The Playgoer: B'Way Demographics

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Tuesday, March 28, 2006

B'Way Demographics

The League of American Theaters and Producers has released its latest annual study of Broadway audiences.

The headline, naturally, is all about "Broadway is back!" "Pre-9/11 business," etc. And good for them, on those fronts.

But for anyone still holding out hope Broadway could provide fertile (even habitable) ground for serious theatre, the clues are there.

From one summary:

The average age for a musical theatregoer was 41.1 years, compared to 49.7 years for those attending plays. International visitors to Broadway were the youngest overall (36.9 years), while theatregoers from New York City were 43.1 years on average and those from the suburbs of the city averaged 44 years of age.

So let's get this straight. People who attend plays as opposed to musical are more likely to be older, and anyone under 40 at all is very likely to be foreign!

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