Ahead of the Tony Awards, theatergoers try to find cheap ways to see stars like George Clooney and Denzel Washington on the stage
At 6:20 a.m., Sarah is already in line outside the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. Despite waking up early, she’s not the first—three people beat her to the box office—but she’s not worried: “I think I’ll get them,” she says confidently. She knows the rush system well. Thanks to those cheap last-minute tickets, she has been able to see ten shows in the recent months for just a fraction of the regular price. Her strategy is ironclad: “I always arrive around six.” Others aren’t so lucky.
By 10:00 a.m., when the box office opens, there are 39 people waiting. Today, the first seven each get two seats for $49 apiece. The next seven have to settle for standing-room-only tickets at $69. The rest will have to get up a bit earlier next time. This scene plays out daily across the 41 official Broadway theatres, but few productions have generated as much buzz as the one Sarah will see tonight: Good Night, and Good Luck, a stage adaptation of the 2005 film of the same name. The reason for the frenzy? Its leading man: George Clooney.
Broadway has just wrapped its 2024–2025 season with record-breaking box office numbers, and this Sunday’s Tony Awards will mark the grand finale, celebrating the success of New York’s theater scene. According to the Broadway League, which manages the city’s most coveted stages, the 14.7 million tickets sold brought in $1.89 billion in revenue. While this surpasses the previous record from the 2018–2019 season in terms of revenue, that pre-pandemic season still sold more tickets overall. However, this year’s average ticket price, $129.12, is the highest ever recorded.
Not just students struggle with the cost of going to see a show—anyone on a modest salary would find Broadway inaccessible without lotteries and last-minute rush ticket options, longstanding traditions that still survive today (albeit without disclosure on how many seats are reserved for them.) “Prices are insane. I wouldn’t pay more than $100 for a show,” Sarah admits. With the surge in demand driven by the award season buzz, snagging a discounted ticket over the past month has become nearly impossible. Showing up in person offers better odds than entering digital lotteries. (The day after Sarah sees George Clooney, Telecharge—the website that handles digital rush entries for a dozen shows—crashes at 11 a.m. sharp when the ticket request window opens.)
This past week, Good Night, and Good Luck climbed to the top of the box office. George Clooney alone drew over $4 million in sales. For evening performances, orchestra seats now range from $700 to $900. The mezzanine is more “affordable,” with prices around $600 for the best views and $400 for seats at the very back. Matinee shows are a better deal, with a price cut of a $100 to $150. This Saturday will mark the final curtain for the production, with a special performance broadcasted live by CNN to homes across the country. And on Sunday, it is up for five Tony Awards, including Best Leading Actor in a Play for Clooney himself.
Philip Boroff, editor of the trade publication Broadway Journal, attributes the season’s success to a combination of factors: “There have been lots of great shows this season, a lot of variety, and New York seems pretty packed—tourism has rebounded.” Still, the presence of big-name celebrities was key in breaking revenue records. “The big stars commanded big prices,” explains Boroff. The examples are plentiful. Last week’s second-highest-grossing show was Othello ($3.3M), starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, followed by Glengarry Glen Ross ($2.75M), with Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.
"Broadway has a love-hate relationship with the idea of being elitist" - Philip Boroff, editor of Broadway Journal
Interestingly, while musicals are the most expensive productions to mount, their average ticket price—$126—was lower than that of plays, which reached $141. In fact, since the pandemic, musical ticket prices have slightly declined, down two dollars in the last year. In contrast, plays have become 30% more expensive than the previous season, inflated by the presence of film and television stars.
“Broadway has a love-hate relationship with the idea of being elitist,” Boroff notes, adding that while high ticket prices are a point of pride within the industry, there’s also a conscious effort to ensure accessibility beyond New York’s wealthiest circles. Still, Boroff warns, low prices carry a risk: “Shows that have cheaper tickets generally don’t survive because they are not bringing enough money to cover their costs.”
Sunday’s Tony Awards will celebrate the artistic excellence of this season, but for Good Night, and Good Luck, which closes just the night before, any statuettes it takes home won’t change its box office fate. Other productions without the backing of globally recognized stars have more at stake. For Boroff, there’s one award that can truly shift a show’s commercial destiny: Best Musical. Whichever show wins out among Buena Vista Social Club, Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, and Operation Mincemeat will receive a surge of new audience members—possibly enough to extend its life on Manhattan’s stages.
