SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Nineteen new plays and musicals will bloom on Broadway this spring. Five years after COVID darkened theaters for a year and a half, how is Broadway doing? Who better to tell us than our man for all seasons on Broadway, Jeff Lunden. Jeff, thanks so much for being with us.
JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE: It's great to be here.
SIMON: Our producers told me I couldn't sing, but, you know, (singing) I think I'll try defying gravity.
So how's Broadway doing?
LUNDEN: (Laughter) Well, I think the short answer, Scott, is the attendance and box office levels are coming back, not as much as before the pandemic. But you're right to single out "Wicked." During Christmas week, it brought in $5 million, the highest one-week box office tally for any show in Broadway history. And this, when people all over the country could see the film, which is up for 10 Oscars, for the price of a movie ticket.
SIMON: Yeah.
LUNDEN: People really want to be in the room where it happens. And speaking of that, "Hamilton" has been selling out, too, despite being available on Disney+.
SIMON: Jeff, you've been speaking with the head of the organization that represents theater owners and producers. What do they say?
LUNDEN: Well, Jason Laks is the new president of The Broadway League, and he's pretty bullish about Broadway's comeback. He told me that part of the reason they've been doing so well is that tourists are back. He told me domestic tourists represent 45% of the audience; international tourists represent 21%; and the rest come from the tristate area. Though suburbanites have not returned in the same numbers as before the pandemic, most likely because of remote work. Laks pointed to a challenge, though, rising costs.
JASON LAKS: While we're seeing incredible grosses coming back from the pandemic, we're seeing an incredible decline in the number of shows that are recouping. and that speaks to investors getting back their investment.
LUNDEN: Now, commercial Broadway theater has always been a big gamble - high risk, high reward. And up until the pandemic, the rule of thumb was that only 1 in 5 productions made their money back or turned a profit. But Laks says that has changed.
LAKS: Since the pandemic, it's much closer to 1 in 10, and so you're seeing a real drop in shows that are able to recoup.
SIMON: So I gather, Jeff, that producers are trying to hedge their bets by betting on big stars and, for that matter, big IP, intellectual property.
LUNDEN: Absolutely. The spring season is chock-full of Hollywood stars who are performing for Broadway for limited runs and pretty huge ticket prices. George Clooney is starring in a stage adaptation of his movie "Good Night, And Good Luck," about journalist Edward R. Murrow. Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal are starring in Shakespeare's "Othello," where the top ticket price is over $900 for the best seats.
Last season, you could see "Succession's" Jeremy Strong in Ibsen. He won a Tony for "Enemy Of The People." This season, you can see another "Succession" star, Kieran Culkin, in David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross," which will also star Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr.
SIMON: I am really looking forward to that, by the way. Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah.
LUNDEN: (Laughter) I figured you would be. In terms of big intellectual property, there's a stage adaptation of the television series, "Smash," opening in April.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LET ME BE YOUR STAR")
ROBYN HURDER: (As Ivy, singing) Fade in on a girl with a hunger for fame and a face and a name to remember. Her past fades away because as of this day, well, that girl is dead. I'm logging ahead. Her smile and your fantasies play a duet that will make you forget where you are. The music starts playing, her heart's saying, let me be your star.
LUNDEN: That's Robyn Hurder, who's starring in the show.
SIMON: Jeff, you've only mentioned a couple of musicals. What else is in the wings?
LUNDEN: Well, I'm going to play a quiz with you. Can you recognize this tune?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CANDELA")
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: (Singing in Spanish).
SIMON: Well, yes, "Candela."
LUNDEN: Right, from Bueno Vista Social Club. The Ry Cooder-produced album and the documentary of the Cuban musicians who played on it were a huge hit in the 1990s. And that audio comes from a press preview that I attended recently. The show tells the backstory of several of the musicians and features actors who actually sit in with the band. It was done off Broadway last season, where it got a lot of buzz.
Another buzzy new show is "Operation Mincemeat," which is coming over from London. It tells the story of a covert British operation in World War II to convince the Axis that the Allies are planning to land in Sicily. But in great British pantomime tradition, there's a lot of cross-dressing and hijinks from the small cast, who are also the show's writers. And that one won six Olivier Awards.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BORN TO LEAD")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) So you dreamt of being a pilot, but you never got to fly. So you dreamt of sailing the Seven Seas, but never got to try. Well, let Navy lads get soaking. We'll all stay nice and dry. We shout to all the soldiers, jump, and hear them shout, how high? For we were made to give the orders while lesser men take heed. For some were born to follow, but we were born to lead.
Ladies and gentlemen...
SIMON: Jeff, put you on the spot of bit. If you had only one or two new shows to recommend, what would they be?
LUNDEN: OK. I accept your challenge. First, on a personal level, back in 2017, I reported on the Jimmy Awards - the national high school theater awards - for this very program. And one of the kids I followed was a talented high school senior from Texas named Jasmine Rogers, and she was really astonishing. So imagine my delight to discover that as Jasmine Amy Rogers, she's starring on Broadway in "Boop"...
SIMON: Ah.
LUNDEN: ...As Betty Boop.
SIMON: This is wonderful.
LUNDEN: I am so excited to see her in this show as the star.
If I had to pick one show that I'm really looking forward to, it's "Dead Outlaw," a musical by the team that created "The Band's Visit." And it is about as far from that quiet, tender, beautiful musical as you can imagine.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Your mama's dead. Your daddy's dead. Your brother's dead. And so are you. Woo.
LUNDEN: It's a very funny story about a real wannabe outlaw named Elmer McCurdy. And after he's killed, his body is mummified, and he becomes a famous sideshow attraction. And the same actor plays both the living outlaw and the corpse. It was hilarious and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best musical. I can't wait to see it again.
SIMON: Your recommendation means everything. Our man on Broadway, Jeff Lunden. Thanks so much.
LUNDEN: Thanks, Scott.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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