PORTLAND, Maine — In the world of musical theatre composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist-lyricist Oscar Hammerstein are royalty, the most successful creative duo on Broadway in the twentieth century. Consider their classic shows: "Oklahoma!," "Carousel," "The King and I," and "The Sound of Music."
Add to the list "South Pacific," with which Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT) in Brunswick will kick off its 66th season tomorrow.
"I get asked all the time, ‘What Rodgers and Hammerstein are you going to do?'" MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark said. "There aren’t an endless supply of them. But we hadn’t done 'South Pacific' in quite a while and so it felt like the right time to revive it, he said."
The start of a new theatrical season always brings excitement, but this year there is growing concern over the incursion of third-party ticket sellers. They are, in a word, scalpers, and while their practices aren’t illegal they do hurt the theatre.
"We’re being inundated with calls to the box office with people saying how dare you charge $400 for a ticket," Clark said. "The top ticket price at Maine State Music Theatre is $132, period. Nothing would be more than that for any seat in our auditorium."
Let the buyer beware: Anyone paying more than that amount is being scalped.