Broadway rebounds from pandemic abyss with nearly all 41 theaters open
Broadway is taking it to the house again.
Confounding gloomy portrayals of a pandemic-crippled theater industry, all but one of 41 Broadway venues will be open for performances in November — the first month so many have been active since 2018, according to the Broadway League, the industry’s trade organization.
And the only dark stage next month won’t be dark for long — the Nederlander on West 41st Street will host “Wicked” star Idina Menzel’s triumphant return to Broadway in “Redwood” in January.
Nederlander Organization president Jimmy Nederlander enthused, “Every one of these shows means work for actors, musicians, designers, creative teams, stagehands, box office staff, front of house teams and so many others. It’s been a long road to start to bring this industry back and we’re all working hard to keep this momentum going.”
Broadway actually drew more theatergoers and raked in more dough at the box office in the week ending Oct. 24 this year than it did in the week ending Oct. 27, 2019, when business was at its peak.
Shrugging off qualms about ticket prices as high as $300 and worries about crime, 282,356 people flocked to Broadway shows last week, compared with 278,087 for the week ending Oct. 27, 2019, according to the League. More money was spent at the box office, too — $34,689,137 last week over $33,583,842 for the comparable week in 2019.
The numbers will likely soar with the imminent opening of “Tammy Faye,” the buzzed-over London hit about the colorful televangelist with a score by Elton John. It will start performances this week as the first full-stage production at the spectacularly restored Palace Theater, which was moved around the corner from Seventh Avenue to West 47th Street.
The recovery is boosted by the return of tourists and business travelers to the city — some 62 million in 2023, nearly as many as in 2019 — and the total is expected to be higher this year.
Total attendance was 17% lower in 2023-2024 than in the peak year of 2018-2019. But the Broadway “season” runs from mid-June to mid-June, when the Tony Awards are announced. Attendance since June 16 is up 8% over the comparable months in 2023, the League said.
Reflecting confidence, the Broadway League and the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds will host its annual Broadway Salutes event on Tuesday at Sardi’s — the first time its staging the spectacle since 2019.
Broadway’s revival is welcomed by the scores of businesses in the West 40s and 50s that depend on drawing customers from nearby shows.
Shelly Fireman launched his Italian place Bond 45 in the Edison Hotel in 2018 partly because it’s on a block with four theaters, including the Richard Rodgers, home to “Hamilton.”
But Ben Grossman, Fireman’s chief strategy officer, said, “We are so happy to see Broadway’s strong recovery finally take root.
“Two of the four theaters on West 46th Street have been closed for most of the last five years. But ‘Death Becomes Her’ just opened at the Lunt-Fontanne and ‘Elf’ opens at the Marquis on Nov. 9. It will be the first time all the theaters will be open since 2020.”
Even restaurants north of most theaters, like classic steakhouse Gallagher’s on West 52nd Street, have benefited from increased traffic.
Owner Dean Poll said diners on their way to or from “MJ” at the Neil Simon can generate “35 more covers a night — almost 250 more a week.”
