2 Questions for Broadway Veterans/Experts

I am sure Margo could probably give you a really good answer for these 21 questions! My stab at it.....

In the early 70's when I saw my 1st show, Purlie, I remember the mikes along the front edge of the stage. I would assume that body miking started somewhere in the mid to late 70's. Not quite sure when the forehead mikes started but I noticed them in the early 90's. They may have started in the late 80's.

I would assume the answer to your second question is the rise in cost of production. Shows now have way more special effects and more advanced staging than they used to. I would also assume that there is more elaborate costuming. So that probably translates into a larger stage crew, more technicians and more costumers. Which means more people to pay and a higher ticket price.

I am sure others will add to my answers!

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Updated On: 3/12/05 at 02:37 PM

the last show NOT to use a mike was Annie... so 1977 is about right. Everything cost less in the "Golden Age" not to mentio, performances were EVERYDAY, including matinees, so that's more performances per week. Basically, the sets, salaries, lighting, everything cost less. You also didn't need to pay for amplification... yeah that's my stab at it.

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Joshua- it's sad but true, where oh where are our projectors?

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I saw the original production of ANNIE, and it was miked. I too have read that ANNIE was not miked, but when I saw the show three weeks after it opened on Broadway, it certainly was heard clearly and distinctly everywhere in the theater. Ticket Prices?????? They are lower than inflation would have them be. Theater ticket prices have not multiplied in price along the lines of most other things in the world. Re profits and making back the money? Pretty much everything costs more now and there are more "people putting up money involved." Creators get paid more, for the most part--not always, and continue to get a percentage of the box office gross in most cases. The SIMPLE answer is that years ago there were BETTER and SMARTER and "sole" PRODUCERS who were able to more rapidly reap profits. The Ziegfelds, Merricks, Belascos, etc. knew how to do theater with a keen eye on returning investment rapidly and going into profit. NOWADAYS, there are ENTIRE committees and often many production companies involved in getting a show on. "Too many cooks putting up the money doesn't always lead to more profit in the broth." Did I really just write that line? Feel free to quote me:)

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Thanks to everyone for the very informative responses. I just now went to a website which calculates inflation and found that My Fair Lady's $350,000 in 1956 translates into about $2,300,000 today and that an $8 ticket then would be about $52 today. What strikes me most is that top price tickets have increased at double the rate of inflation, but the cost of shows is five or more times the rate of inflation. Wishihadatony, you are such a great resource here! You're probably right that when there was only one producer, things were done more economically and fewer people were cashing in on a show. I suppose, as frontrowcentre2 states, we should consider ourselves lucky that ticket prices have increased much much less than the cost of shows (but still 2X what inflation would have them). No wonder it takes longer to recoup money, since ticket prices are a much lower percentage of overall costs. If we were still paying the same percentage of overall costs, top regular priced tickets would be $250-$350 a piece! Perhaps we shouldn't feel so bad about $100 ticket prices after all (though it does seem that shows cost more than they need to). As to my first question, thanks for showing me that miking is not as recent a phoneomenon as I had supposed. I've been seeing musicals since around the mid-sixties, but I was too young or unobservant to notice whether they were being miked or not. It's only recently that I've started to wonder when were the last shows to be performed without mikes. So...even in the 50s and early 60s, there was some amplification, with mikes at the edge of the stage?

Updated On: 3/13/05 at 07:43 PM

I remember pictures of HAIR, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and GODSPELL in which cast members blatantly used hand mikes. Of course these shows all employed rock music and obviously used keyboards and elecric guitars in the pit. Prior to these musicals, there was not much rock on Broadway and thus I believe that the rock musical is partly to 'blame' for amplification. I put 'blame' in quotations because if the sound system is put together properly, then a musical can sound great. I actually saw a high school production of GODSPELL tonight and the poor kids were asked to sing using very poor sound equipment while backed by a very energetic band consisting of a keyboard, drummer, electric guitar and bass. If you have read any of my posts here before, you'll know I'm a big fan of GODSPELL. I was saddened by the fact that no lyrics could be heard throughout the show. The band was playing Schwartz's score very well and the little bits of singing that I could catch sounded good. With proper use of amplification, this could have been a wonderful show. Ah well...

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I happen to have a playbill in front of me from GODSPELL in August of 1977 at the Ambassador Theatre...here are the prices...

Chorus Line-$8-17
Annie-$8-17.50
Chicago-$8-16
Equus-$6-13
Grease-$6.50-13.90
Oh! Calcutta-$12-16
Side By Side By Sondheim-$6.50-$17.50

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It'll be interesting to see how much A Chors Line costs...after all, unknown actors, minimum sets...how much can that run?

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The 1960s did in fact usher in the use of mics though electronic sound and amplification was used prior to that decade.

As to the cost of Broadway production and hence of tickets it is a more complex question than you might first think. There is no single thing that has caused it but here are some of the factors.

--The increased use of technical staging techniques including lifts flight and other expensive technology. Sound and lighting technology have also increased exponentially. All of this has been put in place to help live theater compete with the expectations of younger audiences who are used to lots of flash and glitz in movies, TV and video games.

--In an effort to compete for tourist dollars and remind people that live theater is still alive the producers are now spending more money on advertising and marketing as well.

--Because the money behind most productions now comes from big financial investment firms they expect a greater return on their investment and they consider theater a big risk for failure so their metrics for success are a factor in ticket prices as well. Get the money while you can before the show closes and get as close to break even or profit as you can.

--Systems for the hearing impaired ramps for wheel chairs all go into the facilities costs. Then there are the unions who have jumped in to try to negotiate better deals for all who work in the theater. I would point out that you shouldn't blame the average Broadway actor or chorus member for these prices. Behind the scenes the cost of dance, acting and singing lessons has gone up as has everything else so even the appearance of the increased quality of life for a chorus boy or girl is really not valid. They are paying more to stay in the game and their salaries are not necessarily compensating them for that or for the increased rents in New York City.

--There are a lot of other variables but the one final cost hike I will point out is the escalating salaries of short run stars who come in from TV and movies to pump up the value of a ticket. You are paying for that. Though there are some exceptions for stage actors who pull down bigger salaries for certain shows the bulk of the big money goes now to the glitz of the production and the big name stars coming in from out of town.

Result: $$$$$ to the theatre audience

Remember that in the 'old days' shows used pretty standard sets and props and relied on the talent, the book and the score to sell the show. Now people want glamour and they are paying for that just as the baseball fan pays to see a team that never loses and only has cream-of-the-crop players.

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This has become & issue w the Hockey league as well. The Players want more$$$ the Owners want to keep more $$$ results the average fan gets hit for even more $$$ putting the attendance mostly w corporations who write off the cost of boxs et all as business expenses. I seem to remember as well that it was Producers who broke thru the 100+ tkt price and thatseems to have set the standard for other shows.

I'll still complain about paying $100 thank you very much.

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Regarding the ticket price vs. cost scenario:

I used to love going through my parents' old playbills. Years ago, the theatre ads in the back used to include prices. I remember looking in the back of one from the 1970 season and seeing the theatre listings for the time and for the show COMPANY, the prices were (in dollars): "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." Now, I'm not sure what kind of seat you'd have gotten for $1 back then, but the notion that you could have had the pleasure of being in a theatre and "see" (perhaps obstructed-view) Elaine Stritch deliver "The Ladies Who Lunch" LIVE for far less than the cost of a movie ticket even then is rather stunning when you think of it.

I also remember that friends of mine who were in the ensemble of DREAMGIRLS back in 1982 were making the Equity minimum at the time which I recall as somewhere in the $700 - 750 range. The principals all signed a "Favored Nations" contract (everyone made the same) for about $1500 a piece. The top ticket price: $35.

Today the Equity minimum is $1381 -- not even double what it was 23 years ago (union stagehands and musician minimums are in the same ballpark -- also not double what they were in 1982). Yet the top ticket price is $100 -- almost triple what it was then. Beyond that, producers have eliminated most if not all "cheap seats" for most shows -- no $1 or $2 tickets these days. Back in '82 there were still $5 - 10 balcony seats; now the least expensive seat for many shows is in the $50 - $75 range (even a balcony seat is almost always AT LEAST $35 -- three to seven times what it cost two decades ago). Even with discounts and promotions, the average ticket price is now nearly triple what it was just 20-odd years ago.

Who's getting all of that "extra money?" Not the union actors or musicians or stagehands -- all of whom are usually blamed (by producers) when the topic of "Why are ticket prices so high?" is brought up. Not, in most cases, the playwrights, book writers, composers or designers. Inflation and increased advertising costs alone simply do not account for these price differentials.

Until I see a precise and exact accounting of where all of this money goes -- why, among many other things, that a single-set, four-character non-musical play feels the need to have a $90 top -- I have no other choice, but to conclude that producers are trying to cash in when and where they can, and by doing so are destroying the future of the American theatre by putting ticket prices out of the reach of all except for the elite few.

There was a time, not very long ago, when theatre was a normal, non-elite entertainment option for the everyday consumer. When the hottest shows on Broadway had prices that ranged from $1 to $10, at the same time movie tickets cost $3 or $4, "theatre" was still a very viable weekly or monthly option for individuals, couples and families, young and old, poor, middle class and rich, and not just something reserved for "special occasions."

Up until the 90s, more than two-thirds of the Broadway audience consisted of New Yorkers and folks from the tri-state area who regularly went to and supported Broadway, Off-Broadway and other local theatre on a consistent basis. Many were savvy and educated theatregoers who could and did support not only just the big splashy mindless musicals, but also serious, thought-provoking dramas, comedies, the avant garde occasionally, and productions of classical works, which made New York the premiere theatre capital of the planet.

However, in the last ten to fifteen years, as ticket prices have exponentially increased ($5-10 jumps every few years since the early 80s -- related far more to pure greed than anything having to do with actual costs or inflation), the legion of once committed regular local theatregoers have become alienated from the New York theatre scene they once loved and heavily patronized, principally by the outageous prices being charged today.

Now, the demographic of the Broadway audience has flipped -- two-thirds are tourists, while just a third are those once loyal regular local patrons who supported New York theatre for decades. Theatre is now a "special event" for families on vacation or businessmen on expense account. Most aren't savvy or demanding or knowledgable about theatre -- they just want to see a big show they can go back and rave about to their friends in Omaha. They don't know or care about or support serious drama or the avant garde or classical work. They just want to be entertained, not made to think or really care about anything they see on a stage.

This obviously has an incredibly detrimental effect on the kind of work that gets produced (or even created) in New York, nowadays and frankly threatens to turn Broadway into Vegas West (or Orlando North) in another few years.

I could go on, but, the bottom line is that the current financial model behind Broadway (and commercial off-Broadway) shows is broken and beyond repair. If most of the new nonmusical offerings are now solo shows that STILL cost millions to produce and STILL end up closing without recouping (including long-running shows like GOLDA'S BALCONY and the PULITIZER and TONY-winning I AM MY OWN WIFE); that plays with major stars and good reviews rarely run longer that a few months and usually lose their entire investments; that 80 to 90% of musicals close without recouping and even revivals of well-known shows as well as the creatively unchallenging and easier to create "jukebox" musicals fail most of the time; there is a FUNDAMENTAL problem with New York commercial theatre that NEEDS to be addressed and fixed immediately.

Prices and costs have spiraled out of control for no apparent reason and there's no end to that in sight. As a result, a large percentage of the core audience for Broadway and commercial off Broadway has been priced out and driven away, perhaps forever. If producers and creative professionals in all disciplines do not come together to work out a some sort of more sensible financial model for New York commercial theatre in the very near future, I fear that we will soon (if we haven't already) see the end of real, groundbreaking, challenging and meaningful theatre in commercial Broadway and Off-Broadway.

I mean, for chrissakes, how many times can you revive Streetcar and Glass Menagerie and Virginia Woolf and Julius Caesar and Glengarry Glenn Ross -- each with movie stars? The future of Broadway can't continue to be in trying to recreate past successes -- there HAS to be a very real and strong commitment to NEW plays and NEW playwrights and NEW ideas, if theatre is to be able to thrive and even continue to really exist in this city. And that can only happen with a VERY different and much more visionary financial model that is more welcoming and viable for audiences and theatre professionals alike.

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Updated On: 3/14/05 at 05:44 AM