Broadway is considered the pinnacle of live theatre, a space where trained performers, original storytelling and artistic risk-taking converge under the bright lights.
In recent years, it has become more common to see celebrities working there, many of whom don’t have traditional theatre backgrounds. Lately, that includes Bob Odenkirk and comedian Bill Burr in Glengarry Glen Ross, rapper Megan Thee Stallion in Moulin Rouge! and Kim Kardashian producing the prison drama The Fear of 13.
Furthermore, pop star Pink is hosting this year’s Tony Awards, the theatre world’s equivalent of the Oscars.
While this can be an exciting experience for the audience, it raises a critical question: Are celebrities changing the nature of Broadway?
The shift speaks to a practical reality — money. Staging a production on Broadway has never been cheap, but the cost of producing a play has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, with ticket prices also seeing an increase.
In this high-stakes environment, casting celebrities offers a form of security, as well-known actors bring in fan bases, media attention and a level of cultural recognition that can translate directly to ticket sales.
A 2022 study of the relationship between celebrities and revenue on Broadway, conducted by Kyle Maclean and Fredrik Odegaard, assistant and associate professors at Western University’s Ivey Business School, reaffirmed the financial influence such stars can have in theatre.
The study analyzed 290 shows from 2009 to 2015, and looked at celebrities, actors who had won Tony Awards (but perhaps weren’t well-known) and some who fit in both categories, in order to determine which factor ultimately led to revenue increases.
The study ultimately found that it was the “well-known factor” of a celebrity that spurred the increase.
Chris Peterson, founder and editor-in-chief of OnStage Blog, says that with the right person, a celebrity can elevate a production, citing movie actor and Saturday Night Live alumnus Maya Rudolph in Oh, Mary!, who had an extended run this year.
Yet Peterson adds that “the audience today has an understanding of what they are getting when they see a stunt cast,” shifting their expectations of a production toward entertainment rather than artistic experimentation.
Is it cost-effective?
Some celebrities have enjoyed critical success on Broadway. Megan Thee Stallion’s performance in Moulin Rouge! has largely impressed audiences, while a Variety magazine review said Odenkirk and Burr do “excellent work” in Glengarry Glen Ross.
Pamela Anderson received a standing ovation for her 2022 Broadway debut in Chicago. Yet supermodel Ashley Graham, who starred in the same show last year, received mixed reviews. Some audience members questioned her competence and whether she was truly ready for theatre.
Maclean says there’s great pressure on show producers to include celebrities nowadays. If projects don’t do well financially, not casting a Hollywood star could “look irresponsible in hindsight, even if the decision made sense at the time.”
He warned, however, that while productions featuring celebrities often see a measurable increase in revenue, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are recouping their costs. In other words, star power may draw crowds, but it doesn’t guarantee financial sustainability.
The reliance on performers better known in other media has led to a noticeable decline in musicals, specifically original and new projects. For example, there were only six eligible new musicals up for nomination at the Tony Awards this year, compared to the typical 10-15 in prior years.
Maclean says the broader preference for plays over musicals gives celebrities more of an opportunity to participate on Broadway, because plays require less of a time commitment.
Many Broadway productions nowadays are adaptations of films, television shows or other media that already have an audience, such as Titanique, a parody of the 1997 film Titanic that picked up a number of Tony nominations this year.
Peterson says that in addition to the rising costs of tickets, audiences want to guarantee their enjoyment, meaning they’re more likely to purchase tickets for a production that features recognizable names in familiar stories. Casting celebrities in this context becomes part of a larger strategy to reduce risk and appeal to consumer expectations.
Ilana Lucas, president of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association, said that although Canada — specifically, Toronto — does occasionally cast film and TV stars in theatre, we don’t “have as much of a celebrity culture as the U.S. does.”
“I don’t see very much that I would consider to be a celebrity or a star vehicle,” she said. “In the Canadian theatre scene, I’d think we’d have a long way to go before I would say were inundated with celebrity culture.”
Move toward streaming
Peterson believes Broadway didn’t always follow such a profit-driven agenda. In the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s, there was a lot more experimentation in productions. He cited works by Stephen Sondheim, such as Company or Sunday in the Park with George, which didn’t rely on existing intellectual property (IP).
“I think it has been a while since we’ve seen a true commercial success that was birthed and evolved for artistic creation,” he said.
It “confirms … that Broadway is no longer going to be necessarily the artistic beacon or artistic torchbearer of American theatre as an art form,” and that it’s moving toward a “theme-parky, tourist-driven theatre district.”
As a result, “audiences that are just coming up and discovering theatre and Broadway have a complete warped perception of what it is supposed to be, and therefore they’re looking at it as a movie.”
Lucas said that celebrity involvement can have an upside, in that film and TV stars have the influence and resources to bring new and exciting projects on stage, which in turn can encourage a movement away from pre-existing, nostalgic content.
Peterson’s concerns extend beyond Broadway to regional theatres, where new ideas and productions come to life.
With the burden of financial difficulties, Peterson said those businesses are either closing down or moving more toward a “Broadway model,” choosing to produce well-known works rather than something original.
“The biggest concern that I have is that it’s going to become the standard.”
He believes that in the next five to 10 years, the industry may in fact move to a more online model, specifically streaming. As an example, he referenced the musical Hadestown, a story about two ancient Greek myths that juggles the themes of love, doubt and economic struggle.
The show is currently running on stage on both Broadway and in London’s West End. But a filmed version of the latter, starring the original cast from Broadway, is scheduled to be shown in North American movie theatres in July.
