NPR

'No Room For The Modest Hit Anymore': Broadway Prepares For Summer Closings

Broadway attendance is up — yet the $35 million production of King Kong is among the five shows cutting bait in the next two weekends, as musical theater undergoes a market correction.
The musical <em>King Kong</em>, which stars Christiani Pitts alongside a giant ape puppet, will end its run Aug. 18.

Broadway is coming off a record-breaking season, in terms of attendance and box office receipts. But this weekend and next weekend, five musicals, representing an investment of $95 million, will close.

Broadway attendance was up 14% between 2018 and 2019, generating $1.83 billion in ticket sales. But not everyone has been invited to the party, says Jeremy Gerard, who has covered Broadway as

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