Star-studded Broadway season shatters box office records; Hollywood A-listers and newcomers draw crowds

Record ID: 1986995

  • Title: Star-studded Broadway season shatters box office records; Hollywood A-listers and newcomers draw crowds
  • Date: 2nd April 2025
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MARCH 27, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, BROADWAYWORLD RICHARD RIDGE SAYING: “We have so many Broadway sweethearts who are back who started their career in the theater and always come back. We've got Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga in ‘Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends’. We have Robin Hurder right down the st
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  • Keywords: broadway denzel washington george clooney new york richard ridge screen stage theater theater district times square
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,North America,Theatre
  • Reuters ID: LVA00D370002042025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: It's a star-studded season on Broadway, with Academy Award winners including Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Kieran Culkin and Robert Downey Jr. hitting the stage.
    “You've got Academy Award winner Kieran Culkin and a star cast in ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’. You've got Sadie Sink coming right across the street in ‘John Proctor’ (is the villain). Right behind me you have Sarah Snook who is in (The Picture of) ‘Dorian Gray’. You've got Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren in ‘The Last Five Years’. Robert Downey Jr. just closed in ‘McNeil’ uptown, I mean, the list goes on and on. Nicole Scherzinger, I mean in ‘Sunset Blvd.’ The names go on and playing on Broadway this season,” said Richard Ridge, an entertainment reporter with BroadwayWorld.
    Broadway's box-office records are being shattered this season, thanks in part to short, limited runs from these big-named actors. Attendance at shows is up nearly 18 percent from last season, with sales up close to 20 percent.
    “The reason for that is these shows are coming in for a very limited run, because these stars only have a short amount of time off from doing movies and television shows, and like the musicals are costing $23, $25 million (USD), the plays are costing five and six (million), so the prices have to be high because producers have to at least break even,” explained Ridge.
    Forty-three Broadway shows will open this season, which typically begins in April each year. In addition to the excitement over the A-listers, Broadway mainstays are also generating buzz with their returns.
    “We have so many Broadway sweethearts who are back who started their career in the theater and always come back. We've got Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga in ‘Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends’. We have Robin Hurder right down the street in ‘Smash’. There are so many wonderful people, you've got Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty who are Broadway favorites right across the street in ‘Death Becomes Her’.”
    Ridge also talked about the hype surrounding six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald’s performance in “Gypsy” directed by George C. Wolfe.
    “The most wonderful thing about that is like everybody under the sun is coming to see that show, including Oprah (Winfrey), who I think had an out-of-body experience backstage with the cast.”
    Off-Broadway productions are also packed with big names. Ridge pointed out the return of Paul Mescal in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Andrew Scott in 'Vanya' at the Lucille Lortel, and Melissa Gilbert in “Still”.
    However, newcomers have been able to carve out a space for themselves in various productions. Ridge predicts these shows are breeding the next knockout stars of the near future.
    “There's all new people in ‘Buena Vista Social Club’. I mean, ‘Operation Mincemeat’, which is right behind me, has an incredible group from London, they're all newcomers. And at ‘Boop!’ at the Broadhurst Theater, there's Jasmine Amy Rogers, who I hear is sensational as Betty Boop.”
    Tony nominations will be announced on May 1, and Ridge said this year there are no clear-cut standouts.
    (Production: Justin Nathanson, Alicia Powell)
    REUTERS / Emilio Madrid / Michaelah Reynolds / Matthew Murphy / “Sunset Blvd.” on Broadway / "Smash" on Broadway / “Death Becomes Her” on Broadway / Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman / Julieta Cervantes / “Vanya” / “Still” / “Gypsy” on Broadway / Jenny Anderson / Jeremy Daniel / “Boop! The Musical” / “Buena Vista Social Club the Musical”
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