Podcast Summary: "Is BROADWAY dying? | The truth about theatre industry finances, tax problems, and a possible strike"

Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: MickeyJoTheatre (Mickey Jo)
Date: October 5, 2025

Episode Overview

Mickey Jo tackles the central and urgent question reverberating through the theatre community: “Is Broadway dying?” Drawing on recent headlines, industry trends, and his own conversations with investors, producers, and creatives, he unpacks the mounting financial difficulties threatening Broadway’s future. The episode explores spiraling costs, the role of tax credits and government relief, the changing nature of Broadway programming (fewer new musicals, more star-led plays), and the looming possibility of an Actors’ Equity Association strike. Throughout, Mickey Jo maintains a tone of caution, urgency, and hope, emphasizing the importance of audience engagement and solidarity within the industry.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Historical Context: Broadway’s Perennial Crises

• Cyclical Challenges: Broadway has weathered several existential threats in recent decades—the 2001 post-9/11 tourism dip, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown.
  • Quote:
    “There will always be those... who will say that all of this has happened before, that it’s cyclical and that we shouldn’t go around claiming that the sky is falling…” (10:00)
• What’s Different Now?: Unlike past downturns triggered by specific global/national events, the current struggle isn’t solely due to macroeconomic or political factors. Instead, internal financial pressures are compounding.

2. Skyrocketing Production Costs

• Budget Inflation: Production costs for both musicals and plays on Broadway have soared.
  • “Something Rotten, with a cast of 25, cost $14 million... Last season’s Death Becomes Her... cost up to $31.5 million.” (21:30)
• Trickling Effects: Rising costs impact everything—set design, labor, materials—making profitability elusive, even for apparent hits.

3. Profitability Crisis for New Musicals

• Alarming Stats: None of the 18 commercial musicals opening last season have yet become profitable.
  • Only three new musicals have announced they recouped since the pandemic (MJ, Six, & Juliet), and all received government support. (30:30)
  • Top Tony winner The Outsiders hasn’t recouped despite “great grosses, great average ticket prices, and lines at the box office.” (25:00)
• Quote:
  “Since the pandemic, only three new musicals on Broadway have actually announced that they have recouped.” (30:10)

4. Investor Reticence & Loss of Financial Safeguards

• Growing Risk Aversion: Investors, seeing runaway budgets and poor recoupment rates, are backing away from new musicals.
  • “The budgets I see are so big that I don’t believe the shows can recoup their capitalization costs.” — (citing Broadway investor Eric M. Gardner, 36:45)
• Tax Relief Drying Up: Temporary pandemic-era federal grants and NY state tax credits have run out or are underfunded, leaving upcoming productions financially exposed.
  • “The program, colloquially known as the Downstate Tax Credit… had been renewed for two years… but the money available for reimbursement has now run out.” (40:00)

5. Fewer New Musicals, More Star-Led Plays

• Programming Shift: Next season will have far fewer new musicals (likely half compared to last season) and many more shows led by celebrities.
  • “We are already seeing it in the upcoming season. There are multiple star led plays coming in and the likes of Giant starring John Lithgow is, I am hearing, much more popular among investors than a host of new musicals...” (52:30)
• Impact on Industry: Musicals are the “lifeblood” of Broadway; their decline jeopardizes the ecosystem that supports other venues and creative work. (56:00)

6. Ticket Price Dilemma & Limited Audience Pools

• Budgets are driving ticket prices higher, but audiences haven't returned to pre-pandemic size. It’s a vicious cycle: shows cost more, fewer people can afford to see them, and productions struggle to break even.
  • “There is no feasible way of reducing ticket prices en masse across the industry while everything is simultaneously taking longer to start becoming profitable.” (33:00)

7. Revival Boom & International Realignment

• Nostalgia and brand familiarity are on the rise: More Broadway revivals (Ragtime, Rocky Horror, Chess, Dreamgirls) because these are viewed as safer investments.
  • “It seems that familiarity and nostalgia is what producers are leaning into at the moment.” (01:03:30)
• Producers and investors are increasingly looking to the UK for better financial prospects, further “globalizing” new project pipelines.

8. Impending Actors Equity Association Strike

• The Actors Equity production contract expired September 28, 2025, removing the no-strike clause.
  • Union members now have the legal option to strike, leveraging more bargaining power for upcoming negotiations. (01:09:50)
  • Quote:
    “With an expired contract... the no strike clause is no longer in effect... which means that they can now call a strike if they wish to.” (01:10:00)
• High stakes: A strike could devastate already-fragile Broadway productions, but may be necessary to protect actors’ livelihoods.

9. The Human Cost

• While much of the discussion centers on investors and producers, Mickey Jo is careful to center the well-being of artists, crew, and all workers.
  • “The reality is that it’s the individuals who work for them... who are going to be struggling the most in the face of financial hardships and show closures.” (01:13:00)
  • Loss of work can mean loss of health insurance and basic security for arts workers.

10. What Can Audiences and Fans Do?

• Support can go beyond buying tickets—help shows by sharing content positively and not spoiling embargoed news, boosting algorithms, and spreading word-of-mouth.
  • “Theatre is difficult to make anywhere around the world, not just on Broadway. Celebrate the pieces of theatre that you love, that you are inspired by.” (01:18:38)
• Broad support and social media engagement can help shows find and grow their audience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Production Costs:
  “Broadway is not a business anymore… I just don’t see how it can sustain.”
  —Andrew Lloyd Webber, as quoted by Mickey Jo (31:30)

• On Investor Sentiment:
  “The budgets I see are so big that I don’t believe the shows can recoup their capitalization costs.”
  —Broadway investor Eric M. Gardner (36:45)

• On Government Support Running Out:
  “The program, colloquially known as the Downstate Tax Credit… had been renewed for two years… but the money available for reimbursement has now run out.” (40:00)

• On Star-Led Plays vs. Musicals:
  “If you thought Broadway had been reliant on celebrity in the past, get ready for that to only feel more and more apparent.” (54:50)

• On Social Media & Spoilers:
  “How about we don’t uplift and support content that deliberately spoils embargoed announcements... you are actually damaging the impact and the reach of the social media of all of these shows.” (01:17:00)

• On the Industry’s Purpose:
  “No one is making theater to make a vast amount of money. Investors are not investing in the theater to make money… they are doing it for the love of the art.” (01:19:30)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – Opening and setting up the central question: “Is Broadway dying?”
• 10:00 – Historical examples of Broadway crises and what’s different about this one.
• 21:30 – Production costs comparison (Something Rotten vs. Death Becomes Her).
• 25:00 – The Outsiders as a case study in financial struggle despite apparent success.
• 30:10 – Only three new post-pandemic musicals have recouped (all with government help).
• 36:45 – Investor nervousness and Eric Gardner quote.
• 40:00 – New York State Downstate Tax Credit depletion explanation.
• 52:30 – Shifts toward fewer new musicals and more celebrity-led plays.
• 54:50 – The Broadway “celebrity effect” and its impact on programming.
• 56:00 – The vital role of musicals in Broadway’s ecosystem.
• 01:03:30 – The nostalgia/brand revival trend.
• 01:10:00 – Details on Actors Equity Association's expired contract and strike possibility.
• 01:13:00 – The lived experience and vulnerability of theatre workers.
• 01:17:00 – How audience and fan behavior online can help or hurt shows’ marketing.
• 01:19:30 – Concluding remarks on the industry’s ethos and call for community engagement.

Tone & Language

Mickey Jo maintains his characteristic blend of wit, urgency, and heartfelt advocacy. He references industry players and broader economic forces but remains audience-focused, offering action steps and a sense of hope even in the face of daunting realities. There’s a constant undercurrent of “the show must go on,” but not at the expense of the theatre worker’s well-being.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Broadway’s economics are at a breaking point, risking a downturn in new musical development and pushing the industry further toward safe bets and star vehicles.
• Critical financial safety nets (like tax credits) are vanishing, and even critically lauded or popular shows are struggling to break even.
• The potential for a Broadway actors’ strike adds urgency and complexity to the situation.
• Supporting the theatre requires more than ticket sales; it’s about engaging positively on social media, advocating for the industry, and remembering the human beings behind every show.

For more details, listeners are encouraged to check out the referenced New York Times and Broadway News articles, and to follow Mickey Jo for ongoing updates.