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Broadway demographics show 20-year high in attendance

Published Tuesday 19 December 2006 at 12:35 by Judd Hollander

Theatre attendances on Broadway have reached their highest level in the past two decades, according to figures released by the League of American Theatres and Producers.

Last season, Broadway shows collectively sold 12,003,148 tickets, while the theatregoers were predominately white, rich and more often than not, female.

Entitled The Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2005-2006, the report found that the majority of the Broadway audience continues to be women, accounting for more than 62.3% of all ticket purchases last season and at least a 20% higher rate of attendance over males since 1990-1991. Women also purchased 2.96 million more tickets than men and made the final decision (54.5%) in deciding which show to see.

From June 2005 through June 2006, the League’s Research Department administered audience surveys at 24 different productions at 71 individual performances. Shows were selected on a quarterly basis to reflect what Broadway was offering that season and questionnaires were distributed at multiple performances per show to account for variances in the weekday, weekend, evening and matinee audiences. Completed questionnaires were tabulated and weighted based on the actual paid attendance for each show.

The number of international visitors to Broadway, which plummeted from 11.6% in 1999-2000 to only 4.8% in 2001-2002, continued to bounce back from the events of September 11, 2001, accounting for 11% of the 2005-2006 total audience - its highest point since 9/11. At the same time, New York City visitors to Broadway increased from 17.9% to 19%, while people from the surrounding areas jumped from 21.5% to 24.4% and visitors from elsewhere in the US dropped from 49.3% to 45.6%.

The average paid Broadway admission for 2005/06 was $71.79 - $66.68 for a play and $72.75 for a musical - according to box office figures. However those surveyed reported paying an average of $91.50 per ticket - $89.40 for a play and $92.30 for a musical - the difference possibly due to various service charges and broker fees often associated with ticket buying.

Meanwhile, the average age of the Broadway theatergoer was 42.1 in 2005-2006 - 49 years for a playgoers and 41 for musical theatre lovers. Theatergoers between 35 and 49 purchased the most tickets last season (3,444, 903 - 28.7%), up from 2,881,837 the previous year. This was followed by people in the age groups of 50-64 (27.7%), 25-23 (15.4%), 18-24 (9.8%), under 18 (9.6%) and 65 or older (8.8%). Those between 50 and 64 were the most over-represented at the theatre and those under 18 were the least represented.

In terms of ethnicity, Caucasians continue to represent the highest number of Broadway attendees (77.3%), a jump of 6% from 2004-2005 and a 34% increase from the 2001-2002 season. Hispanics constituted 5.9% (708,156) last season, up from 657,059 the year before. This was followed by Black theatregoers at 5.1% (612,161, up from 438,039) and Asians accounted for 3.3% (396,104, down from 438,039). The biggest non-white group classified themselves as ‘other’ (8.4% - 1,008,264, down from 1,037,461).

Income-wise, the reported annual household earnings of the average Broadway theatregoer was $102,100 - a rise of $6,000 from last season. Playgoers also reported a higher average income than musical theatre lovers ($109,300 to $101,00). 35.5% reported incomes over $150,000 annually, 20% reported totals $100,000-$149,999 (a rise from 17.1%) and 12% reported making $75,000-$99.999. Going further down the income scale, 13% reported earning $50,000-$74,999, 7.3% took in $35,000-$49,000, 3.8% reported earning between $25,000-$34,999 and 8.5% reported earnings under $25,000.

For more infomation see www.livebroadway.com

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