Broadway’s $900 Ticket Problem: Why Streaming Is the Solution

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

Let’s be real: Broadway is expensive.

If you’ve ever tried to buy a ticket—especially in the last couple years—you know exactly what I’m talking about. Whether you’re a theatre kid visiting New York for the first time or a lifelong fan who just wants to see a show without dipping into your savings, the price of admission feels more like a luxury than a cultural experience.

According to The Broadway League, the average ticket price for the 2022-2023 season was $128.19. For a family of four, that’s over $500 for one night of live theatre—and that’s before dinner, parking, or transportation.

But that’s just the average. Lately, we’ve seen premium tickets skyrocket to an entirely different level. Case in point: the upcoming Broadway production of Othello starring Denzel Washington. Some premium seats are listed at over $900—nine hundred dollars for one ticket to a Shakespeare play.

Now, I love Denzel. The man’s a legend. And I’m sure that the production will be unforgettable. But a $900 ticket? We’re no longer pretending that Broadway is accessible to the average person. We’ve reached a point where live theatre is priced like a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience—and the sad part is, for many people, that’s exactly what it is.

But I don’t believe it has to be this way. And here’s the thing we’re not talking about enough: Broadway tickets won’t get cheaper—not really—until we embrace streaming as part of the model.

Streaming Isn’t Selling Out. It’s Scaling Up.

I know, I know. The purists out there are already clutching their pearls. “Theatre is meant to be live! It’s about being in the room!” And yes, I agree—the in-person experience is powerful. It’s sacred. But when that experience costs more than someone’s rent, it’s time to offer another option.

I’ve said this before - streaming doesn’t replace live theatre—it amplifies it. It’s the bridge between access and exclusivity.

Look at Hamilton on Disney+. That release didn’t ruin the show—it reinvigorated it. It gave students, families, educators, and theatre fans worldwide a chance to experience something they otherwise never could. And what happened? The brand of Hamilton exploded. It stayed culturally relevant. The live version didn’t suffer—it thrived.

Or take Come From Away on Apple TV+. That beautiful, intimate capture didn’t just extend the life of the show—it introduced it to entirely new audiences. People cried in their living rooms. Teachers assigned it in classrooms. And the ticket sales kept rolling in.

We Already Know This Works

Streaming opens doors. It’s scalable. It builds future ticket buyers, not replaces them.

Right now, Broadway productions rely almost entirely on butts in seats. That’s it. So when a show needs to recoup its investment, the only lever they can pull is… raising prices. But if you could supplement those costs with revenue from a streaming release—educational licensing, subscriptions, VOD—suddenly, you’re not just relying on the people who can afford orchestra seats in NYC. You’re building a broader, more sustainable audience.

And honestly? That sounds like the healthiest thing we could be doing for the future of this industry.

We Need to Stop Pretending Access Is the Same as Affordability

Sure, some people will still line up for rush tickets. Some will win lotteries. But those systems aren’t scalable. It is not equity. It is luck.

If we’re serious about theatre being for everyone, we must get serious about distribution. Film it beautifully. Pay the artists fairly. Put it on platforms where people are already watching content—and then reinvest that visibility into live tours, educational outreach, and future productions.

This isn’t a fantasy. It’s already happening. We’re just moving slowly; in the meantime, people are being priced out of an art form they love.

The Bottom Line

Until we expand the Broadway model beyond the box office, ticket prices will not drop. They can’t. The current system just doesn’t allow for it.

But streaming? That’s the future. And it’s not about diluting the magic—it’s about sharing it with the kid in Kansas, the teacher in Detroit, and the parent who wants to introduce their child to Shakespeare but can’t swing $900 for Othello.

Let’s not wait another decade to make this shift. Let’s figure it out now—for our artists, our students, our audiences, and the sustainability of theatre itself.

Because Broadway can still be Broadway—and also be for everyone.