Industry NewsNew Broadway Demographics Research Shows Growth in Nonwhite and International AudiencesThe new report from the Broadway League explores data from the 2018–2019 Broadway season.
By
Ryan McPhee
January 13, 2020
The Broadway League has released its 22nd annual “Demographics of the Broadway Audience” report, analyzing Broadway theatregoers and their behavior for the 2018–2019 season.
The findings, collected from the League’s extensive surveying, indicate a record high in admissions at 14.8 million. Of this audience, 2.8 million were from international visitors and 3.8 million were non-white theatregoers—both also record highs.
The average age of Broadway theatregoers came in at 42.3, up nearly two years from last season and consequently further from the median age. Still, the League’s myriad initiatives to bring in younger audiences (including Kids' Night on Broadway and Broadway Bridges) have proven effective, with over 3 million admissions coming from people under the age of 25 for the third consecutive season.
Additional statistics were on par with recent years, with women accounting for 68 percent of theatregoers and about a third of all theatregoers hailing from the New York City metropolitan area (including suburbs).
In a statement, Broadway League Chair Thomas Schumacher highlighted the variety of current Broadway offerings: "The breadth of this programming diversity is exactly what we on Broadway are supposed to do: serve the widest possible audience by doing work that appeals to them. Unmistakably, we have further to go but how gratifying that we continue to see younger and more diverse audiences year in and out."
Consisting of four distinct programs dedicated to supporting early career playwrights, the festival has formalized Second Stage Theater’s artistic pipeline.
The program awards three early-career playwrights with professional mentorship, a $7,500 stipend, a public reading, and additional networking opportunities.
The works—by artists like Ty Defoe, Jeanette Harrison, Angélica Negrón, Javaad Alipoor, and more—are the first in a planned multi-year series of multi-disciplinary works about our government.
