The More You Know: Incorporating Data and Research to Limit the Risks of Producing on Broadway

What defines a commercial Broadway success? For the purposes of this thesis, it is defined as a commercial Broadway production that, at the very least, recoups its capitalization and at the most, consistently returns a profit to its investors. A true commercial Broadway success in today’s theatrical landscape has become more of a rarity than a given, a fact that I find troublesome. The aim of my thesis is not to propose a formulaic solution to ensure commercial success on Broadway—that would be futile and given the ever-changing variables impacting success, next to impossible. More realistically, I aim to explore what more can be done to better ensure the health and future of the commercial Broadway industry through the thoughtful and well researched marketing and positioning of its theatrical offerings