BROADWAY SETS NEW SEASON RECORDS

Bruce Springsteen and Hamilton guided Broadway to it best attended and highest grossing season in recorded history.

Broadway shows brought in nearly $1.7b at the box office as 13.8m people attended plays and musicals on the Great White Way in the 53-week 2017-2018 season.

With an average ticket price of $503 at the 948-seat Walter Kerr Theater, Springsteen on Broadway pulled in $61.5m since its October opening. Springsteen has taken several breaks during the run and does five shows in a week maximum as opposed to most shows doing eight per week.

Hamilton had the benefit of a full season of charging $849 for the best seats in the house, helping it rake in $161m at the Richard Rodgers Theater.

The 2017–2018 Broadway season concluded with attendance up 3.9%, grosses up 17.1%, and playing weeks up 2.8%. The average Broadway ticket was $123.

“Over 80% of the shows on Broadway had an average paid admission of under $130 and more than half of the shows that played this season (60%) had an average paid admission of less than $101,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League, which released the figures. “Since our last 53-week season, our attendance has grown 10% or 1.26 million theatregoers. It’s not surprising that so many have been coming to experience the best of live theater.”

During the 2017-2018 season 33 productions opened: 10 musicals (seven original, three revivals), 20 plays (10 original, 10 revivals), and three special engagements.