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Broadway's Barometer - What Can We Expect for the 1st Quarter of 2009?

There are two times of year in the Broadway season that you can always count on traditional dips - at the end of the summer (what we refer to as ‘Back to School’) and then the January slump, which follows the Holiday Season, when tourists go home and everyone sits tight and assesses their economics, because taxes are due and Spring break is a long 3 months away. This impacts not only the theatre, but also restaurants, hotels and other areas of the travel industry. New York hotels, restaurants and nightlife however tend to benefit from conventions all year round, so it’s Broadway that takes the biggest 'hit.'

This year will be of particular interest due to the economic situation, which makes the phrase "more for your  hard earned dollar" even harder, if the dollar simply isn't there. It's going to be tough for everyone and early 2009's closings include 13, A New MusicalAll My Sons, Boeing-Boeing, Dividing The Estate, GreaseGypsy, Hairspray, The Seagull, Monty Python's Spamalot, Spring Awakening, Young Frankenstein, Equus and Speed-The-Plow (along with scheduled seasonal runs of White Christmas, Liza's at the Palace! and SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW)...some of which have recouped and others not. 

One could argue, that in some cases, a particular number of these shows would have closed anyway…but there's no question that what went on in the 4th quarter in both America's and the world's economy simply fueled the hot coals – and turned a bad situation worse, making it a "three alarm fire." Add to this that we still have a country at war and, as excited as we are about the new leader of our country, it'll be a hard climb up and a rough road ahead for everyone.

For many theatergoers, it brings up the question of “how essential is theatre” (given a budget of any kind) and I think we all know the answer to that, but it certainly is hard to keep it from going into a category which is truly suffering - that of "luxury goods."

One of the key things to watch, if you do watch the grosses weekly here on BroadwayWorld.com, is that the REAL story can be told in "the average ticket price." That will usually disclose internal discounting, TKTS and other types of offers that exist in any way that the current marketers can strategize, shedding light on a show’s true health.

One of the most popular and successful examples of protecting January - March sales came years ago when Cameron Mackintosh and his team, headed at that time by Marc Thibodeau, gave birth to the idea of “The Winter Sale” and sold orchestra seats, in advance, for a reduced price - no waiting, no conditions, no standing in line at the half-price booth. This was an immediate success and secured their break-evens for those crucial weeks and everything else was said to be ‘icing on the cake.’ This was an advertising event and piece of marketing that would be imitated and copied for years, but was never quite as successful because Mackintosh, at that time had the "real estate" and his top brand selling shows - Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera.

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Robert Diamond founded BroadwayWorld.com in 2003, which has now become the largest theatre web site in the world. He also serves as the site's Editor-in-Chief, covering Broadway and beyond, with specific local coverage for 100 cities in the United States, 30 countries worldwide and 15 other related areas of entertainment - including dance, opera, fashion, concerts, comedy, films, television and more.

The 2001 Syracuse University graduate (School of Information Studies) is also the owner of Wisdom Digital Media, an award-winning leading design company for entertainment and technology web sites. In his previous life, he held an executive position for the world's leading publisher of technology magazines, web sites and conferences and, as a result, was named among the "Top thirty magazine industry executives under the age of 30" by FOLIO Magazine.

Diamond got his start in the entertainment field, accidentally, when he created the 'official web site' (while in college) for Michael Crawford, the popular actor and original Tony and Olivier Award-winning star of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. (He still blames Crawford - and credits him - for anything that goes particularly right or wrong during an average day.)

As a respected member of the Broadway and theatre community, Diamond also served as Lead Producer for a series of sold-out shows using the BroadwayWorld.com 'brand' for a set of 'Standing Ovations' concerts, which also branched out into titles that included Holiday Shows and even more specific concerts like 'From Stage to Screen and Back Again' in tandem with publishers and movie studios. All proceeds were in turn donated to Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, the industry's leader in aid for performers in need.

Robert lives in Manhattan with his wife and two dogs, growing the business and getting little sleep. In addition, you can usually find him in a theatre many nights a week.

Robert's very popular blog, 'The Broadway Pulse' appears daily on BroadwayWorld.com and he also writes weekly about theatre for the USA Network's Character Approved blog.

In December of last year, Diamond was one of 5 Syracuse University Alumni, all having achieved success in the world of start-ups, business growth and venture capital, participating on a panel addressing young alumni who are currently pursuing their dreams of running their own business and experiencing the day to day challenges of a startup. It is part of the university's new Student Accelerator Program, for which Rob was recommended by Syracuse University's i-School.

Past Articles by This Author:
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STAGE TUBE: Katharine McPhee Does a Marilyn Mambo on Next Week's SMASH!
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CLYBOURNE PARK Sets Broadway Dates; Opens April 19 for Limited Engagement CLYBOURNE PARK Sets Broadway Dates; Opens April 19
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