Scary Profit Margins or Young Frankenstein's Bluff?

In quite possibly the most hyped Broadway debut of our time, Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" opens to audiences in New York on November 8 amid much speculation over the never-before-seen price of "premier" seating.  Brooks & Co. have decided to sell the 225 best seats at 350-450 dollars a pop, to compete with scalper's prices and try to ensure a highly profitable run.  The only question is, who would pay these ridiculous prices?

According to various sources, including Time Out New York, there are people who are buying these tickets.  [TONY ran a story] profiling three such Brooks-enthusiasts who happily dropped thousands of dollars to take their families to "a show of a lifetime."  Considering reviews haven't even come out yet, that's a pretty bold statement.  But on further investigation, it appears that the public really isn't stupid enough to buy overpriced theater tickets just because Mel Brooks told them to.  On ticket broker websites such as [eseats.com ](http://www.eseats.com/production/513492/young_frankenstein_tickets.html)and [onlineseats.com](http://www.gotickets.com/theater/young_frankenstein/new_york_513493.php), these same tickets go for one or two hundred dollars cheaper than the listed price, and on [craigslist ](http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/tix/465025551.html)they go for significantly cheaper.

What does this mean?  Probably that the producer's nefarious schemes to change the whole pricing plan of Broadway shows to drive up prices higher on more tickets won't come to pass.  No matter how profitable this show turns out to be, once you take Mel Brooks' name off the playbill people will awaken from their stupor and remember that they don't actually want to sit front row that bad.  Brooks sought to duplicate his strategy of arbitrarily raising The Producers' ticket prices and hoping people took the bait, which they did.  But he's doubling the prices of even The Producers' premier tickets, at which point we have to say: don't push it.