Celebrities on Broadway -- does it promise a hit?
(Agencies)
2009-07-18 10:53
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"It's an extraordinary play, and we wanted to find a couple of extraordinary actors for it," he said. "The idea of obviously raising excitement because of their star power or selling lots of tickets is terrific and obviously all of us were happy to do that in these tough economic times."
Although the United States is suffering its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, gross Broadway ticket sales for the 2009/10 season to date, which runs from June to May, are only down 2.2 percent compared to last season.
Attendance is a little more worse off, down 7.6 percent.
The 2008/09 season took in record gross takings of $943.3 million. The Broadway League says the 39 theaters in the famous district contribute $5.1 billion a year to the New York economy and support 44,000 jobs.
SPECULATIVE INDUSTRY
At least 20 shows have already announced plans to open on Broadway later this year, St. Martin said.
Zollo said raising funds for a show was always difficult, regardless of the economy, because it was such a speculative industry. "You can't put a on play in a Broadway theater for under $2.5 million," he said.
History shows four out of five plays do not return on their investment, St. Martin has said.
Arielle Tepper Madover, who is producing "Mary Stuart" and will bring "Hamlet" to Broadway with Jude Law, said productions respond to financial crisis.
One such response is discount tickets, she said, noting there will be $25 tickets available every night for "Hamlet."
Having a star makes a difference, but not all the difference, she said, noting "Mary Stuart" does not have a famous name.
"As a Broadway producer, it's very nice to have someone who's extremely talented, who fits the role perfectly and also happens to be someone whose well known," she said.
She added she was pleased with presales for "Hamlet."
"That's due to the fact that it's Hamlet, the fact that it's coming from the Donmar Warehouse (in London) and the fact that it's Jude Law," she said. "The public is smart and they know when it's right."