Recently, Kevin Lynch, a musician and theater enthusiast, filed a class action lawsuit against Playwrights Horizons for allegedly charging prices for tickets based on the color of one’s skin, making it more expensive to buy a ticket if you are not part of a certain demographic.
The issue arose from a performance on November 6th, the theater performing Nazareth Hassan’s “Practice”. That night, the theater designated the show as being a part of “BIPOC Night”. BIPOC is an acronym used to refer to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
As part of the show on November 6th, the theater gave the following announcement: “For this BIPOC Night performance, we welcome folks who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color to use code BIPOCNIGHT to unlock discount seats.”
For this show, anyone who used the code would pay $39 for each of their seats. If an attender did not use the code, they would have to pay the full $90 instead. Since the code was advertised as being only for a certain demographic, Lynch, who identifies himself as white, paid the $90 price for his tickets instead of the cheaper $39.
The law firm Consovoy McCarthy is representing Lynch in this case, with the American Alliance for Equal Rights also showing its support for Lynch’s lawsuit.
Edward Blum, the president of the American Alliance for Equal Rights, gave a statement about the situation: “This case is about a simple rule that should not be controversial,” they continue, “businesses and nonprofits open to the public cannot charge one person more, or another person less, because of the color of their skin.”
A spokesperson for Playwright Horizons gave the following statement in response to the lawsuit: “This is a meritless lawsuit, and Playwrights Horizons intends to defend itself in court.”
