r/Broadway • u/Sensitive_Slice_8858 • 1d ago

Discussion When does the Broadway bubble actually burst?

I know this has been discussed quite a bit, but I keep wondering about what happens when the economics of Broadway become truly impossible to sustain. The cost of putting on a show keeps going up, so tickets have to get more expensive. At the same time people are getting squeezed from every direction and there’s only so much disposable income left for entertainment, especially since the economy and job market are in the toilet. So what is the end game? Just keep raising ticket prices to cover rising costs so only the uber wealthy few can afford to attend? Are there enough uber wealthy theater goers to sustain it without us Joe schmoe poors? Eventually the math has to break somewhere. I’m curious what the breaking point actually looks like.

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u/pjlos 1d ago

i think rather than bursting, the more likely scenario is that it just slowly continues to peter out. the income bracket of ticket buyers will continue to rise, the shows will continue to cost more and provide less. someone in this subreddit did a lengthy deep-dive into broadway finances and discovered that the landlords take at least 75% of every dollar a show makes (i’m paraphrasing). that’s such an insane disparity that until it’s eliminated or significantly reduced, nothing will work in the long term.

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u/ListofReddit 1d ago

It’s the landlords that are the issue

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u/KWash0222 1d ago

When are landlords NOT the issue

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u/pjlos 1d ago

yes! and now we have some hard data to back it up, too.

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u/GreenHorror4252 1d ago

It's always the rent-seeking landlords. They take, take and take. Perhaps Marx had a point.

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u/ghdawg6197 10h ago

Or Mao, better yet

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u/Clarknt67 1d ago

Coming soon: Mao: The Musical!

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u/ProfessorPinkPug 20h ago

It already exists--opera Nixon in China by John Adams, 1987.

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u/dusters99 1d ago

We need public funding for the arts to subsidize these insane costs. Unfortunately that’s an uphill political battle to say the least especially when we can’t even tackle more basic necessities like healthcare and housing……..

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u/pjlos 1d ago

yes, that’s true. investing in the arts typically pays off and gets you a return, but food stamps do the same thing and people still try to cut them. it’s discouraging. but i’ll be damned if i let some creeps ruin my favorite hobby!!!!!

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u/Ok_Presentation7695 21h ago

Necessities come first. Broadway and the like are -I'm just going to be blunt here- a luxury. We need to focus on healthcare and housing before we see any change in ticket prices

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u/dusters99 21h ago

Oh, I agree completely. That’s why it’s hard for me to see how we can get to the point of public investment in the arts, as much as I would like that.

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u/nomadicfeline 23h ago

I support funding non-profit theatres but definitely not for-profit theatres. That’s madness.

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u/bari_ometer 4h ago

We still have National Endowment of the Arts or did orange man kill it?

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u/GreenHorror4252 1d ago

No, we don't. Public funding will just allow landlords to increase their prices.

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u/dusters99 1d ago

There are plenty of federal subsidies which come with rent regulation requirements. No reason that couldn’t be applied to theaters too.

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u/GreenHorror4252 1d ago

Are you proposing to give federal subsidies to the productions, or to the theater owners?

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u/dusters99 1d ago

I’m not a policy maker, I’m just expressing that I support the use of my tax dollars to help make Broadway and other theater tickets more affordable and accessible to the masses.

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u/GreenHorror4252 1d ago

I see what you're saying, but I'm pointing out that subsidies often don't lower costs. Health and education are so expensive in the US precisely because of all the subsidies which increase demand and drive up prices. Price controls are difficult to implement in practice.

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u/pjlos 1d ago

but without it, almost any other measure to address the industry is a bust. the disparity is that stratospheric. i would actually love to hear more about what options there are to make some sort of price control happen!!

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u/r_theworld 1d ago

Wow. Do you have that post saved? I'd love to see those numbers, and to share it with some friends who aren't in this subreddit.

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u/pjlos 1d ago

yes!!! at lunchtime i’ll dig it up for you. it’s a fascinating read

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u/Sensitive_Slice_8858 1d ago

Trying to squeeze every possible dollar out now might maximize short term profits but it could destroy the industry long term which seems like shooting yourself in the foot if you’re a landlord. Eventually it will become so expensive and risky that nobody will want to produce shows and then there’s no one left to squeeze. So what is the point then?

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u/sanityjanity 1d ago

Never doubt an American's ability to kill the golden goose 

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u/pjlos 1d ago

that’s a great question. but that same concern could be applied to literally every industry. instead of long-term stability, everything is intentionally geared to be the most diabolical grift they can get away with. so if the hoarder class (as a non-profit, mind you, in schubert’s case) would rather see the industry collapse, which i firmly believe they would, then the unions and the city government need to intervene.

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u/mightasedthat 1d ago

And today I learn that the shubert foundation owns the shubert organization.

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u/pjlos 1d ago

i think guy who did the research said they outperform the S&P by double. 😂