Broadway League: Grosses will not be reported this season

Looks like they sense big, big trouble sales wise... analyzing weekly grosses is one of the major ways we can tell if a given show can survive in the long run or not.

Some shows will close in the dreary winter months - there's no denying that - but early 2022's victims (not including limited engagements) may just surprise us without these telling figures.

Updated On: 8/9/21 at 05:36 PM

I wish it wasn't the whole season, but I'm actually okay with this decision. The shows are going to be taking overall mammoth losses for the first few months, maybe even more than we realize, and they don't need industry-watchers like us trying to analyze the grosses to the point of guessing their fates before they've even had a chance to get on their feet again.

We will then have to sadly assume that all the empty seats from future seating maps will mean $0 unsold seats (such as from Pass Over, that looks about 90% unsold from seating maps). I think they know they're in big trouble and they're trying to hide it.

This is not news; this has been known publicly for quite a while. It's not strange; it's lily livered and naive. And it won't work. Anyone who knows the history of reporting grosses will immediately spot the problem: if you don't report, you don't control the narrative, and if you don't control the narrative, gossip replaces facts and context. Once you realize that the grosses are not a "secret" because lots of people have a contractual right to receiving them (and being paid based on them no less), you also realize that any grosses that are notable - and that obviously includes shows that are bleeding money - will find their way onto this very board as well as the papers, blogs, websites, etc. Stupid idea. I bet tickets to the show with the lowest grosses percentage that the league does not make it to the end of 21-22 before they resume releasing the numbers.

Man, what will BWW report every Monday? This sucks and seems kinda shady.

So, I'm just going off of what some people involved behind the scenes have said to me about ticket sales. Apparently, sales in general are very good for the shows reopening for the first month or some (because a lot are in fact based in New York). They do build up in the end of November (through the general holiday period) but really flat line in the New Year, which has been to be expected, but its magnified. Producers are worried about the implications (apparently from some data they are analyzing and looking to close down a handful of big time long runners in that time). As for new shows, unfortunately they are looking at it right now that with all the shows reopening so quickly after each other and the real tourist crowds not even projected to reach 2019 levels for another 2 years, a lot of the new shows will not make it past the 3 month/100 show mark. And right now they are behind the scenes very nervous about that.



Though they also did confirm to expect a number of "surprise " revivals in the next 18 months with shows bringing in their former tour sets and costumes, with a stunt cast. (I have my hopes on a Dolly reprise)



Anyway that's what I was told the other day

JBroadway said: "everythingtaboo said: "I wish it wasn't the whole season, but I'm actually okay with this decision. The shows are going to be taking overall mammoth losses for the first few months, maybe even more than we realize, and they don't need industry-watchers like us trying to analyze the grossesto the point of guessing their fates before they've even had a chance to get on their feet again."




By that logic, they should stop reporting grosses forever. No struggling show benefitsfrom people on a message board discussing analyzingtheir underperformance. But they report the grosses anyway, and we discuss them, because it provides clarity and insight into the process. I’ve learned so much about the business of Broadway from reading and participating in the weekly grossthreads. And I value that education really highly. Plus, it can help theatre fans make informed decisions about ticket availability, and prioritizing shows based on how long they’re expected to keep running.

Yes these are extreme circumstances, but again, anybody who knows or cares about Broadway will account for the circumstances in their reading of the grosses. We on Broadwayworld can be pretty nasty at times, but we’re not so stupid as to take the grosses at face value as if nothing has happened in the past year+.

The term for this is “toxic positivity,” and the Broadway community is notorious for running rampant with it. This seems to be yet another example of it."

Firstly, I literally said I wish it wasn't even the whole season they're doing this. Secondly, unless the producers are fully transparent with all the additional funds they'll be pouring into the shows to cover the costs of restarting and running at a loss, not to mention the cost of additional Covid protocols throughout, I just don't think we'll ever have a real idea how these shows will be making any money in the initial months. That's why I don't think we'll really have any idea of how to "forecast" anything until all the shows are finally running again and are closer to having their feet steady on the ground.

With respect to the new year, would shows (excepting Hamilton) normally be well-sold this far in advance? Even if the advance sales are lower than normal, if things go well with COVID (employer mandated vaccines should increase the vaccine rate, and hopefully the infection rate will go down), people may be more comfortable going to theaters by the time we get near the new year.

As to not releasing the data, I'm in favor of whichever approach keeps shows open. Releasing data about slow sales may be fatal to a show which otherwise could have made it a little longer (those that have repaid initial investment, know they have higher sales in the spring/summer, etc.). Admittedly, having NO information can lead to rumors, which can be worse. I don't know enough about the business angle to know what the best plan is- but if not having grosses for little while keeps some shows open a little longer, then I'm fine with it.

In San Francisco, there’s no equivalent of reporting the weekly grosses publicly. Or if there is, I don’t know about it. But anyone looking for seats to a show - even a random ticket buyer like me - has a pretty good idea of what’s selling and what isn’t.

I know Hamilton, opening tonight, is selling very well. I know it was easy to get front row loge seats to a play I saw on Friday - which probably wouldn’t have happened before the pandemic.

But aside from factoring that into my ticket buying plans, I don’t really care. I realize that producers will want everyone to think their show is a big hit, for obvious reasons. I realize Broadway, in general, doesn’t want to release a bunch of grim numbers each week.

But if I can figure out how a show is selling just from looking at a seating chart in my computer, it won’t be difficult for anyone in the industry, with access to the numbers, to figure it out too.

Word will get out. If a long-running Broadway institution like Phantom of the Opera is playing to rows of empty seats every night, people will talk. Same with a hyped new show like Six or a famous revival like Company. And even the league somehow keeps everyone quiet, closing notices are a dead giveaway.

I sympathize with the decision. I just don’t think it will fool anyone and might backfire. Some information and gossip always fills an information void. And it does a disservice to shows that manage to find an audience despite everything. Plus, there will be less information showing improvement, whenever that happens.

Updated On: 8/10/21 at 04:44 AM