Springsteen, top ticket on Broadway, extends run
NEW YORK: Bruce Springsteen on Tuesday announced four more months of intimate concerts on Broadway after his initial run triggered massive interest — and wide disappointment among fans who couldn’t get tickets.
The rock legend, who for decades has sold out arenas with his adrenaline-fuelled marathon performances, said he would extend his residency at the 960seat Walter Kerr Theatre from Feb 28 to June 30.
Springsteen opened the shows on Oct 3 and already extended once, until Feb 3, with tickets selling out nearly instantly.
The 68-year- old balladeer of working- class America set prices at US$ 75 ( RM310) to US$ 800 ( RM3290) — but tickets immediately reappeared on resale sites at much higher prices.
As of Tuesday, the cheapest ticket on resale site StubHub was $ 1,449 ( RM5950) — significantly higher than Broadway’s most cove ted theatre seats including those for “Hamilton” and Bette Midler’s revival of “Hello, Dolly!”
Springsteen has tried to reduce scalping through a new verification system by Ticketmaster, which asks fans to sign up and uses algorithms to determine the likelihood that they will attend before providing a code to allow purchases.
In light of the number of fans who were unable to buy tickets initially, the ticketing company said it would not start a new verification round, instead sending codes to fans who already signed up.
Springsteen has said he was inspired to create a more intimate concert experience after he played a sombre private show at the White House as a gift from departing president Barack Obama to staff.
Instead of Springsteen’s highoctane arena shows with his E Street Band — whose surprise song choices once marvelled fans — the Broadway concerts feature the rocker alone on piano and guitar and a standard setlist. The shows, which follow the release of Springsteen’s autobiography, start with his early song “Growin’ Up” about his teenage years and culminate in “Born to Run,” his classic hit of escape and ambition.