THE $50 QUESTION

I’m wondering why Bill Lawrence and Katrina Herbert Wood (Letters, Dec. 1) feel it is Patrick Stewart’s fault that he limits his performances and charges the going rate for “A Christmas Carol”? No one is forcing them to attend.

Heck, for $50 or so (the price for one ticket), they could buy several versions of Dickens’ classic (including the George C. Scott version, which is one of the best) on video! In addition, why not attend one of the local, less expensive productions of “A Christmas Carol”?

JOHN P. TRINKAUS

Claremont

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Keep in mind, folks, that we are talking about a moving piece of drama performed by an outstanding “human” storyteller. Just as people will pay $100 to $200 for tickets to the Rose Bowl or Super Bowl, remember that art has its price too.

JULIE T. BYERS

Temple City

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Though I am myself a theater producer, I share the outrage of Bill Lawrence and Katrina Herbert Wood at the astronomical ticket prices large theaters charge these days.

Yes, the costs are higher than ever before to produce shows, even in L.A.’s small theaters. But to demand $35 per ticket, as do most of the “major” theaters, is to omit all but the converted elite who need the theater the least anyway. What ever happened to “theater for the people”?

Sure, I would like to make a huge profit on my current show, “The Snow Maiden,” but I decided instead to charge only about $12 a ticket so that people with families could afford a holiday event and still have a few cents left over for the turkey dinner.

There is still, affordable, excellent theater to be found in some of L.A.’s smaller venues. To find it, you just have to look a little harder, through the glare of the Los Angeles snow.

JAY McADAMS

Managing Director, Glorious

Repertory Company, Van Nuys