Stage Writes
The Official Stage Rights Blog
Off-Broadway Theater Isn't Dying - It's Evolving. And It's More Profitable Than Ever.
"You can't make a living, but you can make a killing."
So goes a favorite saying of Broadway producers. Big money is hard to come by in commercial theater - for every Hamilton there are dozens of disasters, like...ahem...Disaster! (Tempting fate, that lot was).
The New York cast of 'Spamilton' (spamilton.com)
Off-Broadway theater is even rougher. Since 9/11, the kind of small-scale commercial shows that flourished in the 80’s and 90’s have all but dried up. Most successful, original work comes from the nonprofit sphere, through outfits like The Public, where Hamilton first debuted.
But 2017 marked a significant shift. The last 12 months saw success after success in venues with fewer than 500 seats, stoking new interest in risky properties.
The difference? Not a single one of these shows was a traditional play or musical. Each had a magic bullet that set them apart from the hits of yore, and the bullets came in three varietals.
Click here for the full article published on Forbes.com by Lee Seymour on January 17, 2018.