Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Broadway shows filled 85% of all seats last week, League says
Broadway News: The Broadway League shared a snapshot of the industry’s grosses Wednesday, saying that 85% of seats across all operating Broadway theaters were filled last week.
5 comments:
Madeline Miller
said...
After spending a year applying to theater school during a time with no theater, I had internalized a very cautious view of the career ahead of me. Reading this article, I found myself reassured in many ways. Although tourism is not fully back, Broadway is operating at a similar capacity that it was prepandemic. I was also pleasantly surprised by the turnout considering the titles currently running on Broadway. The shows that have reopened are not the Tony-winning smash successes that bring in a large part of Broadway’s revenue. Clearly, people are happy to be back in the seats. I hope this good news isn’t only true of Broadway, and that, at least over time, a similar revival can occur in LORT theaters and smaller community companies as well. At the very least, it shows that there is still a demand for live theater, something that I, and probably most of us, are very very grateful for.
Well I am glad to see that Broadway seems to be making a pretty good come back. It is great news that 85% of seats were filled this past week. It makes me hopeful for the future of Broadway. I think this is a true testament to the amount of safety protocols in place for seeing a Broadway production and the fact that vaccines are required to enter the theatre as well as masks being worn during the entirety of the show. It looks and sounds like there is a bit of ambiguity in what the Broadway League is actually releasing in terms of financials, but it sounds like they will start reporting week to week in the coming weeks, which should give a much clearer picture of the actual financial standing for the industry. I feel bad for the new plays that are struggling. This was the huge question before Broadway reopened. Would smaller new plays be able to make it or will we need to throw in really popular musicals targeted at white, rich people to make it. I hate the idea of that and I really hope some of these tax credits can alleviate that so that more diversified works can hit the Broadway stages.
It's super encouraging to see these statistics about Broadway reopening. For the past few months I have kept seeing articles of different shows opening and I was waiting with bated breath for a report of how the houses were and what ticket sales were like. As I'm sure we're all anticipating working in internships this summer or, for those graduating, getting industry jobs, and this article is certainly encouraging. I'm glad to see that this will not be a one time report and I'm looking forward to seeing the weekly notices about how full Broadway theatres continue to be at. I also think that the closing note about the last minute ticket buying is really interesting. I'm not sure what this means for the industry but I am hoping that we start to see a decline in that and more future planning for tourists to travel into New York City and to Broadway.
Well, this is relieving to hear. I know I'm not the only one who has had fears about going into a live performance industry after this pandemic, and whether or not live theatre would ever be the same. I have friends who just graduated from my old university that have now moved to Chicago and are struggling to find work. A lot of auditions are invitation only, and I think only one of my friends found a job as an ASM at a theater that was struggling to adapt to streamed and reduced seating performances. Sadly, at smaller theaters, I fear this will continue to be the case, but I hold out hope that things will get better soon. Seriously, because as students I think we'll all end up being upset if we can't get internships or work this summer due to Covid still causing major issues. Despite all that, I remain optimistic.
There were so many times throughout the early stages pandemic where I would let my negativity get the best of me and think that there was no possible way that Broadway would be able to come back because no one would feel safe going to a theater anymore. I am so happy I was wrong! Seeing that theaters were at 85% last week feels like a miracle. People are running to support Broadway and all of the artists who were out of work for close to two years and it is a true gift to see that. I also am excited that New York is giving Broadway shows a 3-million-dollar tax credit, with one of their goals behind this being to hire and attract more diverse workers and audience members. Reading this article also made me excited to see how many shows are re-opening or have re-opened, I wasn’t sure how many officially closed due to COVID.
5 comments:
After spending a year applying to theater school during a time with no theater, I had internalized a very cautious view of the career ahead of me. Reading this article, I found myself reassured in many ways. Although tourism is not fully back, Broadway is operating at a similar capacity that it was prepandemic. I was also pleasantly surprised by the turnout considering the titles currently running on Broadway. The shows that have reopened are not the Tony-winning smash successes that bring in a large part of Broadway’s revenue. Clearly, people are happy to be back in the seats. I hope this good news isn’t only true of Broadway, and that, at least over time, a similar revival can occur in LORT theaters and smaller community companies as well. At the very least, it shows that there is still a demand for live theater, something that I, and probably most of us, are very very grateful for.
Well I am glad to see that Broadway seems to be making a pretty good come back. It is great news that 85% of seats were filled this past week. It makes me hopeful for the future of Broadway. I think this is a true testament to the amount of safety protocols in place for seeing a Broadway production and the fact that vaccines are required to enter the theatre as well as masks being worn during the entirety of the show. It looks and sounds like there is a bit of ambiguity in what the Broadway League is actually releasing in terms of financials, but it sounds like they will start reporting week to week in the coming weeks, which should give a much clearer picture of the actual financial standing for the industry. I feel bad for the new plays that are struggling. This was the huge question before Broadway reopened. Would smaller new plays be able to make it or will we need to throw in really popular musicals targeted at white, rich people to make it. I hate the idea of that and I really hope some of these tax credits can alleviate that so that more diversified works can hit the Broadway stages.
It's super encouraging to see these statistics about Broadway reopening. For the past few months I have kept seeing articles of different shows opening and I was waiting with bated breath for a report of how the houses were and what ticket sales were like. As I'm sure we're all anticipating working in internships this summer or, for those graduating, getting industry jobs, and this article is certainly encouraging. I'm glad to see that this will not be a one time report and I'm looking forward to seeing the weekly notices about how full Broadway theatres continue to be at. I also think that the closing note about the last minute ticket buying is really interesting. I'm not sure what this means for the industry but I am hoping that we start to see a decline in that and more future planning for tourists to travel into New York City and to Broadway.
Well, this is relieving to hear. I know I'm not the only one who has had fears about going into a live performance industry after this pandemic, and whether or not live theatre would ever be the same. I have friends who just graduated from my old university that have now moved to Chicago and are struggling to find work. A lot of auditions are invitation only, and I think only one of my friends found a job as an ASM at a theater that was struggling to adapt to streamed and reduced seating performances. Sadly, at smaller theaters, I fear this will continue to be the case, but I hold out hope that things will get better soon. Seriously, because as students I think we'll all end up being upset if we can't get internships or work this summer due to Covid still causing major issues. Despite all that, I remain optimistic.
There were so many times throughout the early stages pandemic where I would let my negativity get the best of me and think that there was no possible way that Broadway would be able to come back because no one would feel safe going to a theater anymore. I am so happy I was wrong! Seeing that theaters were at 85% last week feels like a miracle. People are running to support Broadway and all of the artists who were out of work for close to two years and it is a true gift to see that. I also am excited that New York is giving Broadway shows a 3-million-dollar tax credit, with one of their goals behind this being to hire and attract more diverse workers and audience members. Reading this article also made me excited to see how many shows are re-opening or have re-opened, I wasn’t sure how many officially closed due to COVID.
Post a Comment