The Theater Kids Are Alright

After decades in the entertainment business, I’ve been able to key in on a number of trends that helped create some particularly memorable and popular TV shows. Staying on top of what’s new and exciting is a requirement of sustained success in this business. There’s one developing trend that, while outside of my professional purview, has been impossible to ignore as a lover of quality showmanship in all forms. Our allegedly tech-addled youth generation has taken to Broadway like never before, shattering stereotypes and breathing new life into the art form.

It’s not just something I’ve personally noticed. The statistics bear out the idea that Broadway is for the young. The most recent numbers from The Broadway League reported that a full quarter of theatergoers for the 2016-17 season were under 25, a larger proportion than the 50-64 demographic frequently thought of as the musical-watching majority. It’s not only a percentage game: League president Charlotte St. Martin touted a “record number of attendances by kids and teens,” with more seats filled by the 18 and under crowd than they’d seen since surveying began. This trend is quite a turnaround from what I personally witnessed just over a decade ago.

I spent thirteen years steering MTV as Head of Programming, during which time I was keyed into youth tastes and trends like few other people in the industry. After thousands of hours spent listening, observing, and learning about what young people were interested in, I can tell you: they weren’t going for Broadway. Something about it seemed old-fashioned to them, and it’s easy to see why. Shows were built for an aging audience that grew up admiring the stage, while this younger cohort grew up on television. No amount of onstage flash can beat the nearly unlimited visual palette available to TV producers, and I would know. But it seems that the pendulum has swung in the other direction as of late, and it’s worth examining why.

This new youth revolution arises from a confluence of factors. For one, marketing research shows that the current cohort of young people favor experiences over products when it comes to spending their money. They’re more willing than the previous generation to get up off the couch and take in a night of live entertainment. For sheer showmanship and spectacle, few live experiences can match a night out on Broadway. There’s also the fact that the actual content being brought that stage is more youth-focused than ever before. Let me share a couple of examples.

The award-sweeping sensation of 2016, Dear Evan Hansen is a blockbuster juggernaut with no signs of stopping. It also takes place entirely within an American high school. Based on an original story, the musical concerns a lie that spins out of control in the wake of a campus-shaking tragedy. The drama and humor made Evan Hansen the hit of the year, garnering six coveted Tony awards including Best New Musical. And it’s far from a one-year wonder: continually high returns to the tune of over $1 million per week since January 2017 haven’t shown any signs of slowing down.

Another original high school story is hoping to repeat the success of Evan Hansen when it debuts next year. After Be More Chill enjoyed a smash Off-Broadway run, its story of an unpopular kid who goes out on a limb to achieve his goals will debut in 2019 under the bright lights of Broadway. While nothing is guaranteed in the entertainment business, this combination of a great story, relatable characters and, of course, incredible songs is the latest iteration of the youth movement on stage. I wouldn’t bet against it.

These original stories bring the real drama of teen lives to the stage, but there’s plenty of fantastical adventures geared at the young as well. Shows from established properties like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Frozen, Aladdin, and meme machine Mean Girls bring a new, live twist to familiar stories and characters, showing there’s plenty of demand for thrilling theatrical takes on young people’s favorites.

While this may be a relatively recent phenomenon, it bears mentioning that the current youth cohort have been watching Broadway on TV before they likely saw the inside of a theater. The sensation of 2006, Disney’s High School Musical launched careers and cemented movie musicals in a lot of young minds as an exciting form of entertainment. MTV’s Legally Blonde two years later, which I had a hand in producing, brought Broadway to television and presaged the current wave of “Live from Broadway” shows like NBC’s The Wiz, Hairspray (with High School Musical’s Zac Efron), and Fox’s Grease Live! and the upcoming Rent Live.

The magic of Broadway occupies a special place in many hearts--my own included--so it’s exciting to see the young taking to the theater in greater numbers than ever before. In this industry, it seems that some are always ready to declare our perennial favorites “passe” or even “dead” (particularly those whose work appeals to older crowds). The youth movement in Broadway proves that such doomsayers had the wrong idea: the great white way is in no danger of going prematurely gray. The future of live theater looks to be in good hands, both on stage and in the seats.