MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Last week, the top-grossing show on Broadway was not a musical. It was "Good Night, And Good Luck," the play written by and starring George Clooney. It brought in a whopping $3.3 million, and reporter Jeff Lunden says this is not the only play headlined by Hollywood celebrities to find a box office bonanza.
JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE: For years, shows like "Wicked," "The Lion King" and "Hamilton" have led Broadway's box office.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Aaron Burr, singing) I've got to be in the...
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) ...Room where it happens.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Aaron Burr, singing) I've got to be, I've got to be...
LUNDEN: But lately, people have wanted to be in the room where it happens with George Clooney as well as Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal and Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk. They are all headlining Broadway plays with limited runs this spring, and their shows - "Good Night, And Good Luck," "Othello" and "Glengarry Glen Ross" - are breaking box office records.
PHILIP BOROFF: It's a scarcity factor. It's demand and supply, and there's a lot of demand.
LUNDEN: Philip Boroff edits Broadway Journal, which reports on theatrical finances.
BOROFF: These are the shows that people want to see. And yes, the top stars do not want to commit for six months or a year, and that drives up the demand, and that drives up the prices. You know, of course, this is nothing new. I mean, back when Philip Seymour Hoffman was around doing "Death Of A Salesman" a little over a decade ago, he was commanding almost $500 a ticket.
LUNDEN: Now, if you want to see "Othello" with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in the same theater, the top ticket goes for $921. For Clooney's play about journalist Edward R. Murrow, it's 799.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GEORGE CLOONEY: (As Edward R. Murrow) There are a certain kind of people wired a certain kind of way, who know there's a story behind the story if you're bold enough to search for it.
LUNDEN: The average ticket price for these shows hovers around $300. Boroff thinks that's a mixed bag for Broadway.
BOROFF: On one hand, it's always good for the industry to be in the news. Record grosses are generating stories. On the other hand, it also buttresses Broadway's image as being for the elite and being out of reach for people who aren't rich.
LUNDEN: But to be fair, there are less expensive ways to see "Good Night, And Good Luck" and "Othello." Daily lotteries offer a very limited number of tickets for $49.
For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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