Broadway shows have lower attendance than they did before the pandemic, and make less money, but “we are no longer in recovery,” Broadway producer Ken Davenport says. “This is the new normal.” But, while there are unmistakeable challenges, there are several reasons he is optimistic about its future.

Davenport was delivering what he called The State of the State on Broadway, a webinar over Zoom that, in the ten slides below, lay out:
the statistics on the 2023-2024 season;
how they compare to the last season before the pandemic;
a change in the demographics (the biggest percentage fall-off is not in international audiences but in theatergoers from New York City suburbs)
what kind of shows are doing the best;
what he sees as the three greatest challenges (the state of the city — both how it’s doing and how it’s perceived to be doing; inflation; the possible phasing out of a state tax incentive for Broadway productions
what he expects from the future — pointing to several trends that give him hope, especially a younger and more diverse audience

The full webinar is available on video through July 22nd.