The 3 Ways Broadway Survives the Next 50 Years

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

It’s time for some real talk. It’s time to lay out the facts. It’s time to be honest. The costs of producing and attending a Broadway production are not going to decrease in the coming years. It’s not as if all of a sudden multiple factors are going to take place that will significantly decrease how much it takes to produce big-budget musicals or buy tickets for the front mezzanine. We’ve lost that battle. It’s just not going to happen.

If anything, it’s going to get more expensive. And what we will see are more star-driven pieces with ticket prices well into the three digits. In about a decade, we will look back fondly on Hugh Jackman‘s ‘The Music Man’, remembering how cheap it was to buy a ticket for that.

I’m sorry if my prognostication sounds a bit bleak. But if anyone is telling you anything different, they are either lying to you, or they have a hand in why Broadway is becoming more and more expensive.

My biggest fear with all of this is that it is going to lead to less original and bold productions being produced and certain audiences being priced out of seeing them. You might not agree, but I feel we’ve already seen that happen with shows such as ‘K-pop’ and ‘A Strange Loop.’ I would not be surprised if ‘Here Lies Love’ faces the same issues, despite being incredible work.

So what can be done? How can we make sure that bold pieces will be seen on Broadway and that people will be able to afford them? How are we going to be able to make sure that the Broadway industry doesn’t just survive on a few tourist-favorite shows?

Well, I have a plan. In fact, I have three of them.

Now what I am suggesting is not some sort of a revolutionary idea. I’m sure others have thought along the same lines. But in my opinion, these three ideas are pretty much the only way this industry is going to not only survive but thrive over the next decades. Let’s dig in.

Fully commit to a streaming option

Streaming networks have not only changed the way we view movies and TV, but they have changed the way we consume entertainment. There is no doubt about that. Very few movies will draw crowds in the ways they used to before the pandemic, and the same could be said for Broadway audiences. This is why it is surprising to me that producers and theater owners and unions, and anyone else involved, haven’t figured out a streaming option for Broadway shows.

Last year, I presented a plan where streaming could work. It involves simply taping one performance a week from multiple different camera angles. Then the viewer will be able to purchase watching that performance from certain views. A higher price would be available for closer views. While the regular theatergoer might not jump all over a streaming option, it would certainly appeal to those who aren’t able to get to New York to see a Broadway show, let alone afford a ticket.

with theater capacities set to specific numbers, there is a certain maximum that Broadway shows can make. Having an affordable streaming option would bring in more revenue while not significantly raising cost.

Everything is a limited run until extended

This is a trend that I am starting to see gradually becoming more and more of a norm. With the enormous costs of launching a Broadway production and then operating it from a week-to-week basis, the need for a quick turnaround of profit seems to be more and more of a priority than ever before.

A good way to solve this is by making every production that opens on Broadway a limited run. Whether it’s 12 weeks or six months or maybe even something shorter, this would help decrease some of the costs from an Investment standpoint as well as providing opportunities to extend a production if it is selling well. Too many times, we’ve seen productions open on Broadway which are open-ended have to end up closing quickly because they weren’t successful in their first month of being opened. But if everything was a short run to start off, there’s a better chance that shows could extend due to positive issues, word of mouth, etc.

Multi-theatre packages

The final suggestion, which I don’t know how many producers or theater owners will be up for this, is creating some sort of multi-ticket package where buyers could buy a package of tickets to multiple shows in theaters owned by the same organization.

So audiences could buy an entire package to Nederlander-owned theatres and see not only long-running shows like The Lion Kong but also new shows such as Six or the upcoming Shucked. Revenue from these packages could be spread out to all the participating productions. Would this sustain a new project in need of funds to keep running? Not alone, but it certainly could help.

Are these the only three great ideas that will save Broadway in the 2030s and 40s? Definitely not. But new and bold ideas are going to be needed, which is why the powers that be need to start some serious ideation. I, just like all of you, want the Broadway industry to thrive for my entire lifetime and my children’s. So I’m hoping plans are being put in place to make sure that happens.