As the year goes on, the Broadway scene seems to be going further and further down hill. Long-running favorites such as Spamalot, Hairspray, and Spring Awakening are closing, and people are starting to wonder about the future of Broadway. These highly successful productions not long ago were in their prime, with the money pouring in from all directions. So what's the deal? Why is it that over the last few months these shows that not long ago seemed to be in their prime with a long future ahead of them are suddenly dropping off the Broadway scene?
Well, the answer is a simple one, and not so unexpected: the economy. The simple fact is that people are just not willing to spend the money to see a show on Broadway. Yes, tickets can be rather expensive, but for the last hundred years at least, the United States has had no problem supporting New York's theater industry. But now, in the current economic decline, even those who lived for Broadway find themselves fighting to pay their bills, unable to even afford the thought of going to see a Broadway show.
Broadway's decline began before many of us may even have realized. Even last November, the state of the economy was beginning to have a noticeable effect on Broadway. An article came out in The Buffalo News reacting to numerous sales and deals offered at the Broadway theaters. Theaters that normally play to a full house were seeing half-empty audiences.
Even then Broadway was already suffering, and now the problem has grown even worse. I can't see the situation improving any, at least until this country can find a way to get itself back on its feet. Broadway is a cornerstone of our culture and identity as Americans, and something must happen to get us once again going in the right direction.
