‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Closing Adds To Broadway’s Financial Crunch

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 10: Andrew Lloyd Webber, victor of the grant for Lifetime Achievement successful the Theatre, poses successful the 72nd Annual Tony Awards Media Room astatine 3 West Club connected June 10, 2018 successful New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Andrew Lloyd Webber Calls On Theater Owners, Unions And Producers

The financial costs of producing theatre connected Broadway has go so high, celebrated philharmonic writer Andrew Lloyd Webber claims, “For immoderate show, it makes practically nary financial consciousness to travel to Broadway.”

In his post, Webber lamented the adjacent of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, but his words bring to ray a overmuch larger issue. When Webber opened his first show connected Broadway successful 1971, Jesus Christ Superstar, it costs $700,000 astatine the time, astir $5.7 cardinal today. By comparison, Webber’s astir caller show connected Broadway, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, costs $18 million to produce, a number that sits comfortably successful the mediate of capitalization costs for modern Broadway musicals.

Webber straight holds “theater owners, unions, and producers” responsible for correcting this financial “crisis.” As a awesome subordinate connected Broadway for the past 5 decades, Webber is simply a personification whose position connected this rumor should not beryllium quickly ignored.

But are theatre owners, unions and producers the only groups tin of making a meaningful difference?

Theater Owners

Looking first astatine the theatre owners, it is evident that they clasp a important magnitude of powerfulness successful establishing the baseline value of a Broadway show. Theater owners charge rent, some astatine a fixed interest and a percent of the play container agency grosses. Higher rent increases the wide costs of producing a Broadway show. So if theatre owners were inclined to complaint little rent, they could meaningfully trim a information of the shows’ budgets.

While this action whitethorn look intriguing to Broadway astatine large, it lacks a clear information for theatre owners. As agelong arsenic caller shows are consenting to salary the rent prices they set, why would they little their rates? Webber whitethorn opportunity location is nary financial logic for shows to travel to Broadway, and yet 18 caller shows person announced their opening dates betwixt August, 2026 and April, 2027. The shows proceed to come, truthful the theatre owners are capable to proceed charging what they will.

Unions

Webber besides calls upon the unions. While it is existent that Broadway shows employment a ample number of unions, imploring them to make Broadway much affordable feels unproductive, peculiarly successful the aftermath of the recently avoided cleaners national strike. Considering really adjacent the cleaners national came to striking against its existent salaries and benefits, it seems highly improbable an statement would beryllium reached that removed these position successful favour of cheaper productions.

Producers

Finally, Webber turns to the producers. Lead producers make choices connected behalf of each accumulation that tin lend straight to the show’s financial occurrence aliases failure. Choosing to walk little money connected marketing, for example, could deflate the show’s fund but consequence successful early closing if not capable assemblage members bargain tickets.

Co-producers, a class of shaper that has arisen successful consequence to the increasing costs of productions, do not person the aforesaid authority arsenic lead producers. Co-producers’ main work lies successful raising money done investors. The top power co-producers person complete Broadway's economics is deciding which productions to finance.

Nonetheless, immoderate individual co-producer does not person important opportunity complete what Broadway chooses to do, arsenic it takes galore co-producers to shape a azygous production. Cats: The Jellicle Ball had 61 co-producers.

Because co-producers person compensation for their activity only aft a show recoups, their goals successful immoderate ways align pinch choosing pieces that person debased capitalization costs.

However, successful an manufacture wherever 80% of shows do not recoup astatine all, galore co-producers person different benefits speech from a intends of making money. Part of the allure of becoming a co-producer lies successful their opportunity to triumph a Tony Award.

Tony campaigns are expensive, and co-producers much willing successful prestige than money mightiness work together to a show pinch a ample fund if they judge the costs will spell toward creating a spectacle worthy of the award.

The Missing Player: Government Subsidy

Webber constricted his scope to theatre owners, unions and producers. It is evident that each of these groups has immoderate powerfulness to power Broadway’s financial crisis; he overlooks different important subordinate whose support, aliases deficiency thereof, makes a marked quality to the ecosystem of the theatre industry: authorities subsidy.

Broadway knowledgeable a little infinitesimal of support. Following the pandemic, New York provided a taxation in installments for qualifying costs up to 25% of a show’s budget, but that money has already tally retired of money. The deficiency of a continued government subsidy for the arts intends that the costs of recoupment falls heavy connected the shows themselves.

In contrast, theatrical productions connected the West End, Broadway’s balanced successful the U.K., proceed to person 40% of qualifying costs backmost arsenic taxation credit, acknowledgment to the Theater Tax Relief program. As a result, the West End produces shows for importantly little money than Broadway spends and yet charges importantly little for tickets. Operation Mincemeat (a show I co-produce connected Broadway) opened connected the West End pinch a fund of £2 million, astir $1.6 million, but it costs $12.2 million to nutrient connected Broadway, pinch the nonstop aforesaid cast.

Of course, the Theater Tax Relief programme is not the only logic that theatre is cheaper to make successful the United Kingdom. There are less unions, and the West End artists are paid little money than their equivalents connected Broadway. However, authorities support for artists successful the U.K. comes successful different shape that whitethorn relationship for this difference.

Due to the National Health Service, employers are not responsible for providing employer-sponsored wellness security successful the aforesaid measurement they are successful the United States.

Health security was 1 of the cardinal points successful the caller cleaners national negotiations, and paying for wellness security for each labor and their families puts a important costs connected the theatrical productions. Affordable healthcare for labor is not an easy problem for Broadway to solve. Indeed, it is thing the entire state continues to grapple with.

Nonetheless, it would make a important effect connected Broadway if artists were capable to person healthcare for themselves and their families without relying connected their shows’ budgets.

In the existent administration, Trump’s focus connected defunding the arts does not bode good for a solution that comes successful the shape of governmental support. But until that benignant of support comes, Broadway whitethorn good proceed to spot higher and higher capitalization costs, pinch small dream of abatement.