The 7th show of the 2024–2025 Broadway season just announced it has recouped its production costs.

That show? The Picture of Dorian Gray.

It’s an incredible feat. So congratulations to all the producers and everyone involved on that show. Truly worth celebrating.

And here’s something even more interesting: out of all the shows this season so far, this is the 7th to announce recoupment. Another reason to jump up and down and cheer.

But here’s the little asterisk:

• All seven of those shows… were plays.
• And all but one of them featured stars.

So what does that tell us about the current state of the Broadway economy?

All seven recoupers? They’re plays and almost all star-driven.

Meanwhile musicals, despite some truly great and innovative productions this year and last, have struggled to cross that finish line.

That suggests one thing:

Musicals need some economic rethinking.

And as someone who mostly does new musicals (with three big ones targeting Broadway in the next few years), I’m staying awake at night figuring out how to crack this “nut”.  (In Broadway speak – a “nut” is its weekly operating cost.)

We’ve seen this pattern building over the past few seasons. High running costs, large casts, big orchestras, long tech periods. . . and at the end of the day, even the shows that audiences love can still fall short financially.  

So what does the future hold?

Theater is a collaborative art form – and when shows runs are cut short, everyone suffers – the authors, the stagehands, the designers, the producers, the ushers, the theater owners, the everyone . . . it’s time we all do what we got in this business to do – come together and make something work . . . for everyone.

What do you think? What does this trend mean? And what’s the next step for musicals on Broadway?

Leave your thoughts on my LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok  — I’d love to hear your take.