According to The Broadway League's recently released demographic report for the 2022-2023 season, shows in the theater district are still ways away from returning to their pre-pandemic numbers. For this recent season, the total Broadway admissions only hovered around 12.3 million, a straight 17% lower than the peak numbers during the 2018-2019 season.
That said, the report also revealed an increase in diversity amongst the crowds that watched Broadway productions with 29% of the total demographic identifying as either Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, compared to the 26% of the 2018-'19 pre-pandemic season.
This audience diversity points towards the success of one of the industry's focuses following its return in 2021, post-COVID, even if there is still a lot to be done to recoup the losses during the pandemic.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 13 : A Broadway sign is seen near the Theater District in Manhattan as theaters remain shuttered due to COVID-19 pandemic on May 13, 2020 in New York City.
Why Are There More BIPOC Attending Broadway Shows?
In a statement, Charlotte St. Martin, president of Broadway League, said: "While we are not yet back to pre-Covid attendance levels, audiences are returning." He also added that the higher turnout rate from the BIPOC viewers is due to the "outreach efforts" done by the industry and because of the increase in numbers of "shows being written and/or starring people of color."
Some of these 2022-'23 Broadway shows that predominantly cast people of color or were produced by people of color include "Fat Ham," "Between Riverside and Crazy," "Ain't No Mo'," Ohio State Murders," "Death of a Salesman," "Topdog/Underdog," and "The Piano Lesson."
The report is a comprehensive analysis of the collective Broadway attendees of shows during the 2022-'23 season, the only completed season of Broadway since its return after the two-year-and-a-half-long hiatus of the industry.
How the League collects its data for this report is through extensively churning out audience questionnaires that are distributed across the span of a season. This analysis is also the trade association's 23rd annual report, among many that were made about the industry, with the survey during the 2018-'19 season being its last one.
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Other Notable Findings Made by The Broadway League
Another interesting finding highlighted in the report pertains to the industry's struggle to return to its pre-pandemic form. Its lead time fell short of its former numbers as theatergoers of the 2022-'23 season purchased tickets 34 days before the actual showing, compared to the 2018-'19 season's average of 47 days.
On another note, the trend of Broadway shows having a predominantly female audience continues, with over 65% of the overall attendees during last season identifying as such. As mentioned before, age-wise, the average did get younger compared to prior seasons but the shows' audiences are still overwhelmingly middle-aged, averaging around 40.4 years old.
Broadway's last season also saw a lot of repeat viewers, with the usual viewing repetitions being four times. Super fans, on the other hand, viewed shows three-fold more times than the average with over 15 repeated viewings, but they only make up 4.9% of the overall demographic. Amazingly, these super fans make up 30% of the total ticket sales, over 3.7 million of them.
