quote:

Originally posted by HughFan:
If you've got the extra money, why don't you get tickets to see the play a second time? Double the amount of minutes enjoying Hugh on stage.

As for sitting even closer than row E, Hugh fills the theatre with his stage presence and personal charisma. IMO there is little difference in the two seat locations, especially not for nearly twice the cost.

I probably would if I was going on my own or with another Hugh fan but my husband, while incredibly tolerant of my Hugh obsession, might take issue with this And, really, we don't have the extra money, this would be all on the card!

Pepper, thanks! I actually did a little research and found out that I actually own a DVD broadway show filmed at the Schoenfeld back when it was the Plymouth theater. I pulled it out and watched the end and I was pretty impressed by how small the venue actually is - I really think I'll be fine in our present seats.

Just a heads up -- I almost lost my tickets for A Steady Rain! Here's the story:

I got two e-mails telling me that my orders were cancelled because I was over the limit. I was like -- HUH?!?! because I knew I only ordered three tickets, two for one performance and one for the final show. I called Telecharge right away. They said that my IP address -- one of the criteria being used in determining whether the ticket limit had been reached -- had several orders placed upon it, taking the number of tickets well up over the limit. I was given a name of a person (I found out later there were several different people)who used my IP address -- a name I never heard of. A hold was put on my tickets while they tried to figure this out. I was eventually called back by one of the people who were doing the checking and he said that 40 tickets were purchased through that IP address. He said there were several people from different states (that was all he could tell me). This guy claimed that the IP address indicated that the orders were from different people in the same household -- . I told this guy numerous times -- I live alone, no one else had access to my computer -- certainly no on else was with me in my house that day. I got very upset, at a complete loss how to make this man understand that I was NOT working with other people to order more tickets than the limit allowed. He went away to talk to someone, and when he came back he told me that my tickets would be released "as a courtesy."

I'm still feeing a bit shaken. I think I need to talk to both AOL and Comcast to try and figure out how and why there were several people on the same IP address at that point in time on July 11.

I just wanted to let people know in case anyone else has a similar horror story.

That is horrible, KEC -- isn't that a serious issue that could lead to identity theft ? I wonder if TC does not have backend-processing problems leading to this mess? They do have similar albeit more liberal restrictions for other shows, so I wonder why this issue has come up now.

I chose the Option to pick up my tickets at the box office and will be bringing my confirmation emails with me. I am also bringing a copy of my credit card statement as further proof, in case a problem should arise. Arghh...

Jo

If you're using AOL - then you're most likely using a shared IP address.

The best thing to do in a case like that, for future reference, is to use IE or Firefox - not the AOL software itself, because you will be sharing an IP with someone, somewhere.

The first set of tickets were purchased on AOL, the other ticket via Firefox. Which means it might be a Comcast issue. I'm going to get in touch with both.

Jo, I don't think it's a case that could lead to Identity Theft. I have heard that AOL users have a shared IP address in the past, but it has never been an issue before. I'm not going to feel safe until I see the tickets in my e-mail box -- I might even call them back later tonight to see when I might get them, just in case.

In effect, there is already a case of defacto identity misuse - because the multiple use of the same IP has led to your being "disqualified" by Telecharge due to supposed abuse of limit restrictions. Not strictly speaking, but rather unsettling had Telecharge not used their better judgment in resolving your particular issue. I wonder if the people who shared your IP address unwittingly and had also purchased tickets to ASR are also getting the same problems like you do/did?

Hope you get your tickets alright

Jo

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jo,

Kec, I'm really glad you got that mess straightened out. I never knew that AOL have a shared IP. Good to know.

Ellen

Ellen I hope it's straightened out. Once I talk to AOL and Comcast I'm going to go back to Telecharge, especially if my tickets don't show up in my e-mail.

True, Jo, in that respect there is a bit of identity misuse. As I said, the man I spoke to said there were several different accounts using the same IP address. It sounded as though they chose one person out of the group and allowed him to keep his tickets and the rest of us were SOL. Which to me is very unfair. Because I'm sure the other people are going to be as upset as I was.

There's a sign up at the theater now that says the box office will open officially on 8/20. In case anyone is still waiting to get their tickets by that route.

OK, I called AOL first, and they told me that my IP address is set by the high-speed service provider -- Comcast. The person at AOL also said their IP address is dynamic, it changes every time one logs on. I called Comcast, explained the situation to the lady on the phone. She's got to talk to someone higher up and will get back to me in about an hour.

Updated to say they had me turn on the Windows firewall to help prevent this in the future. I'm not sure that was the issue since I have a Norton firewall as well. I guess I'll talk to them next. I'm also going to e-mail Telecharge customer service to get it in writing that I will be getting my tickets (besides having the actual tickets) just in case.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kec,

Yes, that's true - your IP changes every time you log on to AOL, but you're still behind AOL's proxy which has a set range of dynamic IP addresses, and you do share them.

Here's what I mean - if you log on to AOL and look up your IP using http://whatismyipaddress.com/s.../index.php/lookup-ip - you'll get your IP and that IP will identify you as being on AOL.

Now, if you open up FireFox or IE and do the same thing - you'll get a different number, that's the static one issued to your computer by your service provider (Comcast, RoadRunner, etc.) and that will identify you as being on your ISP, not AOL.

Not trying to be nosy or anything, but here's what I think happened. TicketMaster saw that you had ordered tickets with the Dynamic AOL IP that was used by others also on AOL, so they thought you were trying to pull a fast one and as a result, also canceled the tickets you got using your static IP from Comcast. Just my theory. I hope it all works out for you.

Quite frankly, this seems to be a mistake by TicketMaster - because they obviously don't realize that AOL shares those IP addresses, so using that as criteria for dismissing orders for tickets is wrong.

Thanks Kris...I checked my ip address on AOL, then I went to Comcast and found that the number was the same. I looked that IP addressup on your link and the result was: This is a private IP address and cannot be traced.

quote:

Quite frankly, this seems to be a mistake by TicketMaster - because they obviously don't realize that AOL shares those IP addresses, so using that as criteria for dismissing orders for tickets is wrong.

It's actually Telecharge, but I agree with what you say. and no, you weren't being nosy. You've been helpful.

quote:

Not trying to be nosy or anything, but here's what I think happened. TicketMaster saw that you had ordered tickets with the Dynamic AOL IP that was used by others also on AOL, so they thought you were trying to pull a fast one and as a result, also canceled the tickets you got using your static IP from Comcast. Just my theory. I hope it all works out for you.

I have a better understanding of this now thanks to your theory and your link. I went into that link, and there was an IP address in there. I looked it up, and it clearly said it was a proxy server belonging to AOL. When I checked via Firefox, it was a different address, and it was listed as belonging to Comcast. The IP address I looked up the other night was one I found attached specifically to my computer and as I noted, it was a private address that could not be traced.

I suspect your theory was correct; they realized it was an AOL proxy server, and rectified the mistake. Funnily enough, when I posted my story on BWW, a few people came up with the same thing about shared addresses. One of the moderators told me that my IP address was being used by at least 50 other people on the site!!

I've sent a email explaining what I knew of the matter, and offered my thanks to the people involved for their assistance. Hopefully I'll get the tickets soon.

quote:

Hopefully I'll get the tickets soon.

It looks like this has become an issue of a steady rain becoming a real storm, if Telecharge is having some backend processing problems

I wonder how many other ticket buyers are having to settle similar issues with Telecharge not just for this show but for others with similar restrictions. It's not as if this is the first time they have had to impose ticket limits.

Hope the tickets come soon, Kec


Jo

quote:

Originally posted by jo:

I wonder how many other ticket buyers are having to settle similar issues with Telecharge not just for this show but for others with similar restrictions. It's not as if this is the first time they have had to impose ticket limits.

It's a good question, Jo... but interestingly enough, no one on BWW seems to have had similar issues. I'm sure I would have remembered reading about such a problem. At the very least I would have thought that anyone who did have a similar experience might have said so if they'd read my post.

I got a reply from Telecharge saying only that a manager is looking at my message and they will get back to me.

You guys are making me nervous.

I have AOL, and have not seen my tickets yet. I was assuming that tickets were taking a long time to ship, as they had stated.

Should I be worried? Is there a contact number or person you are dealing with?

I haven't gotten a credit on my AE, or a phone call, so hopefully I am OK.

I called Telecharge over the weekend just to see what's what vis-a-vis ticket mailing and was told the tix were printed on August 4 and are going out this week.

Ellen

I was able to login to my Telecharge account and see that my tickets had been printed, so I am expecting to see them soon.

Fern

Dihop, if you'd been one of the people using my IP address, you would have gotten an e-mail like the ones I got. Here are phone number for telecharge:

Customer Service Department at 212-239-2969 (tri-state area) or 888-268-2020 (outside the tri-state area) between 9am - 9pm Monday through Saturday and 9am - 6pm Sunday.

I've been a lurker since seeing TBFO, but the excitement surrounding A Steady Rain has prompted me to emerge from lurkdom.

Recently I was checking the website for a local company that runs bus tours to NYC, and was a bit surprised to find that they were offering orchestra tickets (a Wednesday matinee) to ASR. The prices were about the same as those for the other Broadway shows they list. I already have tickets, but this is certainly tempting...