Industry Pro Newsletter: Near Record Broadway Attendance, Some Good News for Theater Real Estate

This week’s newsletter brings together stories of growth, innovation, and transformation across the theater and performing arts landscape. Inside, you’ll find updates on new BroadwayWorld features and partnerships, strong Broadway attendance figures, and evolving development plans in the heart of Times Square. We also spotlight major real estate and venue news shaping theater communities in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, alongside a look at artists pushing creative boundaries in dance.

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Employment Opportunity

Director of Marketing and Communications - Broadway in Hollywood & the Hollywood Pantages Theatre

Reporting directly to the President and working in close collaboration with internal departments, touring Broadway partners, press agencies, and vendors, the Director will drive innovative strategies to grow audiences, elevate the Broadway in Hollywood brand, and generate earned revenue through ticket sales and institutional visibility. This is an opportunity for a passionate, collaborative, data-oriented, and cutting-edge leader to leave a lasting impact on Los Angeles’s cultural landscape.

Industry Trends

BroadwayWorld Introduces My Shows Curtain Call and New Merchandise Partnership

BroadwayWorld has launched My Shows Curtain Call, a personalized year-end feature within its My Shows platform that highlights every show a user attended, reviews written, ratings, badges earned, and markets visited. Users can share their Curtain Call results on social media with custom graphics. Since launching in September, My Shows has collected over 15,000 user reviews and expanded its badge and reward system.

Broadway/New York

Broadway League Report Shows Second-Highest Attendance During 2024-25 Season

The Broadway League reported that the 2024-25 season achieved the second-highest attendance in Broadway history. Overall grosses, average ticket prices, and attendance figures showed strong performance throughout the season. Broadway maintained robust audience engagement across productions, with numerous shows contributing to the high overall numbers. The report provided data on total attendance, Broadway ticket sales revenue, and comparisons with previous seasons, illustrating continued demand. Broadway shows during this season attracted millions of theatergoers, reinforcing Broadway’s ongoing popularity. Full specific figures and comparisons were included in the League’s release.

Hotel May Open in Place of a Casino at 1515 Broadway

Plans are underway for a hotel to potentially replace a proposed casino at 1515 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. A development group has filed for approvals to convert the site, previously slated for a casino project, into a hotel property instead. The new proposal includes a full-service hotel with retail space and amenities designed to cater to visitors and the local market. City planning and zoning reviews are in progress, and community feedback will be considered as the project advances. Final approvals from city agencies will determine whether the casino plan is formally replaced by the hotel development.

Regional

Washington Business Journal: D.C. Theater Company Signs Long-Term Lease to Build Arts Hub

Washington, D.C.’s Theater Alliance has signed a long-term 15-year lease (with options up to 29) for over 9,000 square feet near The Wharf, transforming the space into a permanent arts hub backed by approximately $4.5M in renovations. The project is about 80% funded and will include two theaters, rehearsal halls, a scene shop, reception space, and a civic engagement center. Theater Alliance had been operating temporarily in the space after losing its longtime home in Anacostia and had produced multiple shows to strong local attendance before securing the permanent lease. Construction is slated to begin in early 2026 with completion expected by fall.

American Theatre: Outside In Theatre: A New Venue in L.A.’s Highland Park

Outside In Theatre has opened a new theater venue in Highland Park, Los Angeles, offering a space dedicated to contemporary and experimental performances. The venue provides artists with flexible production opportunities and a platform for new work. With its community-centric mission, Outside In Theatre aims to support local artists and engage diverse audiences through curated programming and performance events. The space includes performance facilities geared toward both emerging and established theater makers. Its launch has drawn interest from the local arts community and underscores the continued development of performance spaces outside traditional commercial districts in Los Angeles.

International

BBC: The Daring Dance Collective Rewriting the Rules of Ballet

The group’s work pushes against traditional ballet norms, incorporating elements from diverse movement vocabularies and social dance histories. Their performances challenge expectations of form, gender, and narrative within the ballet genre, attracting international attention for its innovation.

Missed our last few newsletters?

December 8, 2025 - Woolly Mammoth Announces New AD, RSC Faces ‘financial peril’

This week’s stories highlight a theater landscape in motion, with notable leadership shifts, community celebrations, and major institutional changes shaping the field. Helen Shaw’s appointment as Chief Theater Critic at The New York Times marks a significant moment in arts journalism, while audiences worldwide engage with the newly opened voting for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards. Onstage, Broadway prepares for star-studded fundraising at Red Bucket Follies, and regional companies navigate both exciting transitions and unexpected setbacks. Internationally, major UK institutions confront financial challenges and ambitious renovations, reflecting a moment of both reckoning and renewal across the global arts community.

December 1, 2025 - Andrew Lloyd Webber on Broadway Economics, Paddington Takes First Bow on the West End

This week, we look at the record-setting viewership of the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and renewed efforts in New York and abroad to redefine cultural priorities. Across Broadway, we probe shifting economic pressures on creatives through a new interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Meanwhile, with the announcement of a new arts and culture transition committee by Zohran Mamdani, incoming leadership may reimagine the city’s cultural agenda. On a regional level, we follow the pioneering costume exhibition by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance at Denver International Airport — a celebration of decades of creative work — and internationally, we cover a new report revealing post-pandemic shifts across UK theatres, as well as the opening night of Paddington: The Musical in London’s West End.

November 24, 2025 - Broadway Wins Big at the Clio Awards, UK Looks to Ban Resellers

From award-winning Broadway marketing campaigns and fresh digital viewing options for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to updates on tax credits and Tony eligibility, the industry continues to adapt on multiple fronts. Regional and national stories examine how institutions are navigating political scrutiny and how artists across the country are sustaining their work amid financial pressures. Internationally, major regulatory changes in the U.K. signal further shifts in how audiences access live performance.

BroadwayWorld Resources

BroadwayWorld Stage Mag - A Fully Interactive Show Program

The digital solution to your show program needs - want to see what's possible? Check out the Stage Mag's for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and for The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)! Then start building your own at stagemag.broadwayworld.com.

Add Your Show to our Regional Events Calendar

As audiences get set to return to in-person performances, and as your company works to market your own return to the stage, make sure you've got your upcoming shows in our regional events calendars. Listings are free of charge, with boosting options available. Get your show listed now

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