I agree that it stinks. However, every night that the show has been open, they've had to add chairs to get everyone in, and last night, they added to the absolute maximum, and still had to turn people away. So if you *really* wanna go, which you should, hehe... than you either have to bite the bullet or show up very early.

And for the record, I do agree with you. They should call it a $2.50 INconvenience fee. Baha. I mean, seriously. Who is doing all this work on the internet tickets that they have to be paid $2.50 PER TICKET?

My guess would be that in order to sell tickets in advance, regardless of whether it is at the door or online, someone has to get paid to do so.

As to your question, from what I can tell they are using some kind of free (to them) website to sell the tickets, so I guess we are all paying the cost. Honestly, though?? A guaranteed ticket to see *this* Sweeney is worth the extra 2.50 in "fees".  There's a very good reason that the performances are sold out.

Come to Rubber Chicken shows!  We have quite a few coming up this fall.  No convenience fees, talk to a real person (or a real person will call you back right away) and your name will be on a list, tickets waiting at the door.

As a box office guru, (my master's thesis was about online ticketing) I can tell why these fees appear. The ticketing system charges you for it.  The playground is using TicketLeap to sell their online tickets.  I've used that company before (and I hated every minute of it).  TL works by charging a fee for tickets sold online plus collects the fees that credit cards charge.  So if you spend $15 on an online ticket, all $15 goes to the Playground.  That additional fee you are paying is actually going to TL. When the Playground sells a ticket themselves either in person or on the phone, TL probably waives that fee. The Playground could eat the fees, but then they're only getting $12.50 of that ticket.  It may not seem like much, but considering this venue caters to independent producers, this would be less money for these artists to make.

Also, this system allows theatres to provide the convenience of an online ticketing system without having to buy into a contract with a larger company such as TicketMaster (EVIL!). 

At Pillsbury House Theatre (where I work, http://www.pillsburyhousetheatre.org if you're interested) we use a system called OvationTix, which after a lot of research and trials is the best option hands down that I've found for small-mid theatres. Instead of an annual fee, this system charges us a per ticket fee and also does all of our credit card processing for it.  Additionally, there is an additional fee they charge for online transactions.  We do add a fee to our advance tickets online but we cap it at $1.50 (less than what OT charges us). But in return for these fees we get charged, we get an amazing ticketing system comparable to many of the larger and more expensive systems. Another option would be to just raise the ticket price and say there is no fee but then people complain about ticket prices going up so it's a tricky balance.  

What I don't get is why the Playground and the Playhouse use two different ticketing systems. (TicketLeap vs. Boxpro).

Now, I don't know why you couldn't call the Playhouse and reserve them in advance.  That's a question Christine could answer.  Since The Play Ground is supposed to be affiliated with the Playhouse, you definitely SHOULD be able to do that.

Yeah, that does seems like a goofy system to me, Lawrence.  But like Neal said, it probably comes down to ease and cost for the Playhouse staff.

See?  They're probably redesigning it right now down at the Playhouse, as per our suggestions!

I'm under the perception that the Playground has not had a specific manager for a couple years. Hence, box office confusion.