As a son of Alabama, and a one time resident of Mobile, I have been anxiously awaiting the local premiere of this movie.  In it, a Mobile native takes an in depth look at the parallel cultures in the town where Mardi Gras was born in the US (no, it wasn’t New Orleans). It has won awards at Edinburgh and Sundance, and has attracted a lot of positive critical attention.

So, naturally, when I heard that the film would be premiering in Mobile at the end of this month at the historic Saenger Theater, I jumped online to pick up some tickets.

Damn.
The $24 ticket price for two tickets rapidly escalated to $44 thanks to Ticketmaster’s fees.

An 83% increase.

How much of that goes to the Saenger? To the film’s directors or distributors? Zilch.

Apparently others in the community were a bit outraged too - talk of the fleecing made it to the commentary forums on the Mobile Register’s website, al.com. One of the commenters asked, “Why do people put up with this?”

The good news is, you don’t have to. Not this time. Hit the Crescent on August 15 instead and pay a fair price. I’ll see you there. And as for the Saenger and other venues whose customers are currently getting robbed by Ticketmaster, you don’t have to put up with it either. www.ticketbiscuit.com.