Interesting NPR report on this crowded Broadway season

[DaveyG]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 11:24am

http://www.npr.org/2017/03/26/521399191/broadway-producers-reckon-with-a-crowded-season

Updated On: 3/27/17 at 11:24 AM

[elephantseye]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 11:38am

Are we calling A Bronx Tale a hit? Genuinely asking.

 

Otherwise, interesting article, although I think it's worth including ticket prices in a conversation about hits on Broadway. The two main factors for how many shows people are going to see are time and money. I'm not going to give a show like In Transit a shot if I only have a few days in the city, or I only have a couple hundred dollars. I literally can't afford to give smaller shows a chance.

[haterobics]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 11:39am

elephantseye said: "Are we calling A Bronx Tale a hit? Genuinely asking."

Making $800K+ a week, so yeah...

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 11:53am

"I literally can't afford to give smaller shows a chance."

That is so, so unfortunate- and I say this in a broad sense. This is why "un-commercialized" theatrical pieces suffer...big shots who control the money control the art. Which is why I network with as many people as possible...these days, luck is just as important as talent and hard work.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:09pm

In the for profit, commercial side of art it has NEVER been about the "talent" or "hard work." It's about the profitably, appeal, and marketability. That is how commerce has always worked, whether fair or not; whether right or not. Being an artistic property/product doesn't change anything about that fact. 

[carnzee]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:16pm

I wasn't aware that the Broadway audience was going down. I used to get one of those world almanacs each year and it always showed the audience going up. Seems odd with the glut of quality shows.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:17pm

That's very true, Liza, but the issue only seems to be exacerbated as of late. Maybe it's just me...

[elephantseye]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:25pm

carnzee said: "I wasn't aware that the Broadway audience was going down. I used to get one of those world almanacs each year and it always showed the audience going up. Seems odd with the glut of quality shows."

According to this, attendance has remained relatively stable, with the exception of the 2012/2013 season, and audiences numbers have actually (fairly minutely) increased in the past few seasons.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:30pm

I love NPR but when I read this story on my twitter timeline this morning I was surprised at how little information is here. It's like: open your show in the spring...and that's all it says.

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:50pm

Facts are dangerous things.  5 of the last 10 Best Musical winners did not open in the spring.  (or Six, as Once opened March 18, which is a few days before official "spring"  or you could say 4 of last 6 winners were Spring openers - but two of last three were not Spring openers

August 2015 - Hamilton

April 2015 - Fun Home

November 2013 - Gentleman's Guide

April 2013 - Kinky Boots

March 2012 - Once 

March 2011 - Book of Mormon

October 2009 - Memphis

November 2008 - Billy Elliot

March 2008 - In The Heights

December 2006 - Spring Awakening

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:54pm

Great point!

[NYJoe]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 12:55pm

I would advise listening to the report; the written version is extremely edited and truncated.

[BWAYLeaks]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 2:04pm

Thanks. This is a great article. Broadway is still feeling the "Hamilton effect" with this very crowded season of new musicals. Many of these shows have been circling Broadway for years, but avoided opening last season - and now we are overwhelmed with new musicals. It's wonderful for the art form, since it feels like an embarrassment of riches artistically this season. But, it's "dog eat dog" for new musicals at the box office. The competition is fierce. It also makes for a very unpredictable Tony Award season as far as "best musical".

[haterobics]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 2:44pm

BWAYLeaks said: "Many of these shows have been circling Broadway for years, but avoided opening last season - and now we are overwhelmed with new musicals."

Were there empty theaters last season?!?

[Trish2]

Posted: 3/27/17 at 4:23pm

Odd that they didn't include ANASTASIA is the film to stage adaptations. It's been kicking around for years and had that successful run at Hartford. Though after the fact, those grosses out today look pretty sweet!

[djoko84]

Posted: 3/28/17 at 1:05am

That article was pretty terrible. More and more Tony-winning shows are opening in the fall rather than the Spring. It started with Hairspray when it opened in the summer the year before and became a huge hit all year till the Tonys. 

Also, opening a show the same year as a big hit like Hamilton can be great for a show because people will try for Hamilton, 99% won't get in, and the rest will need a backup show to go to.

[binau]

Posted: 4/5/17 at 6:07pm

ggersten said: "Facts are dangerous things.  5 of the last 10 Best Musical winners did not open in the spring.  (or Six, as Once opened March 18, which is a few days before official "spring"  or you could say 4 of last 6 winners were Spring openers - but two of last three were not Spring openers

August 2015 - Hamilton

April 2015 - Fun Home

November 2013 - Gentleman's Guide

April 2013 - Kinky Boots

March 2012 - Once 

March 2011 - Book of Mormon

October 2009 - Memphis

November 2008 - Billy Elliot

March 2008 - In The Heights

December 2006 - Spring Awakening

 

"

Gentlemen's Guide is a perfect example of why people want to open in the spring - it wasn't until its string of Tony Nominations and eventual win that it made any money. 

 

[djoko84]

Posted: 4/5/17 at 8:39pm

Actually, A Gentleman's Guide needed all of that time to gain great word-of-mouth and show Tony voters it had legs. It wouldn't have been able to do that had it opened in the Spring. I think it was great for them to open in the Fall. Had they opened in the Spring, they would've been lost in a crowded season. They were able to set themselves apart from all of the other shows.

[RJEvans]

Posted: 4/5/17 at 9:25pm

elephantseye said: "carnzee said: "I wasn't aware that the Broadway audience was going down. I used to get one of those world almanacs each year and it always showed the audience going up. Seems odd with the glut of quality shows."

According to this, attendance has remained relatively stable, with the exception of the 2012/2013 season, and audiences numbers have actually (fairly minutely) increased in the past few seasons.

 

"

I've done the math. Since 1997, the audience increased 30%, while grosses increased 179%.