But it's only a matter of time before the freebies stop and prices rise, experts said.

"It's advertising and marketing and the cost of production. It's everything," said "Chicago" producer Barry Weissler.

The increased costs from the tentative contract between producers and stagehands, including annual raises of about 4% for five years, will be nominal to consumers, he said.

"Does this one element raise ticket prices? No, of course not," Weissler said.

What will make patrons dig deeper for ducats, one Broadway source said, is what producers live for - a blockbuster.

"We owe the $120 [ticket] to hits like 'Jersey Boys' and 'Wicked,'" a source said. "Everybody wants to raise [prices], but they don't want to be the first. The megahit gives them carte blanche to gouge."