Shakespeare at $1,700 a seatIs that madness? Not when Ian McKellen is in town to play Lear.Inflated prices for sports events and pop concerts are nothing new. The Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," 14-year-old singer Miley Cyrus, made headlines this month with reports of brokers offering single tickets to her upcoming concert tour for as much as $3,000. At the upper end of the spectrum, premium seating for next year's Super Bowl is available for $75,000.
Shakespeare at $1,700 a seat, however, is heady for L.A.
Yet single tickets are being peddled for more than $1,000 for the sole West Coast engagement of England's Royal Shakespeare Company in "King Lear," starring Ian McKellen, to be presented at UCLA's Royce Hall for sixperformances beginning Friday.
Spending at "Lear" levels is rare for arts attractions. The closest that L.A. comes may be such gala events as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's annual fundraising season opener, with a minimum of $1,500 per person.
The big draw this time is McKellen, widely regarded as one of the world's leading stage actors but far better known as the bearded wizard Gandalf in the Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" films . . .
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-lear13oct13,0,7198807.story?coll=la-home-centerWould you pay $1700 to see McKellen in King Lear? And I thought opera tickets were bad!
