Rema Webb, Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in ‘The Book of Mormon’ on Broadway.
Eager to buy tickets to the The Book of Mormon this summer at the Kennedy Center? You’re probably out of luck right now, because the rush to snatch up tickets when they went on sale at 10 a.m. was so severe, the Kennedy Center’s website currently unavailable.
The Book of Mormon, created by South Park producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, has hauled in bales of cash since its 2011 Broadway debut, and the touring production is no different. And except for those who managed to log on in time, the Kennedy Center’s website has barely functioned since the tickets became available.
Oh, also, today’s sale isn’t for everybody—it’s just for donors and members. In a Facebook post, the Kennedy Center warned prospective ticket buyers that the wait times to make online and phone purchases could be quite long. It also advised that it expects the show’s entire six-week run to sell out during the members- and donors-only purchasing period, most likely meaning that people who are not not already shelling out money to the Kennedy Center are destined for the secondhand ticket market.
But many people responding to the note write that that they purchased Kennedy Center memberships specifically to have the early jump on tickets to The Book of Mormon, and now, they’re kind of cheesed.
“I totally give up,” one frustrated person wrote. “Have been trying to get in since 9:40! Will never join Kennedy Center membership again.”
Will Grofic contacted DCist after trying to purchase tickets as a proxy for his mother, who he says became a Kennedy Center member for the sole purpose of getting an early chance at scoring tickets to the massively successful musical. “I’ve been trying to get on website and phone for two hours,” he writes. “Website down and phone busy whole time.”
“Our website is experiencing historic demand,” Kennedy Center spokeswoman Stephanie O’Neill writes in an email. “Tickets are selling very quickly, but they are still available.” But, she adds that the Kennedy Center does not expect the entire run to sell out today.
The tickets, for those who are lucky enough to make it through to the website, begin at $43. But it seems plenty of people—or, perhaps, eager scalpers—did score tickets to The Book of Mormon. StubHub is filling up with tickets, with some nights starting as high as $293 a seat. (Then again, that could still be a bargain. On Broadway, tickets to The Book of Mormon often have face values in excess of $300 or $350.)
UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: This might not be very encouraging for those not included in the advance sale for Kennedy Center members, but, assuming there are any tickets remaining, there is another advance offer next week. On March 6, the Kennedy Center will begin a round of ticket sales exclusively for American Express cardholders, which will last through March 12.
Where does that leave people who are not Kennedy Center members or American Express customers but still want to buy a ticket to The Book of Mormon through official channels? Non-exclusive sales are not scheduled to begin until March 14, if there are any tickets left by that point. Here’s StubHub.
