Broadway attendance not yet at pre-pandemic levels, survey shows

The Broadway theater district is still recouping audiences from declines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry’s trade group reported earlier this week.

The 2022-23 season drew 12.3 million admissions, which is 16.8% short of the record set in 2018-19, the last complete season before the industry shut down in March 2020.

“While we are not yet back to pre-COVID attendance levels, audiences are returning,” Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, said in a news release.

Broadway remained shut down until August 2021, when the first show opened, albeit with a vaccine and masking requirement for audiences. Those rules are no longer in place.

The Broadway League's annual demographics report also shows that theatergoers are getting slightly younger and more diverse: The average age was 40.4 years old — the youngest in the past 20 seasons — and 29% identified as nonwhite or mixed, the highest rate to date. It was 26% in the prior survey. And the prior average was 42.3.

The latest survey showed about 35% of audiences are from the New York City metropolitan area. But the share of suburban theatergoers is among the lowest in years — 13.6% from New York City’s suburbs — according to league research director Karen Hauser.

In 2018-19, respondents reported having paid $145.60 per ticket; in the latest survey, the dollar amount was $161.20. These reported prices are higher than those reported in box office statistics, a discrepancy the report blamed on the secondary resale market or other fees.

Among the other findings:

• The average number of attendances for a theatergoer was four.
• People decided which shows to see based on music and recommendations.
• The average ticket was reportedly purchased 34 days before the performance, versus 47 in the 2018-19 season.
• Ninety-five percent of those surveyed reported they plan to see another Broadway show down the road.
• Twenty-nine percent of theatergoers work in the city.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.