Are we really supposed to just keep quiet when we see something not quite right? I wouldn't say a word about the shows if the prices matched the abilities but they don't. I expect to pay $150 for someone like Elton John, but for Patty LuPone? The "cheap" seats for Crystal Gayle are what I would expect to pay for fifth row center.

Are people, including me, going to see the shows at The Sharon? You betchya. Are most going to be happy with what they see? Sadly, no question on that one, either. Are we being taken for a ride on the quality for the price? More than likely.

Some of the comments directed to those of us who have expressed concerns or negative opinions are petty at best. Some of the comments are rude and some mean-spirited. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, it is an small extremely venue. The performers are either long out of their prime or unknowns and the prices are way too high for what is offered. Parking will probably be an issue for at least some performances but if we can survive parades and Rocky, we can survive this.

I wonder how much they need to charge to break even.
Before they closed down for restoration I saw 3 performances in the "Church." Two were jazzy in style and the third was singing classics from the days of "old blue eyes."

The tickets were $4 and it was an hour long. You could buy them at the door. I don't need a bar to enjoy the music. There were plenty of seats. It was perfect for me. This could be perfect for me too if they got the same singers and musicians and charged $4 or $5.

In the "old Church" it looked like all they had to do was sweep up and put away some chairs. How much could the overhead be? I'll bet you could hire those entertainers for much less than a thousand. I'm not looking for "Guns and Roses". Axl Rose is 53 and can move here soon.

While we completely disagree on parking I do agree that the lineup outside of the one Broadway musical did not wow me, personally. But I do believe many of the acts will do very well in this community.

I also believe they will be able to draw some big names, but the price will be a premium of $100+

They will find out quickly what works and will adjust accordingly.

And it's free parking:a040:

Parking
 

All that parking is for MVP, the Rialto Theater and TownePlace Suites Hotel, not The Sharon.
How would you like it if your hotel had no parking spaces for your guests and you had to park a 1/2 mile away from the hotel?
If Spanish Springs Lanes/3 Amigos Pro Shop can rope off parking for their patrons then every business and restaurant around Spanish Springs should be able to also.
This is going to get real interesting.

Skip

I think they ought to look at acquiring parking at places like St. Timothy's, St. George's, the hospital and medical offices complexes there on both sides, and the Publix shopping plaza just north of the hospital, to shuttle people on the trolley or other busses. Or have Valet parking at some of these outer parking lots. Shuttles could also pick up at several regional rec centers.

Personally, I'd also consider taking a cab from home with another couple.

Well, The Rolling Stones Are bypassing The Sharon for the Citrus Bowl on June 12th. Tickets run from about $150.00 to $1400.00. But you never know, they may stop by here for a jam session. After all, they would definitely be in the right age group.

Either they rope it off or they will lose tons of business. Other than Katie Belles, not at all sure The Villages powers really care. Retail business, particularly restaurants will lose clientele due to no parking. Even non Restaurants whose leases require them to stay open until 9:00PM will be hurt, and all for what, crystal Gayle at $100 a pop!

I know, for you, the sky is falling but maybe you want to wait till all your gloom and doom actually happens (or doesn't).

Could it be you'd feel differently if you were a business owner instead of a critic!

I was a business owner and I suspect that the business's were involved with the Developer since this hasn't exactly been a secret. If they were not involved then shame on them. No business owner would take a passive position, or maybe I should have said should take a passive position. They, and their investors, work from facts and market impact studies, not emotion or speculation. If they felt the gloom and doom that you do they would have been significantly more vocal. I also believe that if The Sharon attracts those willing to pay the ticket prices that may bring several hundred higher economic level folks downtime which is a positive to business. Either way, only time will give us the facts, right now all you have is opinion and speculation.

BTW, tickets are now on sale for the first slate of performances and selling very fast!

So disappointed! Our wonderful Philharmonic will be at Savannah Center for the 2015-16 season.

Considering audience size this year, adding 200 more seats would be a disaster. Tonights performance was less than 3/4 full. Look at the 4/14-15 performance at the Villages Box office - more than 1/2 empty seats.

The board made the right decision. And unless season ticket sales go up, Isee major issues in the future.

As I remember the past few years, The Morse family was ready, willing, and able to provide land for an Arts & Ent venue but this unknown committee quickly squashed that idea because their thinking was let's make it a tri-county venue off Villages property with participation from surrounding communities. Personally, it was a missed opportunity. Any venue in the country will not be able to accommodate all those interested in a particular performer(s). Why should the Villages be any different.

The fact that Cattle Baron's Restaurant with Village members only requirement will be a thing of the past, i.e., the Buffalo grazing on 466 or Sumter Landing near the playground. The plan is additional 300 seating at the new Belle's. Dancing may part of lore also.

The Morse family has and will continue to do many wonderful things but changes have and will continue to take place that will be different for new residents than those of the past and I suppose that is a reflection of the changing times and interests as well as the realization that we have commercial development within and around the Villages that can and do expect to profit from their efforts.

Slim pickings for both nights of Million Dollar Quartet.

quartet......I guess my generation isn't quite here yet...lol

Give me some UBRS , TYVM

no buffalo, no parades, no NYE after 9 pm...no 4th of July, no Christmas Parade.....no more. no more..... oh well....suck it up.....or MOVE! LOL

Maybe if the Philharmonic returned to doing just one performance of a particular program like they used to do at Church on the Square, instead of two, they could fill the new Sharon.

If attendance is lower for the philharmonic, it's probably because of the Savannah center tacky chairs, creaky risers and plumbing pipe hand rails. It doesn't reflect the calibre of the orchestra.

Using Savannah as a temporary venue during construction at Church on the Square is understandable, but not now when The Sharon is open and operational.

They deserve to be in The Sharon. Many patrons would come because of the superb quality built into The Sharon, that will inspire the orchestra and its players' spirits.

If that were true, how would explain all of the sold out shows at Savannah over the past year? I don't think that the venue is that big of a deal for most people. Yes, it is nice to go an see someone in a beautiful state of the art theater, but fans of a particular entertainer will go to see them anywhere.

The Beatles played at the old, run down, dirty, rickety Boston Garden in 1964. That didn't stop them from being a sell out. When they returned to Boston in 1966 they played at a horse racing track. Do you think that any of the fans cared about the venue?

I've never had the good fortune to see The Villages Philharmonic, but I would say that it's more a lack of interest in classical music than plumbing pipe handrails that accounts for their small audience numbers.

No one worried about the "tacky chairs, creaky risers and plumbing pipe hand rails" when Willie Nelson sold it out at $125 per ticket.

This is in no means meant to disparage TV Philharmonic. I'm just saying that when people are interested in something a beat up old venue is not going to deter them and a nice shiny new state of the art facility is not going to draw them in.

Formal attire required and one ticket price $150.00

Well said SUNNYATLAST, my first time at the Savannah back in February for the Motown review. It was an eyeopener for me. I don't think i'm a snob, but the savannah is like a Junior high school gymnasium. Put the philharmonic or other worthy groups in a decent venue and i'm sure the attendance will go up.

What? :eek:

:bigbow:

Don't know if everyone is aware that their is no resident discount for any shows at The Sharon. I was buying tickets on line for the Temptations. and was unable to find a place to put in resident ID. Called box office and they informed me of no resident discount at The Sharon.

That sounds like a marketing mistake to me!!

What is the "other" site you are talking about?

Hi Jim,

There are lots of very good entertainers for 1000 seat venues. In the last couple of years we saw Al Stewart and Keiko Matsui in a 500 seat venue and the ticket prices were reasonable. I personally like smaller venues and I think 1000 seats is actually a good size. We used to live in Peachtree City where there is a 2500 seat amphitheater and that is also a good size for a lot of entertainers and reasonable ticket prices. I agree Eric Clapton probably isn't going to come here but I believe they can attract good talent. About the parking issue, get there early I guess ;-)

Right! What they should have done is raise prices by $10 a ticket and then give a Resident Discount of $5.00 a ticket to keep you all thinking you got a deal. That would keep the masses happy.

What they have done is to make the tickets available to residents a couple of weeks before they go on sale to the general public. When I bought tickets, I had to show my ID to get them because they weren't yet on sale to non-residents. So the advantage to residents is better seat selection, rather than price.

Agreed. Symphonies should be played in a beautiful setting that befits that kind of music. When the orchestra assembles on the stage of Savannah, it looks so crowded that the Maestro and the guest artists may fall off.

I could stand the tacky seats, etc. What I could not tolerate was the poor sound quality. A philharmonic orchestra deserves better.

I am equally disappointed!!

I agree. The parking situation will be terrible and the prices too high. But just wait until reality sets in and they have trouble filling the seats during the summer months.

I once went to the Tampa Performing Arts Center in the middle of summer and I saw the Florida Orchestra. The ticket price? $10.00 and I was able to sit anywhere I wanted. I sat in a box seat closest to the stage looking down I could see the entire orchestra. But even at $10. they only filled about 1/4 to 1/3 of the seats.

So be patient and the bargain prices will come. But for what shows?

After having read the entire set of postings on this topic, I offer a couple quick thoughts:

I majored in piano and trumpet, yet I have never cared for Tony Bennett (or Frank Sinatra for that matter). Nor is Lady GaGa my cup of tea. Last night I attended The Villages Philharmonic Orchestra at the Savannah Center. The guest musician (Francesca Dego, a 25 year old virtuoso violinist) presented one of the finest performances that I have heard in a long time. I would be willing to pay $100.00 to hear her again. She truly is a remarkable talent. She played the very challenging Violin Concerto in D Major, OP 35, by Tchaikovsky, a piece so difficult that only the best are able to master its complexities. (Bogie Shooter, I know you can attest to that).

Chip Davis, of Mannheim Steamroller, lives on an acreage north of Omaha, NE. which is where I lived for 45 years until recently. He puts on a truly remarkable show and would be worth whatever one had to pay in order to see him. I do not remember how much the tickets were but the venue was packed. I do not ever see him playing at The Sharon.

I feel fortunate to have purchased the first ticket for the Tuesday night performance of The Million Dollar Quartet and don’t feel that $100.00/ticket was out of line. On the other hand I have no interest in seeing Patti LuPone.

I frequently attended the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, which carried many fine performances over the years. I now have season tickets to the Ocala Civic Theater and have seen some fun shows and some really bad shows there as well. I also just purchased season tickets to the theater in Orlando (the name of which eludes me at the moment) but have not yet attended any performances there.

My major point in this post is that taste is a very personal thing, therefore, so is what one is willing to pay to hear whatever one may want to hear.

BTW, I can’t wait to see the inside of The Sharon. I am one who is delighted to see her here, soon to open and am only hoping that we, as a community, are delighted in what she brings to TV.

Very good post Ted. Thank you.

I have gone to the Straz in Tampa, paid $100 for a seat way up in the nosebleed section and been disappointed. And We drove 2 hours to get there in very heavy traffic. I think the eclectic line up for The Sharon is exciting and within our means if it is something you want to see. They stated the first few years would determine the wants and price points of their patrons. I would love to see a philharmonic orchestra there as the acoustics are supposed to be so wonderful but that's just my taste. There appears to be something for everyone. we would never have a chance to get some of the big names mentioned on this forum with a population of only 125k. Springsteen, Mannheim, Stones. You kidding me? you can make a lovely weekend trip to go see these in cities with a population of a million people. That's what it takes to support that level and price range. Get real. I can agree that parking will be a challenge, especially for some of our less agile residents and I am sure they will work the out with shuttles, etc. give it a chance before you diss it. Thanks you Morse family. BTW. What are you planning to name for Gary? He did so much for us and I still feel the loss.

Ted, I suspect that Mannheim Steamroller's contract with Universal prevents them from playing elsewhere in central FL.

Perhaps we will get Trans-Siberian Orchestra instead.