Although the holiday season can be less-than lucrative for Broadway, 2015 ended on a high note for the Great White Way. Wicked alone grossed nearly $3 million dollars during Christmas week and, overall, Broadway grossed over $43 million dollars the following week. This marks a .68% jump from last year and, now, a new production 'The Humans, Hughie and The Crucible' is making their debut on Broadway in 2016.
The Tony Awards are an obvious help in providing interest to new Broadway shows. Actually, the awards themselves can be a big deal for both the show and the fans as it is a constant topic of conversation throughout the year. And in that conversation is, undoubtedly, Lin-Manuel Miranda and his smash Hamilton.
Late-summer into early fall tends to be a dry-spell period when it comes to Broadway ticket sales and attendance, as post-Labor Day is a time when shows close their doors and grosses take a huge dip. The lull rarely lasts longer than mid-October when the market takes a huge swing into the green around this time of year, and similarly after the Christmas season when March rolls around. This year, the October jump occurred just after Columbus Day holiday weekend for the resale ticket market, as the jump in average ticket price is actually 5% higher than it was at this time last year. Shows such as 'The King and I' and 'A Gentleman's Guide of Love and Murder' are particularly experiencing ticket price surges.
With hits like Book of Mormon, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Jersey Boys, Broadway is once again taking the country and the world by storm with popular touring productions. Many theatergoers around the country opt to see the touring productions because tickets are generally cheaper on the road than on Broadway, especially in terms of resale prices. The secondary ticket market is seeing price increases for a number of touring productions, just not to the extent of many of their Broadway counterparts, according to data provided by TiqIQ.
Oliver award nominee Scarlett Strallen will join the cast of the Tony-winning musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Strallen will take the place of original cast member Lisa O’Hare beginning on February 10.
A phalanx of top Broadway talent helps Sundance's theatre program celebrate its many successes with an unprecedented 'Sundance… Sings!' concert event in NYC.
But Off- or Off-Off Broadway shows were shut out in the Play and Musical categories.
Rocky battles Hedwig in a wide-open field, but Harry Potter isn't even a contender.
'Aladdin,' 'Rocky' and 'Fun Home' also garnered multiple nominations, as did Audra McDonald, Neil Patrick Harris, Cherry Jones, Tyne Daly and Michael Cerveris.