Broadway Attendance, Sales Hit Records

The business is definitely booming at Broadway this season. And the sales, attendance statistics speak for themselves as about $1.36 billion earned in 2014-2015 and more than 13.1 million audience attended shows.

Capitalism /4/have its boom and bust cycles but at Broadway, the business is just booming. In 2014-2015 season, there were over 13 million people who attended the plays and features shown at Broadway and about $1.36 billion raked in by these shows at the box office, according to WSJ. 

There are actually several factors that contribute to the high profits amassed by the shows at Broadway. Among these /4/be included the wide range of interesting topics chosen, different show times and the variegated costs of the entry tickets. During the previous year, 37 novel shows have been narrated on stage at the platform that is Broadway. 

These include Fish in the Dark which is by Larry David and had him starring as one of the actors too. Then there are the musical medleys titled An American in Paris and Fun Home. Both gained widespread accolades and bagged a dozen Tony Awards each. The fame of the shows is often caused by the subtle art of rumor that spreads the word. 

This /4/also be responsible for the rise in the sales of the tickets. The past year has seen audience interest rise by 7% and it had also increased by 13% since the year 2012. One of the reasons for this bulge in figures is that the overall number of weeks when shows are shown have multiplied. Then there were a few losing numbers such as Doctor Zhivago and Living on Love. But Fish in the Dark was a hit alright. 

Renowned faces as that of Helen Mirren in The Audience have sparked renewed interest among audience members who want to see plays at Broadway. Theater seems to be making something of a comeback. With programs as Glee and Smash, the trend is clear. And of course with such shows as Peter Pan and The Sound of Music being revived as live theatrical works on TV, the way is being made for a change for the better.  

“It’s been an extraordinary season on Broadway, and I’m thrilled that we have broken all records,” Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement. “We’ve been saying for several years now that there is something for everyone on Broadway; to have audience growth of over 13 percent in two years clearly proves our point.”

Broadway has in many ways become a barometer of the cultural theocrasia of the United States. We can say that such a status is enjoyed by Hollywood too. Airline Highway and The Book of Mormon had high-priced tickets precisely because they were worth watching. But it is not just the popularity or the sudden swarming of the cultural consumers (read movie buffs) that is the crucial catalyst. The thing is that discounts for families attending the shows have also played their role in increasing audience participation.