Ever since the theater industry’s post-lockdown return, one question has loomed large: When will Broadway return to the heights of the last full season before the pandemic, when both sales and attendance hit record numbers? This season, it’s going to be close.
As the industry gears up for its annual spring rush, The Broadway League has reported season-to-date statistics that put Broadway at around 95% of the sales and attendance totals from the same time frame in 2018-19, which saw sales of $1.84 billion from 14.77 million visitors.
But some industry leaders have begun to look beyond that one big question. “The 2018-19 season was a high-water mark, but we don’t see that as a goal,” says Jason Laks, the president of The Broadway League. “We see it as a marker of something we want to reach and keep going past, and right now, this is an industry that’s coming back strong in a way that’s really encouraging.
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With 14 productions opening between now and the end of April and awards season on the horizon, here’s what Broadway is talking about this spring.
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HIGH STATS
According to the League’s weekly reports, Broadway had raked in $1.49 billion by week 44 of the 2024-25 season (the week ending March 23), with attendance at 11.65 million. (“Good Night, and Good Luck,” headlined by George Clooney, recently shattered records for a play, earning $3.3 million over seven previews.) Both those numbers are close to 20% higher than the totals logged last season at this point, and the theater business is also heartened that for the first time since 2018, all 41 Broadway houses have been occupied this season.
With projections for city tourism higher than ever and Broadway’s spring slate filling out over the next month with big titles and even bigger stars, the momentum should continue — and maybe even reach those 2018-19 peaks.
HIGH COSTS
Mitigating all those high hopes is the fact that over the past few years, production costs have spiked — which makes it harder and harder for a show to recoup its expenses, much less turn a profit. It’s one thing to note that more shows than ever are reporting grosses of more than $1 million a week (20 out of 33 shows for the week ending March 23), but with weekly running costs for many newer musicals easily averaging somewhere in the range of $900,000, a million-dollar week doesn’t necessarily make a show a hit anymore. It could mean it’s just getting by.
BIG STARS
An ultra-starry lineup looks sure to keep Broadway in the media spotlight all spring, with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal starring in “Othello,” Clooney headlining “Good Night, and Good Luck,” recent Oscar winner Kieran Culkin appearing in “Glengarry Glen Ross” and Sarah Snook performing all the roles in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” — not to mention Nick Jonas in “The Last Five Years,” Sadie Sink in “John Proctor Is the Villain,” and the arrival of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” an adaptation of the show that made Sink famous.
STICKER-SHOCK HEADLINES
Big stars command hefty price tags — and this spring, some of the starriest plays are selling at Taylor Swift prices. “Othello” has hit $921 (and for the week ending March 23, the price paid per ticket averaged $303.15), while “Good Night, and Good Luck” (averaging $302.07) and “Glengarry” have both approached $800 for their priciest seats.
Outraged headlines have ensued, along with significant concerns about accessibility. Still, industry leaders point out that plenty of shows offer tickets for less than $100; for the week ending March 23, Broadway’s overall average ticket price came in at just under $140.
A TIGHTENING TONY RACE
Is it too soon to talk about frontrunners for the Tony Awards? Absolutely — but that doesn’t mean everyone isn’t already doing it. Early nomination contenders for the top new musical trophy include critical faves “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Dead Outlaw,” freshly opened “Buena Vista Social Club,” splashy comedy “Death Becomes Her” and Olivier-winning import “Operation Mincemeat.” And then there’s the best actress in a musical race, which could pit Audra McDonald (“Gypsy”) against Nicole Scherzinger (“Sunset Blvd.”) in a standoff for the ages.
Of course, any of that could change in the next four weeks — and who doesn’t love a springtime surprise?
