Gillioz warns against third-party sellers

The Gillioz Theatre is cautioning customers not to do business with third-party ticket resellers in response to its upcoming show featuring author and comedian David Sedaris.

Tickets for the May 1 free show — sponsored by Springfield-Greene County Library District and Friends of the Library — yesterday were made available and quickly were all taken. Some of the tickets were picked up by those looking to make a profit, said Gillioz Theatre Executive Director Geoff Steele.

“That resale is not benefiting the artist, it’s not benefiting the venue and it’s not benefiting the industry,” he said. “Ticketing is really one of the top issues for the live entertainment industry. We deal with it every single show.”

Steele estimated less than 10% — likely less than 100 — of the tickets were picked up by unauthorized third parties. Those third parties are attempting to sell them or hundreds of dollars. Steele said the free tickets were limited to two per transaction. Seated shows allow for 1,015 customers, according to the theater’s website.

“My recommendation would be to challenge the sale on your credit card and get me the seat numbers, and we’ll address them at that point,” he said.

Steele pointed to Gillioz Theatre policy giving the organization the right to revoke tickets purchased via a third party. However, he said it’s difficult to determine if the ticket came from an unauthorized party.

“It’s kind of a perfect storm for me because it’s a free event and the demand is so high,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to educate the public.”

Springfield-Greene County Library District and Friends of the Library paid Sedaris $17,500 for the show in May, said Kathleen O'Dell, the library’s director of community relations. Discounts were provided by Sedaris because it was a library-sponsored event, she said.

During the event, Sedaris is slated to speak from new and unpublished materials and have a question-and-answer session with the audience. Sedaris is the author of works including “Barrel Fever,” “Holidays on Ice” and “Naked.” There are more than 12 million copies of his books in print, according to GilliozTheatre.com.