Help! <BR> <BR>We're interested in seeing Phantom of the Opera in a few weeks. I know it's been around a while, but why the vast differences in prices on sites such as albemarle-london.com, firstcalltickets.com, etc. <BR> <BR>Any input? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Carol

Because they're trying to make money on you. My advice: wait 'till you get to London, and get your tickets there. You'll probably pay half of what you'd pay online. <BR> <BR>I was in London last week, and, before going there, I bought two tickets (online) to see Midnight's Summer Dream in Albery. The play was excellent and I got good seats, but I overpaid by something close to 40-50%.

The price diference is in their various service charges (same here in NY from broker to broker). Tickets direct from the box office do not include any service charge, so you could phone them. <BR> At least check on avails for your chosen shows...many do sell out! When I was there last November, I had pre-purchased tickets to my 2 must-sees (Stones in His Pockets and The Car Man) through Albemarle and then filled in other shows from the box offices while there...many shows were sold out for the entire week.

Hey, Eugene, maybe if you gave the right title--A Midsummer-Night's Dream--the tickets might have cost you less!

Oops, I misspelled by address. Sorry!

Oh, my, see how upset you made me, Eugene. I made another typo! And, I'm so flustered I can't even think of quoting one of my favor lines that might be appropriate here! Please, someone out there, help me out with an appropriate quotation.

WillShakespeare <BR> <BR>Whatever!!!! It's been a long day.

go to ticketmaster.com direct seats or everyday about 40 seats are released to hotel concierges they are great seats too <BR>good luck....... also go and see the king and i if you can it was terrific

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Unlike New York, where you can't buy phone order tickets directly from most boxoffices, in London, that is the best way to buy them. Call the theatre direct and discuss with them the best tickets available. There is no service charge!! They will take your credit card number and hold the tickets for you at their box office to pick up when you attend the performance, or a day or two before if you prefer. When talking with them on the phone they are likely to have a great knowledge about the availability as well. For example tell them which days you will be in London and ask them which of those days they have the best seats for. They will be glad to help you and you will not be at the mercy of one of those other ticket agencies that simply sells you what the computer tells them to. The prices quoted on the sites mentioned above are often as much as 1/3 higher than the actual box office prices.

The companys that you name are ticket brokers and make their profit off of selling tickets to unsuspecting tourists. <BR> <BR>If you are going to see any of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber shows (Phantom, Cats, Starlight Express, Beautiful Game) I suggest that you check out his company's website www.reallyuseful.com. It gives the ticket prices for all productions, plus several options to buy tickets. Phone orders to the box office do carry a service charge, but only a few dollars (or pounds).

I don't know how they compare price wise, but a few years ago I called up First Call and got tickets to a London Show... I ended up with 5 row center seats, and since I had waited so long to call there was no time for them to send them to us. They charged my visa over the phone, and the tickets were waiting for us at the box office.

Phone the theatre box office is the best advice, for the best price and immediate feed-back & confirmation of price, seats, etc., then pick up tickets at the theatre (they'll tell you how far ahead - about one hour).