The Stage

Broadway breaks ticket sale record

Published Thursday 7 June 2007 at 18:15 by Judd Hollander

Broadway ticket sales for the 2006/7 have hit a record-breaking $939 million, up 8.9% from last year.

According to figures released by the League of American Theatres and Producers, for the 52-week period from May 29, 2006 to May 27, 2007, paid attendance also rose and reached 12.311 million, up from the 2005-2006 total of 12.003 million. This is only the second time Broadway attendance has topped 12 million.Ê

Meanwhile, the total number of show playing weeks for 2006/7 was 1,509, the second highest on record, up from 1,501 the year before. The highest number of playing weeks ever on Broadway was 1,544, during the 2002/3 season.

The League noted that strong ticket buying habits by tourists were a major factor in the box office totals. During 2006/7, domestic tourists accounted for more than 5 million tickets, with international tourists responsible for in excess of 1.3 million.

While pleased with Broadway’s overall performance for 2006/7, Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The League, urged a note of caution.

She commented: “[We] are fortunate that this season was marked by sensational new musicals and plays, offering audiences a diversity of shows to enjoy, and we believe that this diversity is one of the strongest reasons why Broadway has had such a record year with attendance. And even though Broadway contributes almost $5 billion to New York City’s economy and supports 45,000 full-time equivalent jobs, we must continue to protect and preserve its vitality, which means, among other things, addressing escalating costs and doing all we can to increase the number of shows that recoup their investment in order to continue creating a diverse group of new shows.”

During the year, 35 new productions opened on Broadway. Of that total, 12 were new musicals, 11 were new plays, 7 were revivals of plays and 5 were revivals of musicals. There were also an additional 32 shows on Broadway during the just completed season, all holdovers from previous years. Of those 32, nearly half are still running.