You might have heard that StubHub, the nationwide scalper's outlet, has opened a storefront just blocks from the ballyhoo of Broadway, enabling ever larger numbers of wealthy suburbanites to purchase ever-more-expensive center-orchestra tickets to musicals with tired television stars. (See the New York Times story here.)

Given that a night on Broadway for a family four can already easily cost a thousand bucks, this latest news is both a little troubling and a little heartening. To be sure, it's nice to think the demand for Broadway shows might be as great as that for playoff tickets (you may have heard that a ticket to see Ian McKellen in King Lear in Los Angeles was resold online for $1,700).

But it's also distressing to hear yet again how Broadway is no longer the province of serious theater. It's not surprising, of course, but sad just the same, because of the trickle-down effect... while Broadway prices easily top $100 nowadays, their off-Broadway counterparts are up to $65, $75, and even $85. If off-Broadway became the home of serious drama after Broadway abandoned that role, what happens now? If a family of four can't see an off-Broadway show for less than $500, where will serious drama thrive?

I'd say the regional theaters like ours, but then I think of Governor Blagojevich's line-item veto of Illinois Arts Council funding over the summer. (You can read here what PerformInk thinks his motivation was; I happen to agree and think it's shameful.) We live in such an advanced society, with so much wealth around us and the stock market tacking on records every week... so what's happening to our culture?