These are the cheap seats, not Mount Sinai

A great quote from Orson Welles, “I have the terrible feeling that, because I am wearing a white beard and am sitting in the back of the theatre, you expect me to tell you the truth about something. These are the cheap seats, not Mount Sinai.”

Well, I don't wear a white beard, but I can tell you the truth about something; the theater in New York is really getting to be a rip-off. "No shit!" you say, since I've heard around town this has been a reality for some time. But I just experienced it first hand when I purchased (for the first time, having tricked my parents into buying me my dramatic experiences up until now) a ticket (for the "cheap seats") to see Claire Danes in Pygmalion.

I'm not complaining about the show - it was good if you can ignore the annoying, high-pitched dramatic screens coming from Claire Dane's mouth. However, we paid $60 for "partial visibility", which meant I had partial visibility, and my roommate had 1/4 visibility. It was like a little square of thespians through the black outline of many heads. (Which is funny because I was sitting behind two lesbians...so I was watching thespians between the heads of two lesbians. Anyway...)

So, I ask this...is $60 (1 week's groceries, 1 month supply cat food, 2 nights at the bar, 4 cab rides home) really worth it for a crappy view at an 'ish good show? I could see The Hold Steady 2 times plus drinks for that!

Now, I would pay $60 for "partial view" seats to see Claire Danes reenact My So-Called Life on stage...as a musical.