Terri White & "Follies" Girls. Photo by Joan Marcus.
I know this may come as a shock to you but I must finally confess…I am a woman who likes to use the internet but doesn’t live in New York City.
Or at least I would be if I were the average Broadway audience member. The Broadway League just released their 2011-2012 season demographic report and it contains lots of actually very interesting little tidbits about New York City theatregoers. Here are a few of the best from the press release. [My peanut gallery remarks are in the brackets and are not based on any scientific reporting whatsoever.]
- Tourists accounted for 63.4% of all Broadway tickets, up from 61.7% in the 2010-2011 season. [100% of these tourists were in my way every time I tried to get through Times Square quickly.]
- International tourists accounted for 18.4% of all admissions to Broadway shows. [They might as well hold meetings of the UN Security Council at Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King these days.]
- The use of the Internet for the purchase of tickets continues to be the most popular method of ticket buying. [Avenue Q lied. The internet is not for porn; it’s for trolling for Newsies tickets.]
- 67% of the audiences were female. [Well, duh.]
- The typical playgoer saw six shows in the past year, compared with four for the musical attendee. [What about if your bi? I mean, I like plays and musicals. We really do exist…]
Who knew facts and figures could be so fun and sexy? Maybe I’ll call up Nate Silver and see if he wants to go to a musical with me…
