“No Broadway! No Broadway! No Broadway! No Broadway! If I can’t take, my Broadway break…something within me dies.”
Looks like the intermission will be long enough for everyone to use the restroom. Here’s our July 2020 update.
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The Business of Broadway: June 2020
Observing the scrambling of leaders adjusting to the changes over the past few months makes clear that we always have more to learn. That is why we continue to make updates to the chapters of The Business of Broadway, even during this “Intermission”. Here’s the update for June 2020. #StayHealthy, #Stay Safe
Filed under 2020, Just Learn Something, Mitch Weiss, The Business of Broadway, Updates
The Business of Broadway: April/May 2020
Our community has been hit hard by the effects of COVID-19. Many brave healthcare workers have been working around the clock to keep New Yorkers safe and to keep the rest of the nation and the world informed. We have a lot of information to share along with some helpful links.
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. We are in this together.
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The Business of Broadway: May 2019
The competition is stiff as usual. The musicals take center stage, the amount of nominations are high. Will this generate ticket sales? Will it amount high viewership for CBS? If you have not seen the productions nominated, will it even matter to you at all? Can James Corden bring it for another year? This and many other questions circle as we are one month away from the big night! Here’s May 2019’s update. Enjoy!
Filed under 2019, Just Learn Something, Mitch Weiss, The Business of Broadway, Updates
The Business of Broadway – April 2019
Spring has sprung. Ah, if only money grew on trees. Well, most of the updates have to do with money because money is always changing. So, between the crazy list of theatrical productions you have planned to see this spring, get out to Central Park and soak up some sun. After all, it’s free! Well, New Yorkers pay taxes for it. Thank a New Yorker! Here’s the April update. Enjoy!
Filed under Uncategorized
The Business of Broadway – March 2019
This month’s update is about theatre owners. We often hear about the production side of things but, the very houses these productions exist in are just as integral to the industry. The focus this month is on accessibility and the efforts in play to ensure accessibility in all Broadway houses.
Filed under Uncategorized
The Business of Broadway – February 2019
Love is in the air and “The Business of Broadway” just loves to bring you updates from “The Great White Way”. If Broadway were your significant other, it would all be about money. Money makes this business. Oh, and the artistry…but, without the money…anyway, here’s February 2019’s update!
Filed under 2019, Just Learn Something, Mitch Weiss, The Business of Broadway, Updates
The Business of Broadway – September 2018
Chapter 5 (Promotion and Marketing):
How important is the Hispanic audience to Broadway? According to Univision Communications, more and more every year. In a report provided to the Broadway League (producers and theatre owners association), Univision stated that nationwide, Hispanics (Spanish-dominant or bilingual) spent $59.6 billion on entertainment in 2017 plus $87 billion on food and alcoholic beverages away from home. And the IHS Global Insight Hispanic Market Monitor anticipates a 40% growth in this figures.
New York Hispanics spent $4.3 billion on entertainment last year and nearly 65% attended a Broadway show. 32% attended an Off-Broadway show. The “average” Hispanic attendee saw 5.1 events in the past year. Non Hispanics saw just 3/9 live events.
Hamilton and John Leguizamo aside, there’s not much Hispanic representation on our stages. And still Hispanic audiences are going to see live entertainment in huge numbers. They are 36% more likely to learn about live events from commercials. And Hispanic Theatregoers tend to skew younger. 39% are between the ages of 18 and 34. This is a serious consideration when discussing building our audiences.
Chapter 10 (Producing & Investing):
Investors in producer Scott Rudin’scelebrated revival of Hello, Dolly! (starring Bette Midler) that ended its intended limited engagement at the end of Summer 2018, have earned a profit of 10 percent, according to two people familiar with the production. (A note said more was on the way.)
For angels seeking prestige, glamour and the satisfaction of helping to create a revival worthy of the iconic, 1964 original, Dolly!delivered and made them money. Others, however, expected more from a production that’s grossed $126 million.
The larger context is the background behind the complaints from investors. In order to get a piece of Dolly’s pie, most investors were required to put money into riskier projects on the producer’s slate, too. According to them, even a 15% profit on Dolly wouldn’t cover half the losses taken on Tony- winner A Doll’s House, Part 2orThe Glass Menagerie (starring Sally Field), both of which closed last year.
An important lesson about “limited runs with famous names leading the cast.” The answer may rest with why investors invest at all. Is it a producer’s charm, the producer’s claims of success, an investor’s gullibility, the inherent risk of a Broadway show, or does the investor really believe they are going to make a lot of money?
Chapter 10 (Producing & Investing):
Lindy’s Deli on 7th Avenue, in Manhattan, is where some Broadway actors discussed their common observation that the longer any single play ran on Broadway, the longer it would run in regional theatres and anywhere off Broadway. It’s believed that this effect is relevant for Bitcoins as well. An asset gains a sort of stamina as it continues to survive against the odds, thereby demonstrating strength and the ability to attain longevity. Broadway, for example, is a competitive environment. People have evolving tastes, there are always different shows vying for the best audiences, and as a show ages it gets more difficult to sustain.
The longer a show has run on Broadway, the more credibility and notoriety is has earned. Off Broadway/Regional stages are eager to reproduce it in their own towns, lending longevity to the play. Both Bitcoin and a Broadway play are “unperishable ideas.” On Broadway, the best shows run for decades regardless of where they are or who plays the main roles. A few prominent blockchain ideas also “survive” in this manner and are able to persist despite increasing friction in the market—but the comparison isn’t perfect.
And so statistician, author, and former trader Nassim Taleb writes in his book “Antifragile.” He calls this “The Lindy Effect” (comparing Broadway shows to Bitcoin evolutionary factors). Just another opinion…
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Filed under 2018, Just Learn Something, Mitch Weiss, The Business of Broadway, Updates
The Business of Broadway – August 2018
“It’s quite uptown”. It’s August and the weather has been weird. Where is all the humidity we hate this time of year. Of course, as I say that, here comes that good old humidity. This update talks about change to the very insider “Gypsy Robe” ceremony, some upgrades to audience tech and who and who not to listen to when producing on Broadway. Enjoy!
Filed under 2018, Darnelle Radford, Mitch Weiss, The Business of Broadway, Updates
The Business of Broadway – July 2018
It’s July! Where did 2018 go? Did you see any shows? Attend a marathon day of theatre? It’s summertime. The Administration is up to the same antics and we are trying to find escapes that turn off the activist in us for a little bit. This month’s update is about money. Well, every month’s update is about money. So, here’s the update for July!
Filed under 2018, Darnelle Radford, Just Learn Something, Mitch Weiss, The Business of Broadway, Updates