"Premium" seating

Money quote from Riedel today:

When you factor in all the seats allocated for VIPs (called "house seats," to which only the well-connected, including the press, have access), the bottom line, to quote a veteran producer, is this: "If you don't have an AmEx Gold Card or an expense account or a friend in the show, you can't get a decent seat. We've priced you right out of the market."

The ante has just been raised by the very highbrow-credentialed Moon for the Misbegotten coming from London's Old Vic, with Kevin Spacey.

On weeknights, more than 150 seats at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre - from row AA to row L in the center of the orchestra - will sell for $200, shooting up to $250 on weekends....

On chat sites yesterday, posters complained that when they tried to buy tickets at the regular price ($101 - still pretty steep, if you ask me), the only seats available were up against the wall or at the back of the theater.

Ah, what would O'Neill say....