Broadway consists of the 40 professional theaters scattered across New York City’s Theatre District, including the Ambassador, Imperial, Majestic, and Shubert Theatres, among others. Collectively, the theaters are quoted to bring in over $900 million dollars a year. Theatre in New York got its foot-hold during the mid-to-late 1700s, at which time The Park, The Bowery, and The Astor Place Theatres were established. Originally focusing on the works of Shakespeare, Broadway moved in the musical direction during the mid-1800s with productions of “The Black Crook,” and the Gilbert and Sullivan “H.M.S. Pinafore,” among others. Actors on Broadway make a big distinction between their profession on what they call the “legitimate stage,” and other more variety oriented acts like vaudeville and burlesque.
Current masterpieces to hit Broadway for the 2009-2010 season include “Chicago,” “South Pacific,” “Wicked,” “Hair,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Lion King,” and “Jersey Boys,” to name a few.
Broadway ticket sales were up in most theatres for the week ending May 18, just in time for the announcement of the Tony Award nominees. Total box office receipts reached $20,332,996, an increase over the previous reporting period of $18,736,548 and in line with the same period in 2007...
Read more
Along with the storms that moved up the Appalachians to the east coast came a dampening of the climate on Broadway. The box office this past week was $18,736,548, compared to $19,146,988 in the previous reporting period, and both weeks were poorer than the same week a year ago...
Read more
“Never Give a Saga an Even Break!” Mel Brooks’ brand of offbeat, anti-culture humor was all over his movie “Blazing Saddles” in February 1974. He wrote the screenplay with Norman Steinberg and Richard Pryor. Brooks wrote the lyrics and John Morris wrote the music including the theme song of...
Read more
Two Broadway productions, Cry Baby and A Catered Affair, are offering irresistible deals for theater fans for performances scheduled for Saturday, May 10. A search on Ticketmaster.com on Tuesday, May 6, turned up center orchestra tickets for “Cry Baby” at $120 a piece, not including convenience and shipping charges....
Read more
Broadway ticket sales had its ups and downs for the week ending May 4. Overall, sales were down somewhat at $19,146,988 compared to the same week last year at $19,548,481 and weaker than the previous reporting period, April 27, of $20,335,690. Yet, there were some productions showing modest gains,...
Read more
A new musical version of “Gone with the Wind” opened late last month at the New London Theatre in England, and it could be bound for Broadway in the future. The musical was written by Margaret Martin, a Los Angeles-based writer with a Ph.D. in community health science, and...
Read more
Broadway ticket sales continued to improve for the week ending April 27, as the warmer weather appears to be heating up box office receipts. Total ticket sales (excluding Young Frankenstein, which is still not reporting figures) reached $20,335,690, an improvement over the prior week’s gross of $18,791,333 and only...
Read more
Broadway ticket sales for the week ending April 20, 2008 held steady with a take of $18,791,333, a slight increase over the previous week’s tally of $18,543,795. While this is good news for in the short term, the amount is still below the same period from last season, however,...
Read more
Broadway ticket sales, which have been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride as of late, improved for the week ending April 13 compared to the previous reporting period. Last week’s low was $17,944,821 compared to this week’s tally of $18,543,795, not counting the revenue of Young Frankenstein. The...
Read more
From Los Angeles to New York to London, it’s been a long road to Broadway but Lyle Kessler’s dark comedy “Orphans” will arrive on the Great White Way in January, 2009. Film star Al Pacino has been courted for the role of Harold, a businessman who is kidnapped by...
Read more
