich tourists with money to burn, the people who run Sleep No More are insulting their core audience.
I get that art has to make money to survive in a capitalist society. Still, there is something obscene about ripping off your most devoted audience, the ones who care most about the art itself, the ones who pay attention to the performances, who are polite and engaged, who create art and write thoughtful analyses, who regard the show as theater, not as a nightclub.
Moreover, it's bad capitalism. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on Sleep No More tickets, special events, and food/drinks at the bars and restaurants. I've brought dozens of friends. I've brought corporate clients and expensed meals. I spent thousands more on The Drowned Man and on direct donations to Punchdrunk via the Keyholder program.
I'm not rich. All of this has been a huge amount of money to me. I spent it because I think that Punchdrunk creates great works of art. I've had some of the most powerful experiences of my life inside of that building.
But I'm not going to spend an extra 60% on top of a ticket for a table I won't sit at, or an extra 200% for champage, when I know they could sell me a regular priced ticket if they wanted to. It's insulting to be blatantly taken advantage of.
The result will be that people like me spend less money on Sleep No More, stop visiting, stop bringing friends, and give up on the art. A lot of the early fans have already left in disgust. Perhaps the rich douchebag crowd will make up for our exodus financially. But it will hasten the decline of the show, lower the reputation of the company, and alienate the audience that is most likely to appreciate it as a work of art. It's ugly and sad that this is happening.
