PRICES, PLEASE : A guide to browsing the box office

You’ve been barraged with information about the Orange County Performing Arts Center. You know which artists are coming and what they’re performing. You know about the acoustics, the backstage facilities and the air conditioning. You know how many nuts and bolts the center contains, and why the women in the audience are provided with more toilets than the men. But one question remains:

How do you get tickets?

Subscription series encompassing nearly every event planned for the center’s inaugural season have been available by mail order for several months, offered at first to supporters of the various presenting groups but later made available to the general public.

One subscription package (the Orange County Philharmonic Society’s series A) was sold out by early August, and other series were reported nearly sold out. Remaining subscription packages will continue to be sold by the presenting groups, while single-ticket sales will be handled through the center’s box office, Ticketron remote locations, and by telephone charge through Teletron, Ticketron’s telephone ticket-sales operation.

Ticket windows at the center are located on street level and on the plaza, one level up from the street. They will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on non-performance days, and from 10 a.m. until curtain time (8 p.m.) on performance days. (Sunday hours will be announced.) There are 15 Ticketron outlets in Orange County, most of them at Sears and Tower Records stores, and they are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For telephone orders, the numbers are (714) 634-1300 and (213) 410-1062.

Teletron adds a surcharge of $2.25 per ticket for telephone sales; Ticketron adds $1.75 per ticket for sales through remote outlets. The center box office adds no surcharge.

Following is ticket information for each presenting organization:

ORANGE COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER: The center offers subscription packages including performances by three touring attractions: New York City Ballet, New York City Opera and American Ballet Theatre. Subscription prices range from $60 to $166 for a four-performance series and from $45 to $131 for a three-performance series. (The exception is a $400 top ticket for the four-show “First Performances” series, which includes a $241 tax-deductible donation.) For information on subscription sales, telephone the center, (714) 556-2787.

Remaining single tickets for these three performing groups were scheduled to be released in mid-September, with the opening of the center box office and the beginning of Ticketron service. Single-ticket prices have not been set but probably will range from $10 to $45, according to ticket manager Aaron Egigian.

Single tickets for the Sept. 29 opening-night performance, the Oct. 1 appearance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and soprano Leontyne Price, and for Price’s Oct. 4 solo recital were offered first to center members and support groups. If any tickets remain, they will be sold through the box office and Ticketron.

OPERA PACIFIC: This Orange County-based group offers several two-show subscription packages featuring productions of “Porgy & Bess” and “West Side Story,” and several three-show series, which add “La Boheme.” Prices for two shows range from $30 to $76, while prices for three shows range from $45 to $180. For information on subscription sales, telephone Opera Pacific, (714) 474-8000.

Because the 1986-87 Opera Pacific season does not begin until Feb. 11, single tickets will not be released until late this year or early 1987. Single tickets will be priced from $15 to $60.

PACIFIC SYMPHONY: Two series, one classical and one pops, are offered by the Pacific Symphony. Tickets for the eight-performance classical series range in price from $40 to $200 and will be available through the first performance day (Oct. 2). Five-performance pops packages also range from $40 to $200. Tickets for five open rehearsals are also sold by subscription. For subscription information, telephone the symphony, (714) 973-1300.

Remaining single tickets will be sold through the box office and through Ticketron. They range in price from $7.50 to $31.50 for classical concerts and from $11.50 to $45 for the pops shows.

ORANGE COUNTY PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY: Subscription series A, featuring the Chicago Symphony, the Orchestre National de France, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other orchestras, is sold out. Tickets for series B, featuring six performances by the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Warsaw Philharmonic and other orchestras, were still available as of this writing. Tickets range from $58 to $600. For subscription information, telephone the society, (714) 646-6411.

If single tickets remain, they will be sold through the box office and Ticketron. Single-ticket prices were not available.

MASTERCHORALE OF ORANGE COUNTY: The Master Chorale offers subscription tickets to its five-performance 1986-87 series for prices ranging from $25 to $150; all but one of the concerts will take place at the center. For information, telephone the chorale office, (714) 556-6262.

Single tickets will be sold through the box office and Ticketron. Prices range from $8 to $30, with a limited number of $5 tickets to be sold to students and senior citizens.

PACIFIC CHORALE: Subscription tickets to the chorale’s three-performance season range from $21 to $250. Unlike the other groups, the Pacific Chorale is handling most of its own single-ticket sales. Advance orders for single tickets are already being taken and will be filled after Oct. 1. Any single tickets remaining on the day of a performance will be released to the box office. Single tickets range in price from $7 to $100.

For information on subscription and advance single-ticket sales, telephone (714) 542-1790.