Jeremy Gerard and Jordan Roth Discuss Ticket Prices and the State of Broadway

Recently Deadline sat down with Jeremy Gerard and Jordan Roth to discuss the state of the Broadway industry. Gerard has been covering the shifting fortunes of the Jujamcyn Theatres since it became one of the biggest competitors for the Shubert and Nederlander organizations in the late 1980s. Roth is the current majority owner of Jujamcyn and is the youngest power broker.

In the interview, Gerard and Roth discuss the drop off of Broadway ticket sales over the reent July 4th weekend. The conversation included a discussion about "dynamic pricing" and how premium seating has become important on Broadway today.

Gerard told Deadline, "Broadway's high-rollers were away but there were still plenty of hoi polloi looking for tickets. So it's really all about the premium ticket market, a "dynamic pricing" system that seems to me about as popular on Broadway as it is in the airline industry - two industries, by the way, enjoying record-making profits while still seeming to be facing long-term challenges to their survival."

Roth rebuted with "That's the part of dynamic pricing that never gets covered. Dynamic means lowering as well as raising. Adjusting prices on different seats at different performances up and down to match demand."

They also jumped into discussing the state of Broadway today and the ongoing trend of Hollywood A-List actors attracting a broader audience but also causing high ticket prices.

Gerard spoke to the spike of prices and said, "I know that entire orchestras and balconies - sorry, mezzanines - can become 'premium' seating commanding upwards of $500 per ticket, even for mediocre seats at a hit show." He went onto talk about that overall people still want and crave live theater. He says, "For all the talk of competition from stay-at-home entertainment, the hunger for live theater is palpable. Sometimes Broadway reflects that, whether it's by offering superb revivals like The King And I as well as risky, who-knew? shows like Book Of Mormon or Fun Home - which the audience rewards with its hard-earned dough."

Jordan Roth concluded the interview with a very poignant statement about the prices of Broadway tickets. He says, "My concern is if all we talk about are the $500 premiums, people who want to see a show will think there's no other way to come and they just won't. That's not a good outcome for them or us or you. I love the Signature, and I love that they sell so many seats at $25, and I love that they got a tremendously generous donation from Pershing Square to subsidize all those tickets and make that price possible, and I love that every night on Broadway even more seats are sold for $27-$37, and while I know you don't like to talk about that, I love that we just did."

Click here for the full interview with Deadline with Jeremy Gerard and Jordan Roth.