The onslaught of new musicals this spring made folks change-up their normal operating procedure. Competing shows opened on the same night.  Ad campaigns were created in 48 hours.  Creatives were working on two or more shows at once. One byproduct of our overstocked pond could end up as a Broadway version of Viagra – in the way that Viagra was meant to solve one problem (heart disease) and ended up solving an entirely different one.  Here’s what happened: At least two shows I know of had challenges scheduling their opening nights.  As I wrote about in this blog, Broadway sh ..read more

This morning on April 30, 2024, Tony Award winners Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jesse Tyler Ferguson announced the nominees for the 77th Annual Tony Awards. This season, 36 musicals and plays were eligible – which means 36 musicals and plays opened on Broadway during the eligibility period from April 28, 2023 to April 25, 2024. Congrats to ALL 36 musicals and plays that made it to Broadway! And congratulations to all this year’s nominees. Hell’s Kitchen and Stereophonic tie for the most Tony nominations this year. To see each category, scroll for the complete list. And tune in to watch Ariana D ..read more

You’ve heard it before. But maybe you haven’t quite understood it. And don’t worry, you’re not alone.  I’d bet a “1 for 1” deal on Hamilton that a huge percentage of people who HAVE “1 for X” deals on Broadway as an Investor or Producer don’t quite understand what they mean or how they’re calculated. What further complicates it are the different ways they are offered.   It took me a long time to get it.  And sometimes I still have to sit down and draw pictures and do old fashioned algebra to figure it out.   That’s why I decided to break down for you (and me!) in ..read more

The top 10 grossing shows from the week ending in 4/21/2024 include The Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton,  MJ the Musical, The Wiz, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Aladdin, Merrily We Roll Along, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. See some quick data points below. Number of Shows on Broadway: 36 Previous Week: 36 Total Gross: $34,650,614.34 Previous Week: $35,535,213.75 Total Attendance: 299,107 Previous Week: 292,028 Average Capacity: 9,078 (91.53%) Previous Week: 8,916 (90.98%) Average Paid Admission: $112.58 Previous Week: $118.39 Check out th ..read more

As this season winds down, I’m already hearing whispers in the wind of what’s coming next season. Some shows announced their NY plans.  Some are expected to announce.  And some are still rumors. But if things shake out the way some people are suggesting . . . next year could have a very interesting theme to it. And maybe, hopefully, it’s the theme that the public has been waiting for.  Because we need that public back and in a big, big way. Because all the marketing magic in the world won’t work unless the shows we produce are the shows audiences want . . .  nope . . . wil ..read more

The top 10 grossing shows from the week ending in 4/14/2024 include The Lion King, Hamilton, Wicked, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, MJ the Musical, Merrily We Roll Along, Aladdin, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and The Wiz. See some quick data points below. Number of Shows on Broadway: 36 Previous Week: 37 Total Gross: $35,535,213.75 Previous Week: $39,445,823.39 Total Attendance: 292,028 Previous Week: 305,211 Average Capacity: 8,916 (90.98%) Previous Week: 8,797 (93.74%) Average Paid Admission: $118.39 Previous Week: $123.93 Check out the individual ..read more

The history of pricing on Broadway: Way way back: One price for each section. Way back: Premium tickets for the best in the house. It first started with the Broadway Inner Circle on The Producers. $480 got you a private entrance and one of the best seats in the house. It was our first attempt to beat brokers at their own game. The now: Finally catching up with airlines, ticketing analysts suggest new prices daily. Prices flex up and down with demand. Unlike airlines, this work is manual. Variable Pricing is the reason why the $1 Million Dollar Club is no longer the cool club in town. Because ..read more

The top 10 grossing shows from the week ending in 4/7/2024 include The Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton, Aladdin, MJ the Musical, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Back to the Future: The Musical. See some quick data points below. Number of Shows on Broadway: 37 Previous Week: 32 Total Gross: $39,445,823.39 Previous Week: $37,095,505.27 Total Attendance: 305,211 Previous Week: 271,802 Average Capacity: 8,797 (93.74%) Previous Week: 8,768 (96.60%) Average Paid Admission: $123.93 Previous Wee ..read more

There’s more Tony nomination talk this year than ever before. Why? There are more people eligible for Tony nominations than almost ever before. There are 15 new musicals eligible. There are 6 revivals of musicals. 11 plays and 4 revivals of plays. Those Tony Nominators haven’t been home for a regular dinner time in months. (Being a Nominator feels like one of those jobs we all would want – but I feel for them. Seasons like this can’t be easy on their lives. And having to binge-watch all these shows in April has got to zap some of the joy out of seeing theater. So to the Nominators: thank you ..read more

The top 10 grossing shows from the week ending in 3/31/2024 include The Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton, Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, MJ the Musical, Merrily We Roll Along, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Back to the Future: The Musical. See some quick data points below. Number of Shows on Broadway: 32 Previous Week: 26 Total Gross: $37,095,505.27 Previous Week: $28,519,828.02 Total Attendance: 271,802 Previous Week: 229,911 Average Capacity: 8,768 (96.60%) Previous Week: 9,528 (92.79%) Average Paid Admission: $130.25 Previous Week: $1 ..read more