VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Live theatre in Syracuse offers affordable access to Broadway
Marc Albert (Technical Director, Landmark Theatre): I’m Marc Albert, and I’m the technical director at the Landmark Theatre.
We do at least 6 Broadway shows a year. So, depending on the show and the tour and the level of the show and when we get it during its lifespan, there’s different pricing.
There’s always different ways that people can save some money on it. Obviously, we’re a lot less than New York is because we have 2700 seats for Hamilton, whereas Hamilton is playing in a 1400-seat theatre in New York City.
We usually have a student rush program for Syracuse University, LeMoyne, OCC, and the other schools. You were saving anywhere from 40 or 50 dollars to 100 dollars a show, depending on which show, so we can fill those seats and get people interested in theatre and interested in special events.
During the course of a run, I may be exhausted, but that hour to an hour and a half before curtain, when you start seeing the crowd coming in, and they’re all excited, and they’re dressed up or they’re ready to go, to me, that’s the best part about it. That gives me the energy to keep going through these 17-18 hour days that I do 16-17 days in a row.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Chloe Lacanfora has always loved live theatre. At home in Baltimore, when she wasn’t performing herself, she spent the majority of her time seeing high school plays, local community musicals, and the occasional professional production.
When she came to school at Syracuse, between buying groceries, textbooks, and looming student loans, seeing professional theatre seemed out of the question financially.
“Theatre prices aren’t practical, and being a college student makes it so much harder to see shows,” Lacanfora said. “It’s a treat I didn’t think was possible.”
That changed last week when, through a partnership with the Student Government Association and two other student organizations on Syracuse’s campus, Lacanfora scored a $10 student ticket to see Hamilton at the Landmark Theatre in downtown Syracuse.
A Hit Show, Close to Home
The Tony-award-winning musical Hamilton came back to Syracuse this fall as a part of the “Angelica Tour,” with performances running from Sept. 9 to 21. The show originally came to Syracuse in March of 2022, and it set a record for the most tickets sold in Syracuse in one day.
Broadway in Syracuse is the promoter that brings in the touring shows. The shows often also stop at cities such as Albany, Elmira, Buffalo, and Rochester.
The Landmark Theatre, located in downtown Syracuse, is a major venue for these touring productions, hosting at least six Broadway shows a year, with a mix of four to five one-week tours and one major two-week tour.
“These Broadway tours are a major undertaking for the Landmark,” technical director Marc Albert said.“I think it’s a great feather in our cap that we can produce these shows, that we have a venue that can hold these shows, and that we have a population that will support the shows.”
The productions come into the city with over ten tractor-trailers of equipment and require three days’ worth of work to load in the set, costumes, props, and more.
Why It’s More Affordable in Syracuse
In New York City, seeing Hamilton could set you back hundreds of dollars. But, in Syracuse, seeing the same high-caliber performance is within reach for many.
One of the main reasons why Syracuse is more accessible is the larger theatre size. The Landmark boasts 2,700 seats, whereas the Richard Rodgers Theatre, home of Hamilton in NYC, can only hold 1,400.
Tour pricing also varies based on several other factors.
“Depending on the show, and the tour, and the level of the show, and when we get it during its lifespan, there’s different pricing,” Albert said.
After the pandemic, producing live theatre became more expensive, and consequently, ticket prices rose. Seeing a professional production is not typically accessible, especially for young people.
But the Landmark and Broadway in Syracuse put effort into creating affordable opportunities, especially for students.
Discounts for Students and Local Schools
- Student rush tickets are available for students at Syracuse University, Le Moyne College, Onondaga Community College, and others. Using a code on the Broadway in Syracuse website and a valid student ID, students can unlock discounted tickets 2 hours before the performance.
- These tickets can offer savings of $50 to $100, depending on the show.
- Weekday performances, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, are usually the most affordable.
And it’s not just college students who benefit.
The theatre partners with the Syracuse City School District to send younger students to Broadway in Syracuse performances. According to the Landmark’s website, throughout the first two years of this program, the theatre purchased tickets for over 500 students to attend Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton.
“There’s always different ways that people can save some money on it,” Albert said.