Student Blog: Theatre Fans Will Show Up - If It Doesn’t Break The Bank

Being a college student on a limited budget doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see live theatre, but it can get pretty expensive. There is no doubt of the immense impact that seeing a story on stage can have on audiences, regardless of their financial status, physical limitations, or location.  I have been fortunate enough to grow up in an area where seeing theatre was constantly accessible for me and my family. While I have found many workarounds to see a great deal of live theatre during my first year of college in New York City, I know not everyone is able to do that. Now, going to school surrounded by even more theatre and people from all backgrounds, the realization of just how inaccessible live theatre is in our country has astounded me.

My peers and I are responsible for paying for our own theatre tickets, and the absurd cost to see live theatre has really surprised me. I have learned that this has stemmed from Broadway and regional theatre rental pricing skyrocketing exponentially in the past 10 years. A great example of how this has affected our modern season is the abrupt closing of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, one of my favorite shows of this season, despite its average 93.44% capacity. Even Andrew Lloyd Webber spoke out about this, commenting, “bringing almost any new show to Broadway makes little financial sense,” post the news of his show’s closing. 

This especially hits the regional theatre scene. I have seen this firsthand, through the eyes of my hometown regional theatre. With the economy struggling post-COVID, ridiculously high theatre rentals, thus higher ticket prices, have made bringing theatre to audiences around the country feel like a losing battle for these companies that barely break even. For example, the regional theatre closest to my house has to pay $250,000 to rent the space before other costs of putting on a large-scale show come into play. To combat this, they are forced to raise their ticket prices to justify the cost of renting the space alone. Because of how inaccessible and expensive live theatre is these days, I find myself not feeling comfortable inviting friends to shows I am in or want to see. For many, the financial burden of experiencing live theatre has outweighed the pros of it.

And it’s not that audiences don’t want to experience the theatre. A great example of this is the recent successful Hadestown proshot that hit movie theatres earlier this month. This accessible and cheaper way of viewing this show proved to be a huge success, even needing to extend its intended run, beating Hamilton’s financial movie theatre record, and reaching the number 6 spot at the overall domestic box office. 

This success is a testament to the fact that if you create an affordable path to see a show, audiences will show up.