MAY CO. AND TICKETMASTER UNVEIL L.A. HALF-PRICE DUCAT NETWORK

Ticketmaster and the May Co. jointly announced Tuesday morning a new half-price, same-day ticket sales network for Los Angeles, similar to ones already in place in San Francisco and New York City.

Under the plan, which begins today, ticket seekers may go to one of three May Co. stores to purchase half-price tickets for that day’s performances of a number of area entertainment events, including concerts by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and shows by a number of local theater groups.

Ticketmaster spokesman Dave Anderson said Tuesday that the May Co. stores serving as half-price ticket outlets are those in the Citicorp Plaza, downtown at 7th and Figueroa streets; in the Westside Pavilion, at Pico and Westwood boulevards; and in the San Fernando Valley, in the Sherman Oaks Galleria. There will be a $1-$2 service charge, depending on the price of the ticket.

Half-price tickets will also be available for Actor’s Forum, A.M. Productions, Groundlings Theatre, Heliotrope Theatre, L.A. Connection Comedy Theatre, the Shakespeare Society at the Old Globe Playhouse, Theatre III, Theatre 40 and Theatre West.

Anderson said he hoped to add other Ticketmaster clients to the list, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, the Universal Amphitheatre, the Los Angeles Clippers and other entertainment venues and organizations.

Ticketron--the other major ticket retailer in Southern California--announced on Nov. 13 that it would establish a similar cut-rate ticket network, called Bravo Tickets, in association with the League of Producers and Theaters of Los Angeles. The network plans to begin operation on Jan. 12, said Ticketron’s Tom Shantz.