Decline of Broadway?

[oripnick]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:56pm

I'm working on a piece for my journalism class, and I was hoping you might help me by providing some feedback--

I've noticed (as I'm sure you have) a startling trend that Broadway is on the decline. There are fewer new productions going up (more revivals), and the financial grosses for shows have been steadily declining over the last year or so.

Do you have any thoughts as to why this might be happening? What effects do you think this will have on Broadway? On performers? On producers? What do you think needs to be done to change this trend? What changes have you seen on Broadway in the last year(s)?

Really, it's pretty open-ended. I would be very appreciative on any thoughts you have on the 'decline of Broadway...' I'm a Broadway baby born and raised, so I feel this is a really important trend to track and write about!

Thanks so very much, and I'm looking forward to hearing your comments!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:58pm

Actually, wasn't like last year or the year before that the highest Broadway has ever been? Also, there were a ton of new musicals opening last year and a slew of ones opening this season as well. I don't think there is a decline in the number, maybe in the quality - but that is debatable.

[LeaGirl]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:00pm

You could probably go the "opinion" route and write about the decline of quality perhaps but I don't think you can argue that broadway as an entity is going anywhere, especially with last years numbers and the fact that shows are having to circle theaters like vultures to get in and get a spot.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:03pm

There are generally five or so new musicals that open up, and that's a standard, not a decline. This season alone, there are more than I've ever seen in a single year. I definitely don't think it's on a decline.

If you think about it, there haven't been too many flops in the past few years. Hairspray and Wicked have become staples of musical theatre. Avenue Q and Spamalot are two of the biggest, most innovative (I haven't seen that sort of comedy on Broadway before) hits in a while. Spelling Bee brought a new kind of show to NY, and barring Hot Feet, Lestat, and Dracula, there've been some pretty damn good hits. These have been some great years for Broadway after what I think was a decline during the post-Rent, pre-Hairspray years (with the exception of Millie, Urinetown, and a few others).

As far as finances go, things change. Though grosses may be lower, I don't think it's enough to say it's a genuine decline. Granted, the word 'decline' means to decrease, and that's what grosses are doing (Hah), but I just don't think we can call it a decline just yet. At least not until we stop getting big, big hits.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:07pm

I think Broadway simply needs a new business model. Everything from theatre rental prices to producer salaries need an over-haul. Certain middlemen need to be removed. The old ways just do not work anymore. Most mediums everything from books to radio and television have changed with the times. Broadway just stays the same.

Off-Broadway used to be a place for emerging artists to.. well emerge. Now it is just as expensive as a Broadway show.

Time to trim the fat.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:08pm

Definitely go with the decline of quality. I personally don't think that Broadway is declining. I like popular shows like Wicked and Spamalot and more sophisticated shows like Parade, Caroline, or Change, and The Light in the Piazza. I'm also a Brooklyn and Bright Lights, Big City fan. It is sad that more sophisticated shows get the cold shoulder while the Gershwin sells out (as great as Wicked was.)

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:10pm

If you watched that gem of a documentary BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE, they state that even BACK in the 1940's and every decade since they've been talking about 'the decline of Broadway'.

Yes, Broadway has had it's share of dry periods, but it's continued on AND creating gems we still talk about today. Quite a long list in each decade since the 1940's.

Diana Morales' comment about everyone telling her that 'Broadway is dying' ("but I just got here!") brings to mind this tired old remark.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:12pm

You've been misinformed. Box office grosses and attendance have actually been increasing over the last few years, with last year setting an all-time record of $862 million.

http://www.livebroadway.com/season_by_season_stats.html

There have been 39 new productions each of the last two years --the highest in well over a decade. There were only 4 musical revivals last season, fewer than in years past and barely enough to fill the Tony musical revival category (there are only 4 musical revivals slated for this current season so far). And we're in the midst of one of the busiest fall seasons in many many years, with approximately 18 shows slated to open by Xmas.

Perhaps, you should change the premise of your assignment.

[SweMozArt]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:27pm

"You've been misinformed. Box office grosses and attendance have actually been increasing over the last few years, with last year setting an all-time record of $862 million".

And the reason why Broadway and most other businesses set all-time earnings records every other year? Answer: Inflation!

Update: Obviously the attendance figures are not affected by inflation. They are however affected by a growing US population. So Broadway can sell more tickets even though the percentage of americans that visit Broadway declines (hypothetical i dont know the trends).


Updated On: 10/2/06 at 02:27 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:30pm

Margo, is it possible to determine how much of the sales difference is due to rising ticket costs? I read recently that the highest ticket price at Cats when it opened was $45. I'd imagine the current premium ticket prices would have a huge impact on sales. The sales numbers show a steady incline until they make a huge jump at the 2002-2003 season- right after The Producers started this lovely policy and the other shows started to catch on.

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:43pm

"The Black Crook" was a blockbuster on Broadway in 1866, smashing all existing records. In 1867, the first complaints were heard that Broadway was dying, and couldn't possibly last long in it's current state.

It was nicknamed "The Fabulous Invalid" in the 1920's always thought to be dying but never dead.

Why don't you do a paper on absurd statements posted in this thread?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:45pm

Yes, ticket prices have increased, but if you notice, the chart also shows that attendance has increased as well. We're now in an era where more people are going to Broadway than they have in several decades. The chart only goes back to 1984-85 when attendance was 7.34 million. Last season it was $12 million. No wonder ticket prices are increasing. They raise the top price to $110 and sell half the orchestra at $200+ premium price and yet not only does that NOT discourage anyone from going, attendance breaks an all-time record. I wonder how soon before the top price reaches the $120- $125 range (and we might see more shows not bothering to offer discounts a la A CHORUS LINE).

Declining? Broadway business is positively BOOMING.

[SweMozArt]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:46pm

There will always be a demand for live entertainment. Broadway is in a much better position then the cinema business. And even that business can be rescued by cutting costs through digitalization and by increasing the entertainment value with new techniques.

[kasim]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:00pm

I cant remember whwere i read this. But i believe when they refer to the decline of broadway they are more referring to the amount of people across the US who actually KNOW about broadway or broadway actors/actresses. I believe and take this for waht its worth, before there were much more live performances by broadway performers on late night tv shows. And so there was a general sense of culture and entertainment from their. And that has been changed by movies now as the more cultural centerpiece.

[SweMozArt]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:01pm

Lets assume that there would be a sudden upsurge in the interest for musicals in the midwest. This would have as an effect that many more people traveled to New York to watch Broadway shows resulting in an upsurge of attendance figures and grosses (in real terms). However most of the born again musical fans in the midwest would go to the closer location of Las Vegas which would outgrow Broadway in attendance figures, box office and eventually prestige, since the best new shows would choose Las Vegas as the premiere location. However there would still be the same number of new shows premiering on Broadway and they would have the same quality as now. Would this be a decline or not for Broadway?

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:04pm

I think you should also consider everyone involved in Broadway from audiences to lyricists and think about their wants and needs. Are they being met? A financial decline or ascent is not the same thing as decline of artistic standards and values. What is more important money, art or getting to an audience? Are Broadway shows affecting culture in the country/city, are they supposed to? Have they in the past? What is the purpose of this art form?

The biggest problem as I mentioned before is the business model. Some people say “if it’s not broke don’t fix it.” I’m not sure Broadway isn’t broken. All I ever hear from creative people is how difficult it is. It’s much easier to find work in television. This could not be more apparent than when you see these theatre festivals in town. Why are they always sold-out? Why can’t these shows get produced? In the old days, at least Off-Broadway was an option.

I used to work in the animation business, and it has similar hit or miss life cycle. It’s usually either booming or dooming. Right now animation is coming off a huge CGI boom and the market flooded with new content. Some would say it is on a decline because the market is over-saturated and the creativity is gone. Some could argue that more art is being made, and the sum of all the entire animation box-office is bigger than any previously.

[hannahshule]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:05pm

Tommy Tune put it best, "Broadway's like an old hooker. Past it's prime, but keeps putting out while it still can."

But really, there's been a drought of originality and inventivness. Everything's too reliant on special effects, and if you want my opinion, the charcters aren't interesting anymore. And everything's based on movies. And don't forget stunt casting!
That's my take, which are some of the reasons I've been turned off on Boradway a bit in the last couple of years.

C'est mon avis!

[SweMozArt]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:19pm

Yeah, Broadways status can be measured with different parameters; the artistical level of new shows, the artistical level of revivals, the box office and the influence of Broadway upon the USA and the world.

[javero]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:31pm

I think a post-mortem on American cinema is in order rather than a pronouncement of Broadway’s impending doom. This is a digression but cinema U.S.A. is scraping by on overseas rental receipts, DVD-transfers, and merchandising. Only low-budget niche films are making a return on investment from domestic box office receipts alone, think Tyler Perry’s Madea franchise.

The summer blockbusters that the major studios crave are increasingly flopping due in part to the astronomical salary demands of the A-list stars, exorbant production costs in the States including 35 mm prints, a mafia-like distribution system and Hollywood’s obsession with either generic, one-size-fits-all feel good movie fare or one-man-taking-on-the-world action flicks replete with special effects from Hell or yet another Cameron Diaz/Sandra Bullock/Julia Roberts/Reneé Zellweger feel-good chick flick. Anyone who has tracked Antonio Banderas’ film career knows that Spain did something akin to ‘Brokeback Mountain’ at least a decade ago thanks to the Almodóvar brothers.

Another digression on my part is that Denzel Washington is still worried about an on-screen romance with a white woman affecting box office receipts in select parts of the country. So much could be said about that admission but I’m just gonna leave it alone. Broadway is still safe haven for thinking persons in the States and a forum for vanguard entertainment. Most Broadway regulars over 40 years old that I’m acquainted with are quick to point out that they’re outgrown pop records including Madonna’s, the Mission Impossible 15 screen debut, any movie title containing the phrase “When Harry Met …” or “Star …” or “Space…” or “Scary…”.

An excellent book on the topic of American cinema is "Edward J. Epstein, The Big Picture (Random House)". The author chronicles the rise and sputter of Hollywood from it's initial break from the theater/legal mafia back east to present-day. Can anyone recommend a similar book on Broadway?

Updated On: 10/2/06 at 03:31 PM