Decline of Broadway?

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!

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.

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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.

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.

"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

"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?

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.

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?

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!

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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?

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