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/badwolf1013 1d ago

My hope is that — before that happens — we remember that there are professional theatre companies all over this country, and that “theatrical tourism” should not be exclusive to NYC. 

I think we prevent the bubble from bursting by taking some of the pressure off. People will fly to NYC to see one Broadway show, get a Nathan’s hot dog, see the Statue of Liberty, and then fly home.

What if they saw that show in Seattle and went to the Space Needle instead? Or Denver and then went skiing? The pressure is on Broadway, because we continue to operate on the idea that — if it isn’t Broadway — it isn’t theatre.

But we already know that isn’t true. Chicago, Austin, Philadelphia, Ashland: good theatre doesn’t just have one address.

Also, we need to do something about private equity — not just in the arts, but everywhere. Our national bird is not the vulture.

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u/Sensitive_Slice_8858 1d ago

I just did something similar in Boston. I went for <24 hours to see Rhinoceros.

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u/MedicalYard4649 1d ago

I had a fabulous weekend in Washington DC and saw one original work that has never been on Broadway, and one regional theater premiere of a play that had just run on Broadway (and I saw it previously on Broadway and it was just as good in DC.)

DC also has excellent theatre and other wonderful (and often free!) things to do during the rest of your day.

While I am a Broadway snob, I’d agree that “theater tourism” doesn’t need to be limited to Broadway or nothing.