Houston, we have a problem.
For the second year in a row, the attendance on Broadway- meaning the total number of patrons that purchased tickets in any given season- has fallen. Badly. First, the 2011-2012 Season fell a, mind you, minimal 2% from the previous year. However, when the Broadway League posted the data from the 2012-2013 Season, I believe there was a universal gasp on Manhattan that could be heard all the way in Staten Island.
Attendance had fallen another 6%.
Uh oh.
So, what’s wrong? Well, there was Hurricane Sandy… And all of the hits didn’t open until the spring… And the fall season was weak overall… And I could go on like this all day, but I think there’s one major problem at play: TICKET PRICES.
The irony of this statistic is found when you place it next to its sibling- Broadway’s total revenue for the season- and you see that while attendance has fallen, revenue has stayed in the same healthy range. Or perhaps not so healthy… This simply means that we’re paying more for tickets, and it’s not surprising. When you’re forced to take out a second mortgage on your home to see The Book of Mormon, drop your insurance to cover tickets for Betrayal with Daniel Craig, or sell a kidney to see Motown, you know we have a problem.
Of course, this is nothing new. Dynamic pricing has been common ever since scalpers were getting $700 for a ticket to The Producers, and the producers of, umm, The Producers realized that they could capitalize on it. If people would spend the money- it might as well go back to the investors.
Fair enough.
But now, in my practically irrelevant opinion, it’s all too common. Every show has premium pricing, whether it’s a small play or a big musical, and if you want to see the show in “good” seats, you better be setting up that nephrectomy soon.
So, Broadway is slowly marginalizing its audience. Before long, Broadway really will only be for the “elite.” Yuck.
Will Broadway die? Probably not. In fact, this decrease is attendance versus increase in revenue could probably go on for quite a few years without hurting the industry. But, what would start to die? The room for art on Broadway. Shows will continue to be produced, but it won’t take long for the New York rich-types and gray-haired ladies from Connecticut and Long Island to slow in their ability to see numerous shows a year. Before long, we’ll all be seeing a Broadway show just once a year, if that. There won’t be room for the groundbreaking new musical like Next to Normal, or hoards of Shakespeare plays (like we have this fall). Instead, everything will be reduced to that one day in a blue moon when the family splurges and buys nice seats to Wicked. And hey, I love Wicked as much as the next person, but a high-priced, blockbuster Broadway is not the type of Broadway I want to see all the time. The beauty in our industry is the range you can see from Spider-Man to The Glass Menagerie, and when economics takes that away from us, I won’t be a happy camper.
So, what can you do? In terms of ticket prices, probably not much, unless you’re a brilliant negotiator able to convince the unions to get over themselves and the producers to get an ego check. But, you can still do a lot. First of all, you can do what you’re doing right now; stay interested in Broadway. Reading about it, talking about, putting it out there in social media. Be a beacon for Broadway, because we need all the publicity we can get. Also, find ways to see shows cheaply and share those ways with others. Whether you can organize a group to get a discount, wake up at the crack of dawn for rush seats, or help direct people to websites like broadwaybox.com, you can get the news out there that there are ways for everyone to see a show. And most of all, support the small shows. Support the quirky shows. Trust me, The Lion King doesn’t need your money, and it’s going to be around for a long while. Pick something different, and you’ll probably find it’s significantly more affordable as well!
The statistics may be telling us that Broadway is turning towards the elite, but we have to say no. It’s up to us not to let it happen. Let’s keep the Broadway we love, and hopefully keep our kidneys in the process.
Now, go see a show!