If the national trend holds, Atlantans will be hot to get their hands on tickets to “The Book of Mormon” this weekend.
Even though the satirical musical from the creators of “South Park” and “Avenue Q” doesn’t open at the Fox Theatre until early 2014.
“The Book of Mormon” has been a ticket-selling machine on its national tour, just as it has since its March 2011 premiere on Broadway, where it continues to attract sell-out crowds to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
And with single tickets for the Jan. 28 through Feb. 9 run going on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 22, Atlanta appears ready to get in on the act.
The tour of the nine-time Tony winner has broken 36 house records in 18 U.S. venues over the past year, according to its producers.
Atlantans seem to be showing similar enthusiasm. No doubt spurred by “Mormon,” subscriptions for the Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta season, which includes other recent hits such as “American Idiot” and “Once,” are up 40 percent over 2012-13, Broadway in Atlanta Vice President Russ Belin said.
Even if you don’t queue up at the Fox box office, go online or make a call this weekend, chances are you still will be able to score a ticket because there will be 16 shows at the expansive 4,678-seat Fox.
But those who wait until closer to the opening obviously will face more limited selection and might even pay more, given that Broadway in Atlanta has instituted dynamic pricing for its shows that could raise prices as availability becomes more scarce.
“Tickets may be more difficult to find the closer we get to the show, so we encourage Atlantans to buy early for access to great seats,” Belin said, “and the chance to save on potential day-of-show price increases.”
Atlanta will be the 26th U.S. city to host the irreverent musical about Mormon missionaries trying to save souls in Uganda.
The road track record of the comedy by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of “South Park” and Robert Lopez of “Avenue Q” is well established at this point, but even Parker expressed a small note of doubt about how middle America would take to the often-profane religious satire whose slings and arrows, as critics have noted, are softened by a loopy sweetness.
“You’ll come in and see this little old lady with gray hair, and you’re like, ‘Oh boy, oh no,’” Parker said in a promotional video posted at the time of the national tour launch. “And then 10 minutes into it, she’s laughing her (tail) off, and that’s cool.”
A Washington Post review during a July tour stop in the nation’s capital said the show “feels as fresh and frisky and incandescently outrageous in the Kennedy Center Opera House as it did two years ago when it debuted on Broadway.”
Single tickets, starting at $30, will be available at the Fox Theatre box office (660 Peachtree St. N.E.), www.foxatltix.com or 1-855-285-8499. Group orders of 10 or more: 404-881-2000. More information: http://atlanta.broadway.com.
Sales of full-season subscriptions concluded this week, just as three-show subscriptions — including “Evita,” “Once” and “The Lion King” — went on sale (starting at $99). Three-show subscribers can add “Mormon,” subject to availability.
About the Author
