The Recessionist: Reduced-Price Seats for August: Osage County, The Seagull and American Buffalo (sort of)

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Going to the theatre has always been one of the most expensive forms of cultural entertainment, and in the current economy that makes it a prohibitive past time for most. Or not. Meet the Recessionist, a weekly feature where we comb through the plethora of Giants tickets posts on Craigslist to find you a few decent deals.

Note: Even though we’ve seen a lot of cheap seats to THE LITTLE MERMAID and MARY POPPINS we can’t bring ourselves to include either on this list — times aren’t that tough yet. Also, if musicals like BILLY ELLIOT, SHREK THE MUSICAL JERSEY BOYS and SOUTH PACIFIC, or new star-filled shows like SPEED-THE-PLOW are any indicator, there are still plenty of people willing to buy theatre tickets at above face value, even now.

Viva the Great White Way!

1. AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY on 10/31 for $65 – face value $122 Set in present-day Oklahoma, Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County has a bad case of “the plains,” as one character describes the landscape’s effect on the psyche.

2. THE SEAGULL on 11/2 for $70 – face value $110 KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS and PETER SARSGAARD play tortured artists in love in Christopher Hampton’s pared-down translation of Chekhov’s classic.

3. AMERICAN BUFFALO on 11/2 for $74 – face value $74 Okay, this one is not a steal, but it’s opening weekend, it’s DAVID MAMET and it’s the triple threat of JOHN LEGUIZAMO, CEDRIC The ENTERTAINER and HALEY JOEL OSMENT. In other words, it’s a no brainer.

* If you’re looking for a way to horrify anyone in town for Thanksgiving, consider buying these tickets to SPRING AWAKENING. They’re marked up 100 percent but score you a seat on stage next to one of the leads.