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Is Broadway facing a bonanza or a bloodbath?
The next two months will be packed with new productions (18 are scheduled to premiere in March and April), as the industry still struggles to adapt to the new, more challenging realities of a post-pandemic theater era.
For potential ticket buyers, there will be a dizzying array of options. By early April, about 38 shows should be playing on Broadway (the exact number depends on closings or unexpected openings between now and then).
“From a consumer standpoint, we’re excited about how many options there are on Broadway,” said Deeksha Gaur, executive director of TDF, the nonprofit that administers the discount. TKTS Stands. Anticipating that bewildered tourists will need help determining which shows to watch, TDF is already sending staff in red jackets to preview performances and update an extensive cheat sheet as employees prepare to answer questions about what the shows are about. new shows and who appears on them.
But the density of late-season releases — 11 plays and musicals over a nine-day period in late April — has producers and investors worried about how those shows will find enough ticket buyers to survive.
“On the one hand, how incredible that our industry perseveres and that there is so much new work on Broadway,” said Rachel Sussman, a lead producer on “suf”, a musical about women’s suffrage that will premiere in mid-April.
“On the other hand,” Sussman added, “we are still recovering from the pandemic and audiences have not returned in full force, so there is anxiety throughout the industry about whether we have the audience to sustain all of these shows. It’s one of those things that only time will tell.”
Here are some answers to questions about the spring season.
What new program is for me?
Looking for a favorite pop sound? Alicia Keys offers “Hell’s kitchen,“Huey Lewis has”The heart of rock and roll“, and The Who is represented with a revival of that band’s rock classic, “tommy.” “There is even a fictional work behind the music,”Stereophonic”, which combines songs by an Arcade Fire alum with narrative echoes of Fleetwood Mac.
Do you love literature? Try musical adaptations of “The Great Gatsby“, “The notebook“, “The outsiders” and “Water for elephants.”
History buffs might consider “Suffs,” which explores the battle to allow women to vote, or “Lempicka”, about an artistically and sexually adventurous painter whose life was shaken by the geopolitics of the 20th century. Those interested in more recent events can check “Patriots”, an eerily timely piece about the untimely death of a Putin critic.
And for those who want the joy of old-fashioned musical theater, “The magician” is a remake of the 1975 musical that reinvents “The Wizard of Oz,” and visits New York afterward a tour of 13 American cities.
(And those are just the new productions on Broadway, adding to the shows that are already open. There are also a number of shows opening Off-Broadway this spring, usually with different economic models, because most of those venues are non-profit organizations (while most Broadway productions are commercial, but all of them still need to find an audience).
Why are all these shows coming out at the same time?
Do you know how many of the best movies are released at the end of the year, right before the deadline to qualify for the Academy Awards? The same thing happens on Broadway, with a different calendar: this year the deadline to compete for the Tony Awards is April 25, and that is why the premieres are grouped together just before that date.
Tony nominations will be announced on April 30 and the ceremony is scheduled for June 16. Producers believe that being part of the Tony conversation, with the resulting news coverage and social media attention, will help them sell tickets. Many also believe it helps to open close to the eligibility deadline because then your shows are fresh in the minds of Tony nominators and voters.
Another factor: Summer, when New York fills with tourists, is often a lucrative season for Broadway. Shows that open in the fall have to run a long time to benefit from summer traffic, while shows that open in the spring do not.
How strong is the inclination for spring openings? The 2023-24 Broadway season is expected to feature 35 Tony-eligible plays and musicals; More than half (18) are expected to open in the final two months of the 12-month season.
Is this year more focused on April than most?
What’s happening this year is a version of what happens every year: Many shows open in April and many industry experts express concern.
“It’s crazy, but it’s also seasonal crazy: Every year we say more shows open than ever in the spring, and then sometime between July 15 and Labor Day, we say more shows close than ever. ever,” Brian Fenty said. the CEO of TodayTix, a mobile ticketing app. “After one or two shows, it’s pretty standard.”
This year’s April openings appear to be a little more concentrated in the final days of the eligibility period. Adam Feldman, Time Out New York’s senior theater critic, did a statistical analysis of openings over time, and concluded that yes, the seasons are becoming more intense in the background. This year, two dates even have two openings each, a violation of traditional Broadway etiquette, though not unprecedented.
“It’s horrible, it just puts enormous pressure on publicists, journalists, photographers and the public,” said Carole Rothman, president and artistic director of Second Stage Theatre, which will open Paula Vogel’s “Mother Play” on the final day. of the eligibility period, the same day as “The Great Gatsby” premieres. “The question is what does this mean in terms of visibility? How do we draw attention to all those works that open in a very short period of time?” she said. “And who is going to have time to generate word of mouth? “Especially for musicals, it’s going to be difficult.”
It is widely believed that the flood of vacancies creates a huge marketing challenge at a time when it is no longer clear how best to reach potential ticket buyers.
“It’s hard to stand out and get attention when there’s a premiere every night,” said John Johnson, lead producer of “Stereophonic” and executive producer of “Lempicka.” “Whether it’s their reviews, their publicity or awards season, there’s going to be a lot of noise created in April.”
Do all these openings suggest that Broadway is back?
Not precisely.
There are certainly reasons to rejoice. The large number of openings is a reminder that, contrary to some of the more pessimistic predictions made at the height of the pandemic, there are plenty of shows in the pipeline, as well as investors who say they are willing and able to finance them.
But total attendance so far this season is 16 percent below the same point in 2020, and total box office grosses are down 15 percent.
The persistence of hybrid work means there are still fewer travelers seeking after-hours entertainment in Midtown, and rising production costs make it harder for shows to reach profitability.
The post-pandemic Broadway audience is younger and more diverse than before the pandemic, and that’s a positive development for an industry that is concerned about the demographics of its audience. But one reason for the change is that, even as tourism recovers, suburban theatergoers have not returned in significant numbers.
“It’s no secret that we’re still missing a critical part of our audience,” said producer Sue Frost, who won’t be opening a show this spring but will instead focus on managing global productions of “Come From Away.”
Broadway has long been a brutal business, with far more shows failing than succeeding, and this season has been tough, especially for new musicals. Four of the six new musicals that have opened so far have already closed as financial failures, including “Once Upon a One More Time,” “Here Lies Love,” “Harmony” and “How to Dance in Ohio.” And the producers of a planned one-man comedy play, “My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?),” took one look at the busy spring and reconsidered their plans, announcing less than three weeks before previews began that they were postponing its execution.
On the other hand, the season has been decent for plays and musical revivals: success stories so far include “Merrily We Roll Along,” which is a big hit; “Guttenberg! The Musical!”, which recovered its costs just before finishing your tour; and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play, “Appropriate,” which has sold so well in a nonprofit Broadway house that a group of commercial producers is planning to move it to a for-profit house and extend your career.
Wait. Thirteen shows open in April and Tony nominations are announced on April 30? How is that possible?
There are 60 members Tony Nominating Committee, made up almost entirely of theater artists who are expected to see all Tony-eligible shows. And they are expected to watch all of those shows before voting on nominations; If they miss a show, they have to inhibit themselves.
Nominators say they are used to the struggle in April, but this year will be unusually challenging.
“When I saw the list of confirmed announcements, I thought, ‘Oh my God! “It’s a lot!” said Kamilah Forbes, Tony nominee and executive producer of the Apollo Theatre. Forbes said there will be a period in April where she will see a show every night.
“Look, I’m always for more art,” he said. “You just hope each show can find its audience.”
Pun Bandhu, an actor who is also a Tony nominee, said he had to turn down jobs to make sure he could see all the shows before the nominees met to vote.
“You basically have to clear your calendar,” he said. “I see being a nominator as a great responsibility and an honor, so I do what is necessary and obviously I love theater. But I’m also happy that this is my last year.”