I think it’s safe to say going to a Broadway musical is a pretty appealing way to spend a few hours. Go into the city, eat lunch or dinner, relax and watch the best of the best sing and dance and hopefully go home with a big smile — if the show is good. But I think it’s also pretty safe to say that spending a few hours at lunch or dinner and a Broadway show is hella’ expensive. Expensive, because hundreds of people have to routinely sing, dance, work the lights, put on makeup, handle the wardrobe and so on, to create a huge production like a Broadway hit.
The cheapest orchestra-seat ticket to Legally Blonde The Musical, a current Broadway show, costs $110.00. High ticket prices maintain the status quo that Broadway is targeted toward the upper class. But MTV has taken it upon itself to bring Legally Blonde The Musical, a Broadway smash hit, to the more middle class, teenage masses.
This past weekend LC, Audrina and Whitney from MTV’s The Hills hosted Legally Blonde The Musical in its entirety, along with a pink carpet pre-show and several backstage exclusives on MTV. As a Legally Blonde-loving Broadway fanatic sorority girl, this was, like, the best thing ever! But, as a Legally Blonde-loving Broadway fanatic who doesn’t want to see a great show face an early curtain call, I was quite confused. Do the producers want everyone to see their currently running $10 million show for free? Last spring, I saw the show and loved it, but when I say “loved” I mean enjoyed once and that was plenty. Legally Blonde is one of those Broadway shows where once you’ve seen it, that’s enough — no need to splurge another $250 for a pair of tickets to see it again.
I pose this question to you Applied Economics and Management students: What kind of marketing scheme is this free MTV airing? This is how the MTV airing works: the audience gets its cake — seeing the show. And then gets to eat it, too — without paying and with a backstage exclusive they don’t catch sight of when they watch it live. How will this get more people into the theatre to actually see the show, especially when they’ll have to pay a hundred dollars to see it live?
According to the New York Post, September and October ticket sales were starting to dip, and long-term ticket sales into next year were slipping as well. The producers felt the drop in sales had to do with the fact that they didn’t get a Tony award nomination for Best Musical and therefore didn’t get three minutes of airtime on CBS last June. So instead, inspired by Disney’s High School Musical, which has aired hundreds of times on TV and is now selling out arenas across the nation, Legally Blonde The Musical is getting three hours of airtime on MTV.
Every commercial prior to airing the musical on MTV said “History Making!” “Never Before Done!” And obviously there’s good reason for that! Never before in history were producers of a Broadway musical dumb enough to air their income-making musical for free, so their ticket sales could plummet and closing night would come sooner than planned.
Airing this musical was great for poor college kids like me, but despite how much I benefited from it, I can see no advantage for the people behind the production. If this somehow boosts ticket sales, I’ll be shocked. But, if this manages to put the Palace Theater, the theater where Legally Blonde The Musical currently is running, back into the dark, I’d hate to say “I told you so.” I’m not saying they’re going to close next week, but a run of a few years is definitely less likely after this stunt.
In closing I will say, well done MTV; you’ve brought a program both musically-related and watchable to your audience. And as for the producers of Legally Blonde The Musical, thanks for the free show, and I hope this doesn’t put too much of a dent in your wallet.