On Broadway

The Tony Awards were presented this past Sunday.

Fourteen different shows that debuted this season won an award. If you're in the New York area, you already see the ads touting the victories. Many of these shows, from the revival of Hair to the new star-studded play God of Carnage, are expecting to reap benefits at the box office with the summer tourists. Billy Elliot has played to full houses since its opening, and with its 10 Tony wins its success will manifest as endurance, rather than with increased attendance.

The rest, if they haven't closed yet, are weighing their options. The musical Shrek, which won only one award for costumes, will be offering steep discounts in an effort to attrack theatregoers. Other musicals are closing because they can't compete with the award winners.

This is the pattern that Broadway shows have followed for decades, exacerbated in 2009 by the economy. The summer tourist season is a great boon to the established shows, to which out-of-towners will flock. And it's big business, with yearly Broadway revenues just shy of $950 Million over the past few years. And this doesn't count New York's vibrant Off-Broadway scene.

Broadway producers aren't dumb, however, and they track their own metrics. Much of this data is internal, but the expectation of an award-show bump to recoup a significant investment is what keeps some of these shows playing this long in the first place.