Cursed Child Helps Broadway Break Records
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has helped broadway to a record-breaking season. Box office and attendance rose to an insane $1.7bn (£1.28bn) over the past year, according to the Broadway League.
Tina Fey’s Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton also helped to bring the record number of theatregoers. Broadway League president Charlotte St Martin said that it was down to the ‘diverse’ season, which ‘offered something for everyone’.
For the year to May, receipts were up 17.1%, according to the industry body. Attendances also rose 3.9% to top 13 million over the last 53-week period.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is among one of the most highly reviewed and commercially successful plays that dominated the run. After a record-breaking opening in London’s West End in 2016, the two-part production was then transferred to New York and was nominated for 10 Tony awards, including best play.
Three of the cast, Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Anthony Boyle, are all up for awards, with director John Tiffany has also been nominated too.
St Martin added that a ‘variety of price points’ for customers strengthened the turnout. She stated:
‘Over 80% of the shows on Broadway had an average paid admission of under $130 (£98) and more than half of the shows that played this season (60%) had an average paid admission of less than $101 (£76).
‘It’s not surprising that so many have been coming to experience the best of live theatre’
The Cursed Child has all but taken over the Palace Theatre, with hundreds flocking weekly to see the show.