Don't bother going to NYC for a show on Broadway.
Put money in thy purse
There’s a starry production of “Othello” opening on Broadway tonight. And if you’re among the many people who really, really want to see Denzel Washington as a jealous general, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal as a scheming Iago, it’s going to cost you: Most of the center orchestra seats, as well as a few rows in the mezzanine, are being sold for $921 apiece.
The high prices for this Shakespeare classic are setting records. During its second week of previews, “Othello” grossed more at the box office than any other nonmusical play had ever grossed on Broadway.
Tickets for the hottest Broadway shows are now out of reach for many. And the same is true for other sought-after live events, such as pop concerts (which now cost hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars per ticket) and big sports games. (A few weeks before the Super Bowl, the cheapest available tickets were reselling for more than the average monthly mortgage payment.)
In today’s newsletter, I’ll explain how Broadway seats became so eye-poppingly pricey.
Trying to break evenProducing Broadway shows has become more expensive since the pandemic, and a vast majority of them lose money. So producers have been staging more short runs of plays with stars in lead roles — the stars attract ticket buyers, and the short runs allow those stars to more quickly return to filmmaking, which pays better than Broadway. Limited runs also seem to incentivize potential ticket buyers, because people find the now-or-never aspect motivating.
There is, of course, a tension between profitability and accessibility. These prices are preventing some potential theatergoers from seeing high-profile productions of important work.
Investors who spend money to bring shows to Broadway embrace high ticket prices because they want at least a shot at recouping their expenses. But many theater lovers, as they reminded me in a rollicking comments thread on the story I wrote about this subject last week, find these prices upsetting, because they want to see the shows they want to see at price points they consider reasonable.
“Othello,” with an average ticket price last week of $338.83, is the most expensive show on Broadway right now, but it’s not the only costly ticket. A stage adaptation of “Good Night, and Good Luck” starring George Clooney had an average ticket price of $303.75 last week, and a revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross” featuring Bill Burr, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk had an average price of $207.40.
It’s important to be aware that most shows cost far less. The overall average ticket price on Broadway last week was $134.96. There were nine shows selling seats for under $50, including Tony-winning productions of “Chicago” and “Hadestown” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
Bargain hunters can often get even better deals by purchasing discounted tickets at a TKTS booth, entering an online lottery, lining up for rush tickets, finding a promo code or just sitting in seats that aren’t quite as close to the stage.
Supply and demand
Some people don’t like it when I say this, but ticket prices are set to reflect market demand. Tickets cost more for shows that have high demand and limited supply (there are 1,042 seats in the theater where “Othello” is playing); prices are higher for performances at the most desirable times and for seats in the most desirable locations. And if you wait until the last minute to look for tickets to a buzzy show, you’re probably going to pay more.
Broadway producers hire consultants to advise them on pricing strategy, and some engage in dynamic pricing, adjusting prices to reflect shifting demand in real time. Producers often remind me that if they underprice tickets, those tickets will get scooped up by speculators who then seek to make a profit on the resale market, effectively redirecting a show’s financial upside away from artists and investors and toward de facto scalpers.
What happens next? Reviews for “Othello” should start rolling out in the wee hours of Monday morning. (The show gave critics free tickets under the condition that reviews be published after midnight, so the company can enjoy its opening night party without worrying about notices.) If the reviews are great, prices could rise; if they are terrible, they could fall — although the show is already pretty well sold, so there’s not a ton of remaining inventory. Meantime, expect prices for the most in-demand shows, on Broadway and beyond, to remain high as long as there are people willing to pay those prices. |
