ANALYSIS | Extra celebrities on Broadway. Is theatre altering?

Broadway is taken into account the head of stay theatre, an area the place educated performers, authentic storytelling and creative risk-taking converge beneath the brilliant lights.

Lately, it has grow to be extra widespread to see celebrities working there, lots of whom haven’t got conventional theatre backgrounds. These days, that features Bob Odenkirk and comic Invoice Burr in Glengarry Glen Ross, rapper Megan Thee Stallion in Moulin Rouge! and Kim Kardashian producing the jail drama The Concern of 13.

Moreover, pop star Pink is internet hosting this yr’s Tony Awards, the theatre world’s equal of the Oscars.

Whereas this may be an thrilling expertise for the viewers, it raises a essential query: Are celebrities altering the character of Broadway?

The shift speaks to a sensible actuality — cash. Staging a manufacturing on Broadway has by no means been low-cost, however the price of producing a play has practically doubled within the final 10 years, with ticket costs additionally seeing a rise.

On this high-stakes atmosphere, casting celebrities affords a type of safety, as well-known actors usher in fan bases, media consideration and a degree of cultural recognition that may translate on to ticket gross sales.

From left, Invoice Burr, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk seem onstage through the Broadway opening of Glengarry Glen Ross on the Palace Theatre in New York on March 31, 2025. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Photos)

A 2022 examine of the connection between celebrities and income on Broadway, carried out by Kyle Maclean and Fredrik Odegaard, assistant and affiliate professors at Western College’s Ivey Enterprise College, reaffirmed the monetary affect such stars can have in theatre.

The examine analyzed 290 exhibits from 2009 to 2015, and checked out celebrities, actors who had received Tony Awards (however maybe weren’t well-known) and a few who slot in each classes, in an effort to decide which issue in the end led to income will increase.

The examine in the end discovered that it was the “well-known issue” of a star that spurred the rise.

Chris Peterson, founder and editor-in-chief of OnStage Weblog, says that with the suitable individual, a star can elevate a manufacturing, citing film actor and Saturday Evening Dwell alumnus Maya Rudolph in Oh, Mary!, who had an prolonged run this yr.

But Peterson provides that “the viewers immediately has an understanding of what they’re getting after they see a stunt solid,” shifting their expectations of a manufacturing towards leisure relatively than creative experimentation.

Is it cost-effective?

Some celebrities have loved essential success on Broadway. Megan Thee Stallion’s efficiency in Moulin Rouge! has largely impressed audiences, whereas a Selection journal evaluate mentioned Odenkirk and Burr do “glorious work” in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Pamela Anderson obtained a standing ovation for her 2022 Broadway debut in Chicago. But supermodel Ashley Graham, who starred in the identical present final yr, obtained combined evaluations. Some viewers members questioned her competence and whether or not she was really prepared for theatre.

Maclean says there’s nice strain on present producers to incorporate celebrities these days. If tasks don’t do effectively financially, not casting a Hollywood star might “look irresponsible in hindsight, even when the choice made sense on the time.”

He warned, nevertheless, that whereas productions that includes celebrities typically see a measurable enhance in income, that does not essentially imply they’re recouping their prices. In different phrases, star energy could draw crowds, but it surely does not assure monetary sustainability.

The reliance on performers higher recognized in different media has led to a noticeable decline in musicals, particularly authentic and new tasks. For instance, there have been solely six eligible new musicals up for nomination on the Tony Awards this yr, in comparison with the standard 10-15 in prior years.

Maclean says the broader desire for performs over musicals provides celebrities extra of a possibility to take part on Broadway, as a result of performs require much less of a time dedication.

Many Broadway productions these days are variations of movies, tv exhibits or different media that have already got an viewers, equivalent to Titanique, a parody of the 1997 movie Titanic that picked up plenty of Tony nominations this yr.

Six people, raising their right arms in the air in a dark space. — Forged members of Titanique are seen throughout a curtain name at New York’s St. James Theater on April 12, 2026. The musical is a parody of the 1997 movie Titanic. (John Lamparski/Getty Photos)

Peterson says that along with the rising prices of tickets, audiences wish to assure their enjoyment, which means they’re extra more likely to buy tickets for a manufacturing that options recognizable names in acquainted tales. Casting celebrities on this context turns into half of a bigger technique to cut back danger and enchantment to shopper expectations.

Ilana Lucas, president of the Canadian Theatre Critics Affiliation, mentioned that though Canada — particularly, Toronto — does often solid movie and TV stars in theatre, we don’t “have as a lot of a star tradition because the U.S. does.”

“I don’t see very a lot that I might contemplate to be a star or a star automobile,” she mentioned. “Within the Canadian theatre scene, I would suppose we’d have a protracted approach to go earlier than I might say had been inundated with superstar tradition.”

Transfer towards streaming

Peterson believes Broadway didn’t at all times comply with such a profit-driven agenda. Within the Sixties, ’70s and early ’80s, there was much more experimentation in productions. He cited works by Stephen Sondheim, equivalent to Firm or Sunday within the Park with George, which didn’t depend on present mental property (IP).

“I feel it has been some time since we’ve seen a real industrial success that was birthed and advanced for creative creation,” he mentioned.

A man with curly hair, body facing the right, while facing the front. — The late American lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim, seen in 1974, was recognized for musicals equivalent to West Aspect Story, Into the Woods and Ardour. (Night Commonplace/Getty Photos)

It “confirms … that Broadway is now not going to be essentially the creative beacon or creative torchbearer of American theatre as an artwork kind,” and that it is transferring towards a “theme-parky, tourist-driven theatre district.”

In consequence, “audiences which might be simply developing and discovering theatre and Broadway have an entire warped notion of what it’s presupposed to be, and due to this fact they’re it as a film.”

Lucas mentioned that superstar involvement can have an upside, in that movie and TV stars have the affect and assets to convey new and thrilling tasks on stage, which in flip can encourage a motion away from pre-existing, nostalgic content material.

Peterson’s considerations prolong past Broadway to regional theatres, the place new concepts and productions come to life.

With the burden of monetary difficulties, Peterson mentioned these companies are both closing down or transferring extra towards a “Broadway mannequin,” selecting to supply well-known works relatively than one thing authentic.

“The most important concern that I’ve is that it should grow to be the usual.”

He believes that within the subsequent 5 to 10 years, the trade could in reality transfer to a extra on-line mannequin, particularly streaming. For instance, he referenced the musical Hadestown, a narrative about two historic Greek myths that juggles the themes of affection, doubt and financial wrestle.

The present is presently working on stage on each Broadway and in London’s West Finish. However a filmed model of the latter, starring the unique solid from Broadway, is scheduled to be proven in North American film theatres in July.