Putting On a Show

PUTTING ON A SHOW The Costs & Returns of the World's Theater Business WELGONO TO Fabulous LAS VEGAS NEVADA Transforming a large-scale production from page to stage requires a large amount of resources. With over $3 billion in annual ticket sales between Broadway, Las Vegas and London's West End alone, it's undeniable that show business equates to big business... but to whom? Musicals on Broadway Wicked The Investment $14 MILLION $2.66M $2.38M $2.24M $2.24M $1.96M Director, Stage Mgr., Playwright 8% Publicity & Marketing Construction Materials Designer Insurance Other Costs & Transport Fees Fees 19% 17% 16% 16% 14% 10% Ongoing Running Costs $800,000 PER WEEK The $14 million was earned back in just 14 months, and it has since grossed over $500 million (only the third Broadway show to pass this mark). It regularly grosses over $1.5 million each week, and has broken the house record at the Gershwin Theater twenty times during the course of its run. Other Broadway Shows Show Production Cost Break Even Weekly Gross HEIOHTS IN THE HEIGHTS (OPENED 2007) $10 MILLION 11 MONTHS $600,000 JERSEY JERSET BUTS BOYS $8 MILLION 8 MONTHS $1 MILLION (OPENED 2005) MAMMA MIA! MINMA $10 MILLION 7 MONTHS $800,000 (OPENED 2001) Putting on a show in Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil's Rà While 9 out of 10 shows on Broadway fail to earn back the money invested in them, the Cirque du Soleil troupe has never once failed to make a BROADWAY SHOWS profit at Las Vegas. CIRQUE IN VEGAS Kà's COST O00 2004's 36 BROADWAY SHOWS Their hit show Kà cost $220 million to develop and $165 million to stage in 2005, more than ali 36 Broadway productions in the year before. DEVELOP STAGE THEATER The MGM Grand Hotel agreed to pay $135 million for a specialist 1,900-set theater to house the act, with $30 million in costume and other production costs halved between Cirque and MGM. OTHER 100 Costs (Millions USD) - Over 1 MILLION people have seen the show as of November 2009, putting it on the same level as some of the larger, long-running Broadway shows. KÀ KISS ME, KATE WEST SIDE STORY 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 Total Audience The production costs on the opening night compared to the size of the theater put the individual seat value at $86,842. 9,000 tourists see a Cirque du Soleil show every night, equating to 5% of Las Vegas visitors. Production Costs in the West End Equus The Investment $1,129,500 $484,100 $242,000 $242,000 Production Costs Marketing & Advertizing Creative Team Fees Rehearsals 14% 43% 21.5% 21.5% Ongoing Running Costs $145,200 PER WEEK The production recouped its costs after 9 weeks of running. The maximum the show could make in one week (with a full house) was $484,200. The Return PRODUCERS 40% INVESTORSO0% Once operational costs are deducted, net profit is divided: 60% to the investors, 40% to the producers Wages in the Theater Business Director $87,000 $100,000 Sound Engineer $53,940 Orchestra Musician $1,220/week $80,000 ---- Actor Singer $29/he Lighting Designer $38,000 $60,000 --------- Conductor %2441,270 $40,000 ---- $20,000 - so The earnings for actors vary massively. A minimum salary on Broadway is $1,215 per week, and off Broadway the minimum drops to $440 - $763. WAGES PER WEEK ON BROADWAY Leading Role Featured Part $1,800 Leading Role $9,100 $4,500 Featured Part $3,600 OFF BROADWAY WAGES PER WEEK Runaway smashes can be incredibly lucrative for the lead stars - it was reported that the original Wicked actresses Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were paid $25,000 a week each. However, the Actor's Equity Association states that fewer than 15% of its members are working in any given week, and puts the average annual earnings across all its members at $14,936. CO2 Emissions Generated by the Industry Theaters in London account for 50,000 tons of CO, emitted every year (not including pre-production and audience travel), the equivalent of an average person running all their kitchen appliances continuously for 625,000 years. Plans have been put in place to reduce this 60% by 2025. 625,000 YEARS The non-profit organization Julie's Bicycle issued a report estimating international theater touring produced roughly 13,400 tons of CO. emissions in 2009 – the same amount generated while building 134 average-sized houses in the United States. Broadway's Measures to Cut CO2 Examples include the conversion of over 97% of the marquee and outside lighting of Broadway theaters to LEDS or CFLS. These bulbs typically use 20% of the energy of traditional marquee bulbs. CFL & LED TRADITIONAL Bulb Energy Consumption In September 2010, the Broadway Green Alliance collected 2,250 pounds of clothing and fabrics from theaters. 96% of these 84% of all sets from closing productions were recycled in 2009. materials are kept out of landfills. Touring shows have offset over 4,000 tons of carbon emissions associated with the transport of their equipment by investing in wind power and other renewable energy projects in association with the Broadway Green Alliance. http://www.musicals101.eom/makemusi.htm http:news.bbe.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4674814.stm http://www.nyitawards.com/survey/0OBBudgetStudy-pdf http://www.ceirquedusolell.com/en/press/kits/shows/ka.aspx http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/finance/features/40S6/ http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Theater-Review/wicked-facts-igures http://www.businessweek.com/magazinelcontent/04 50b3912097.htm httn:l/www telegraph.co.ukleulturre/theateridrama/3665465/Equus-the-naked-truth.html http://www.london.gov.uk/arehive/mayoripublications/200sidoes/green-theater-summary-pdf http://switchboard.nrde.org/blogs/ahershkowitz/broadwaygreen_at_the_white ho.html http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.displayid/18127 http://www.thelavinagency.com/imagesuploads/1216060062 Business20-CirqueDuSoleil.pdf http://www.thedramateacher.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-mount-a-broadway-musical http/llentertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts and entertainment/artiele648202.ece $1.4M $161,400 A The Return The Expenditures Wages per Year (USD) – Sources