Sunset Boulevard – Savoy Theatre 2023/24

Just looked at tickets for this, since I'd like to see Rachel Tucker though I have no interest in Nicole. The location I'd normally sit is charging £247. Nope. I might have a look at some later dates and see if there's something relatively close that doesn't cost as much, but I don't sit behind people (almost always can't see and want to commit murder), which makes things a bit difficult!

A Rachel Sunset Boulevard throwback

Haven't booked yet. Was waiting to hear if there's a proper orchestra (seems to be) and that it's not some sort of concert show. I saw Petula at the Adelphi in 1996 and would love to see another decent fully staged version again.

I booked a ticket for 12th October and ATG mailed today saying that due to scheduling changes, Rachel Tucker will be on instead of Nicole S. I would like to see Nicole but it would mean changing to another day and then having to spend an extra day in London. I don’t know much about Rachel Tucker at all. Thoughts?

I suspect it's simply too expensive to do Sunset Boulevard like it was 30 years ago but also that production nearly bankrupted ALW.

I’d second this! I’ve only seen her in Come From Away (several times) and yes she’s absolutely great. Brilliant voice and she acted the role really well too.

Although I didn’t see her in it, I know she’s a real favourite with Wicked fans as well, considered one of the best ever West End Elphabas.

So definitely go see Sunset with her. Could you squeeze in a second visit to catch Nicole too?

True. But the cost of going to the theatre has skyrocketed in the past thirty years, compared to the cost of other consumable culture (books, music, cinema, streaming, going to a museum or art gallery etc). The top price ticket when Sunset first opened was £32.50, with a huge set and orchestra and a major Broadway star. Not to mention a bone fide film star who’d just co-starred with Julia Roberts. Now it’s £250, with (likely) no set and someone from the Pussycat Dolls. (Yes I know she has a nice voice, but the last time I paid that kind of money I was seeing Barbra Streisand. Who was backed by a sixty piece orchestra.)

I honestly don't know where this overexcitement about ticket prices is coming from.

On the official (ATG) website, these are the prices:

Standard: £20/£37.50/£47.50/£67.50/£87.50 - vast majority of seats in theatre
Packages where ATG throw in poor value nonsense: £117.50/£137.50 - small number of seats
Premium (in decreasing order of number of seats at that price): £125/£175/£245

There are 14 of the famous £245 seats - so 1% of the theatre. Obviously aimed at corporates, millionaires, people with more money than sense - for producers/theatre to cream in some easy money from said sources. Nobody with "normal" income should ever feel the need to pay anywhere near this price as you can get pretty much as good a view for £87.50.
Further - there are way more seats at second lowest price than second highest price.
There are way more seats at third lowest price than third highest price.

I get that in the world of social media, and Twitter, and outrage and the fun of shouting "greedy greedy producers, it's a disgrace," polarised press and polarised politics it is very easy to be lead down the path of quoting the highest prices.
But it's almost impossible to have a sensible discussion about ticket prices with this hyperbole.

I CBA to work out the mean ticket price, but the modal one is £87.50 and the median would be £77.50 (excluding the packages where you pay for other things). So IMHO the most sensible figure to shout into the abyss on ticket prices for this show would be one of those.

(Also worth mentioning that it's hardly ENO/Covent Garden and you can get decent views in The Savoy for the lowest three prices).

Also - these prices are totally inline with any West End musical.

I dunno; I know it's a topic that people get very passionate about - I just feel it's hard to get anywhere when people don't at least try and quote a sensible guess at the average ticket price.

And believe me, I can't bare ATG and their profit hungry dreadful service fat cat ways and I would be the first to call them out if I thought it was deserved. But it isn't here. The pricing is the same as everything else give or take/special examples aside. Boring though that may sound!

Agreed on this - there's issues with pricing across the industry, but I don't think it's fair to single out this show specifically. I've seen shows with far worse pricing structures, including long-runners which really have no need to be so exclusionary with their pricing!

Just booked for the 12th October matinee. Wasn't really interested in the show. The original was before my time, but after seeing Glenn Close at the Coliseum, I thought that would be it at its pinnacle for me.

But have now relented on a back row of the dress circle, after spending a bit of time comparing ticket prices and researching views on SeatPlan, to see Rachel Tucker give her Norma Desmond. Wasn't really interested in seeing Nicole, but once Rachel was announced it became intriguing.

Kind of looking forward to seeing how it's being reinterpreted, might be controversial, but I really did enjoy Jamie Lloyd's Evita. I can picture it being done minimally, as long as that score and the performances are done to perfection.

Coincidentally I've looked at the evening performance of Sat 7th Oct with a view to booking and the only seats under £100 are Row Q of the stalls, what's the view like from there?