OnStage Blog: The New York Times recently published an article outlining the grim financial state of Broadway, noting that even big-budget musicals with strong reviews are struggling to recoup their investments. Rising production costs, stagnant ticket sales, and a post-pandemic audience that hasn’t fully returned have created what feels like a breaking point for the industry.
3 comments:
This is ironic because I read an article earlier this week about ticket sales and the urgency of Broadway. I liked how this article went into each different aspect of the current system that could be changed to create a more thriving industry. The fact is that producing a Broadway show is expensive, and a lot of these costs are coming from just being able to use the theatre. The article makes a good point on how if there isn't a show happening within a theater, it just sits there empty. Because of this, the owners should decrease these vaules to allow for more productions to be made. Another point brought up is how long a show should run. The urgency of ticket sales is lacking due to the idea that some of these shows may be up for months or even years. The article suggests that if shows have shortened runs that the urgency of these tickets will start to rise and that it would help to make back profit. I think this is really interesting because you see shows that have been running for years, like Hadestown and Wicked, and they are still doing fine, whereas shows that may have been open for a few months may be struggling to make back that profit.
After reading that same New York Times article, this was a refreshing read. I think there were a lot of excellent points raised: mainly about the theatre owners as well as the fact that nobody is willing to give up their financial status quo in favor of something uncertain, even if that new thing will lead to a better outcome with less uncertainty. Furthermore,I do think that limited runs and streaming will help a lot. I think that part of the issue is that I’ve heard that Equity contracts and streaming make producing something for streaming very expensive; but I’m not sure what the full breakdown is. I just know it’s sometimes cheaper for them to go to the West End to film things there, which wouldn’t always work for the shows that need that sort of publicity the most. I’m also not quite sure what the article here is referring to when it mentions a “breaking point”, as Broadway has had a fairly high grossing year overall. I kind of feel like the NYT article that started this all was written at a very strategic moment during Equity negotiations, and that shouldn't be overlooked, either.
This article is upsetting and honestly kind of comical. It is that silly conversation about how you sometimes have to cave to benefit the group and it is absurd to me that that's the conversation needed at the Broadway level. These are professionals that have invested their entire lives to be the best of the best but are not willing to find compromise. I understand that is much easier said than done and people like the owners have massive steaks and a lot of logistics that I cannot begin to understand but the thing that stuck out to me in the article is that dark theatres do not make money. Unfortunately I think it is going to have to get really bad before it can get better. I do not imagine anyone caving until they absolutely have to, which is so unfortunate. One of the reasons I am hesitant to work on Broadway if that opportunity comes is because of all these politics that make it so messy.
Post a Comment