New Ticketing Transparency Policy

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Starting October 1, 2023, the Lawrence Arts Center will have a new ticketing policy.

  • 10/1/23-12/31/23, this policy will be implemented for the following productions. 
    • Drunken Christmas Carol
    • The Nutcracker, a Kansas Ballet
  • Starting 1/1/2024, the policy will be effective for ALL events and productions.

If you’ve purchased tickets for Arts Center events in the last five years, you may have noticed that all taxes and fees are now included in our advertised ticket price.  In response to recent ticket trends nationally, such as New York state’s Ticket Transparency Bill, the Lawrence Arts Center’s ticketing price will now include a clear and detailed breakout of taxes and convenience fees.

As an organization, we want consumers to know exactly where their money is going when purchasing a ticket.

For example, an adult ticket for the 2023 family musical School of Rock was advertised at a price of $25. This price included sales tax and ticketing agent fees.

With our new ticketing policy, the advertised adult ticket for the upcoming 2024 family musical, The SpongeBob Musical, will be $25 plus the 9.3%  sales tax in Lawrence and the $1.50 per ticket Audience View convenience fee, resulting in a final price of $28.96.

“But why are tickets so expensive?”

We get this question all the time and encourage you to compare our prices with other performing arts organizations in the region. We strive to keep our ticket prices as low as possible while achieving the highest quality in educational instruction and production artistry. As the largest employer of artists in the state of Kansas, the Arts Center values the craft of our professional performing arts designers, staff, and technicians and provides compensation for their work on our productions. Ticket purchases at the Arts Center support local artists.

We truly believe art is for everyone and provide free tickets with partnering organizations for several of our productions, as well as ticketing assistance for those in need. Finances should not be a barrier to artistic experience, and we are always happy to work with our community to provide access to the arts for ALL.

To inquire about ticketing aid, please contact the Director of Performing Arts, Elizabeth Sullivan, at elizabeth@lawrenceartscenter.org.