The producers of Merrily We Roll Along have raised the revival’s top ticket price to $899 — the most expensive seat on Broadway so far this season.
The $899 tickets, which include a $50 fee for buying online, are for some orchestra and mezzanine seats in the Hudson Theatre for a handful of weekend performances in December. In this era of “dynamic pricing,” the move reflects strong demand heading into the holidays.Continue Reading
Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer of the blockbuster Hamilton and a producer of the film version that streamed on Disney+, received an emergency small business loan for his company backed by the federal government, according to Treasury Dept. data released on Monday.Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: The Public Theater, which has earned tens of millions of dollars launching Hamilton, received federal assistance meant to preserve jobs threatened by the pandemic.
The Public borrowed roughly $4 million through the Paycheck Protection Program, according to Shareeza Bhola, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit. The loans, which are overseen by the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration, may be forgiven when borrowers spend at least 75 percent of the money on payroll over eight weeks.Continue Reading
Is the Broadway season over? If so, statistically, 2019-20 was both disastrous and illustrative of the industry’s resilience.
Hit musicals are running longer and making more money than ever — which is illustrated by two fascinating interactive charts.
The Broadway season that ended on Sunday was strong but not stellar.
Overall attendance: up 4 percent to 13.8 million, according to the Broadway League. Grosses rose 17 percent, to $1.7 billion. The average price of a ticket for a musical gained 11 percent to $125.70 — thanks to strong demand for Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, The Lion King, Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler and, increasingly, Mean Girls, which looks like a hit.
EXCLUSIVE: Don’t be shocked if Hamilton reports extra-huge holiday numbers. Tickets this week are going for a record $1,150.
With the increase, Hamilton is the first on Broadway to sell seats for four figures, before fees, that don’t benefit a charity or political campaign.
As of Sunday afternoon, a few $1,150 tickets were still available through December 30. (The show is dark on New Year’s Eve and Jan. 1.) They are the only ones remaining this year for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical about the founding fathers, besides those via resellers and a $10 lottery. The price is up 15 percent from last Christmas, when top tickets fetched a then-record $998. (Hello, Dolly! later matched $998 for the first row for some performances.) Shows typically raise prices for the holidays, when tourists pack the city.
CORRECTION: This story originally referred to a pro-N.E.A. tweet by Rex Tillerson, U.S. Secretary of State designate at the time. A Trump transition official later said the Twitter account was fake.
Hamilton, Next to Normal, War Horse and South Pacific have something in common besides acclaim and awards. They share a patron in the federal government.
The National Endowment for the Arts, which may face an existential threat from the new administration in Washington, has subsidized the development of many of the most praised shows on Broadway and off-Broadway. (See below for a list of nonprofits that have received notable NEA grants.)
EXCLUSIVE: The producers of Hamilton are selling a new block of $998 tickets for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays that handily sets a Broadway price record.
The $998 seats are up 18 percent over the $849 tickets Hamilton introduced in early June — the previous record holder. When including Ticketmaster’s $18 service fee, the new ticket, at $1,016, is the first on Broadway to run four figures.
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton, the Broadway blockbuster endorsed by the president and first lady, has repaid its investors.
Two people with direct knowledge of the musical’s finances confirmed that it recouped its $12.5 million capitalization. Normally, producers announce when a show breaks even, but Hamilton, “the hardest ticket to get on the planet,” as Michelle Obama put it, has little to prove. Since recouping it’s already begun distributing profits, according to one production source. Reached by phone Friday morning, Sam Rudy, a spokesman for the show said: “I’m not aware that we’ve recouped,” adding that he would check with the producers.
