The Unscripted Tonys Were a Win for CBS and Broadway | Analysis
The 76th Annual Tony Awards — which was nearly canceled outright because of the writers’ strike — went ahead on June 11. All the work to come to agreement with the WGA on the unscripted ceremony was worth it. It was a ratings bonanza for CBS and a notable lift to ticket sales for the winners, newly reported numbers show.
For many shows, the publicity from Broadway’s biggest night can mean the difference between keeping the curtain up and posting a closing notice. A Tony nomination typically only has a nominal impact on sales, whereas, depending on the show’s category, a win can be a game changer, said Hunter Arnold, a co-producer on multiple productions this season including “Some Like It Hot,” “Leopoldstadt,” “Life of Pi,” and “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.”
Before the compromise had been reached, theater producers worried that losing the Tonys to the writers’ strike could darken stages, in what’s already a lean and chancy business.
“Plays these days can cost anywhere from $4 million and $8 million. Musicals can start super lean in the low teens all the way up to the high twenties for bigger or more complicated productions,” Arnold told TheWrap. “Historically between one in four and one in three shows recoup their investment, depending on the season.”
For the week ending June 18, Broadway grossed a total of $32.9 million, up from $31 million the previous week, according to figures provided by The Broadway League. To date in the current season, Broadway has grossed $128.1 million, up 3.3% from the $124 million recorded at the same point in the prior season.
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CBS’ broadcast of the Tony Awards drew 4.1 million viewers, figures nearly on par with last year’s numbers, and the network noted a 13% gain in streaming viewership on Paramount+. Live events like award shows and sports — and there’s an argument that the Tonys are Broadway’s Super Bowl — are increasingly important to broadcast networks as linear viewership declines.
Likewise, the awards can really fill seats in theaters. Even Ariana DeBose, the host, acknowledged the economic importance of the Tonys to Broadway in her monologue: “Because just maybe, maybe you’ll see a performance that inspires you to take a trip to New York City, buy a ticket for you and your family or your friends to see a Broadway show.”
According to Arnold, the Tony Awards category that makes the biggest impact economically is Best Musical.
“That winner can see tremendous increases in sales, particularly if it’s a piece with broad appeal. Of course, the musical numbers that appear on the Tony Awards can also drive sales for their productions,” he explained. “It’s the largest single audience a show can put their best foot forward out to. So, overall the night is an important one to the industry.”
“Kimberly Akimbo,” which topped the Tonys with a total of five wins including Best Musical, grossed $695,404.58 for the week ending June 18, with an average ticket price of $111.68, an increase of $169,000 over the previous week.
Following closely behind with four wins each was Best Play winner “Leopoldstadt,” which grossed $924,033.35 at an average ticket price of $127.72, an increase of $237,000 over the previous week, and the musical adaptation of the film “Some Like It Hot,” which grossed $1,143,487.50 at an average ticket price of $109.24, up $103,000 from the previous week, and made history with J. Harrison Ghee’s win for Best Lead Actor in a Musical, the first time a nonbinary actor won that accolade.
Best Revival of a Musical winner “Parade” took in $1,168,463.25 and had an average ticket price of $145.51, up $108,000 from the previous week. Best Revival of a Play winner “Top Dog Underdog” closed on Jan. 15.
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Other shows that experienced a notable boost from the Tonys are the plays “Prima Facie,” starring Jodie Comer, and “Good Night, Oscar,” starring Sean Hayes. The pair won the awards for Best Performance by an Actress and Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, respectively.
“Good Night, Oscar” grossed $741,443.81 with an average ticket price of $132.90, up $78,000 from the previous week, “Prima Facie” grossed $1,107,829.96 with an average ticket price of $173.10, up $161,000 compared to the previous week and an eight-performance week house record for the Golden Theatre. The record was previously held by Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women,” which grossed $1,077,919. Following 10 weeks of performances, “Prima Facie” recouped its $4.1 million capitalization costs as of June 18.
Additionally, “Shucked,” which saw Alex Newell win Best Featured Actor in a Musical, another first for a nonbinary star, grossed $862,187.50 at an average ticket price of $97.76, or an increase of about $162,000 compared to the previous week.
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“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” which won Best Lighting and Sound Design for a Musical, grossed $1,935,912.00, up $54,000 from the previous week. The show, whose cast includes Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, Jordan Fisher and Gaten Matarazzo, had the highest average ticket price on Broadway for the week at $183.15.
“New York, New York,” which won Best Scenic Design of a Musical, grossed $995,843.69 with an average ticket price of $93.18, up $141,000 from the previous week.
Despite receiving nine nominations, “& Juliet” won no Tony Awards. However, it still played the highest-grossing eight-performance week of its run, bringing in $1,339,853.60 with an average ticket price of $163.76, up $205,000 from the previous week.
“Life of Pi,” which won the Tony Awards for Best Scenic, Lighting and Sound Design in a Play, grossed $494,001.40 with an average ticket price of $83.93, an increase of $10,000 from the previous week. The show will play its final performance on July 23.
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” which didn’t receive any Tony Award nominations but performed on the broadcast, grossed $839,922.95 at an average ticket price of $129.50, down $90,000 from the previous week.
Despite the impacts of the WGA strike, Arnold said the unscripted broadcast had both pros and cons.
“Certainly it created some creative constraints that were challenging on everyone from the showrunners to the presenters, but it also streamlined the production in some ways which had a bump in viewership,” he said. “But we are the live theater. We’re used to figuring out how to ensure the show goes on in all sorts of circumstances.”
In addition to airing on CBS and streaming live, the awards show is also available on demand on Paramount+. Prior to the ceremony, Julianne Hough and Skylar Astin hosted “The Tony Awards: Act One,” a live pre-show on Pluto TV that covered the first round of awards.
“It’s become the norm for many awards shows to have both pre awards and primetime awards. While it would be ideal for all artists to be given primetime recognition, those are the realities of the television landscape,” Arnold added. “The upside is that an expanded format creates opportunities for us to deliver new or adjusted categories. So if the dual streaming creates opportunities to celebrate more of the people who make the industry tick, then that’s a good thing.”
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