Jersey Boys hit a couple of C notes

I know it's a little like baying at the moon or bringing coals to Newcastle or something but please indulge me as I express my outrage at ticket prices.

The Jersey Boys tour is coming to Boston this summer, from July 23 to Sept. 26, and I was thinking about going. Not that I would do this, but just for yuks I checked out the premium price for a Sunday matinee at the Citi Performing Arts Center's Shubert Theatre. It was $200! That's before adding in the $16.25 "service charge" and the $2 "handling fee."

Of course, no one is saying I have to spend that much. I could get a plain vanilla orchestra seat for $99 or sit in the back of the balcony for $49. I'm guessing with group discounts and the like, very few people will actually pay $200 for a ticket.

And granted, $200 is still a bargain compared with Broadway. A premium seat for Jersey Boys on the same Sunday afternoon at the August Wilson Theatre will set you back a whopping $352, not including a $7 service charge and $2.50 for handling.

Now, I'm far from a theatre snob. I see many fine Broadway shows on tour. I'm sure the performers in this production of Jersey Boys are terrific. Looking at their biographies, it seems quite a few have Broadway credits. So it's not like I'd be paying to hear four guys from the neighborhood croon some Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons tunes.

But still - $200 for the best seat on tour, when you may not be getting all the bells and whistles of a Broadway production. Am I out of line in thinking there's something wrong here?