More than 14.7 million seats were filled in 2024-25, according to the latest audience-demographics report from The Broadway League. Among other findings is that, yet again, the average ticket-buyer is a 41-year-old, college-educated woman whose household income is over $275K a year. - Deadline
“According to data released ... on Wednesday, less than 13% of admissions in (2024-25) came from the surrounding New York suburbs, which was the lowest percentage on Broadway in 30 years. The demographic, which once made up 20% of the audience, has been trending down over the past few years.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The beloved outdoor theater will replace all 11,000-odd seats and make structural improvements to protect against flooding, which caused serious damage after a torrential 2022 rainstorm. - St. Louis Public Radio
“The legendary festival, known for experimental and boundary-pushing theater, previously offered year-round programming before the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. In recent years, it has seen record-breaking audience growth, prompting producing director Nell Bang-Jensen to expand beyond the month of September.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“Nussbaum, a highly respected culture writer who received a Pulitzer Prize for her television criticism, has been a member of the New Yorker writing staff since 2011. She takes over the position from Helen Shaw, who has left The New Yorker after being appointed chief theatre critic at The New York Times.” - Playbill
These writers create an environment in which characters can enter or exit the main storyline as if from a magic door. Audiences are cognizant of this portal, but they are encouraged to forget its existence when the drama ramps up, thereby allowing them to have their cake and eat it too. - Los Angeles Times
“Reggie D. White, whose résumé spans acting, directing and playwriting in addition to in-office leadership, will (succeed) Maria Manuela Goyanes, (who) announced her departure in March for New York’s Lincoln Center Theatre.” White will be only the third director in the company’s 45-year history. - The Washington Post (MSN)
To be fair, it’s a film - a “pro shot” - of the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. And “what ended up saving it was a superfan: actor and director Maria Friedman, who turned a role in a 1992 production of the play into a series of restagings.” - CBC
“The (Times) has been publishing reviews by a number of writers since predecessor Jesse Green was reassigned earlier this year. That list notably did not include Shaw, who joins the Times after a stint as theatre critic for The New Yorker, and a tenure as chief theatre critic at New York magazine prior.” - Playbill
The property was born in the French capital, first as a play, then as a hit film (followed later by the big US remake). But the American musical version had flopped in France — until the director of the Théâtre du Châtelet, Olivier Py, took it on. - The New York Times
Company management expects to reduce its base expenses by £2.8 million ($3.7 million) annually with layoffs as well as pay cuts for some remaining staffers. - The Stage (UK)
Erik Piepenburg: “This year at least six theater productions have used “f*****” in their titles. … Why is a slur that a stranger hurled at me now waving hello from my playbill?” On the other hand, famously gay Black playwright Jeremy O. Harris told Piepenburg to stop pearl-clutching. - The New York Times
“We wrote something, you know, with very open hearts and no political agenda. We just wanted to tell this amazing story, and look what has happened.” - NPR
“He loved his words to the point of mania and yet fretted over their inadequacy, making the mere act of speech seem somehow both heroic and doomed. He caused words to explode like fireworks, dazzling us with their bright, multicolored patterns.” - The New York Times
