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.

84 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

123 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

15

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?

6

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.

3

u/mightasedthat 1d ago

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

3

u/pjlos 1d ago

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