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UPDATES FOR READERS OF "THE BUSINESS OF BROADWAY"

September thru December 2023

CHAPTER 16: LOCAL ONE STAGEHANDS

A new negotiated contract between Broadway producers and Local One Stagehands, effective back to July 2023 brings their salaries and benefits at the beginning of 2024 as follows:

*Base weekly salary: 4% increases bringing Category A to $2099.75, Category B to $2243.70, Category C to $2375.76, and Category D to $2692.61.

*Benefits: Vacation 10%; Welfare 16.5% (will increase annually) ; Annuity 16%; Pension: 8%

*Juneteenth was added as a holiday and commitments to DEI initiatives including gender neutral language in the contract were confirmed.

*Costume fees (in excess of wearing black) of $15/week (behind the scenes) and $25/week (onstage) were added.

*Theatre restoration (back to its pre-show condition) may now begin on the last day of a show being Loaded-Out. Previously, they could not be combined.

CHAPTER 12: UPDATED LIST OF THE 30 LONGEST RUNNING BROADWAY SHOWS as of December 24, 2023  (compare with the 2015 list in our book… amazing!)

(Note: The only 2 non-musicals, Life with Father and Tobacco Road, ran in the 1930s and 1940s; Except where noted, all performance totals are FINAL)

  1. The Phantom of the Opera 13,981 performances

  2. Chicago (the revival) 10,624  (still running)

  3. The Lion King 10,243  (26 years! And still running)

  4. Wicked 7,782 (20 years! And still running)

  5. Cats 7,485

  6. Les Miserable 6,680

  7. A Chorus Line 6,137

  8. Oh, Calcutta (the revival) 5,959

  9. Mamma Mia 5,758

  10. Beauty and the Beast 5,461

  11. Rent 5,123

  12. The Book of Mormon 4,643  (still running)

  13. Jersey Boys 4,642

  14. Miss Saigon 4,092

  15. 42nd Street 3,486

  16. Aladdin 3,411  (still running)

  17. Grease 3,388

  18. Fiddler on the Roof 3,242

  19. Life with Father (1939-1947!) 3,224

  20. Tobacco Road (1933-1941!) 3,182

  21. Hamilton 2,853  (still running)

  22. Hello, Dolly! 2,844

  23. My Fair Lady 2,717

  24. Hairspray 2,642

  25. Mary Poppins 2,619

  26. Avenue Q 2,534

  27. Kinky Boots 2,505

  28. The Producers 2,502

  29. Beautiful, the Carol King Musical 2,416

  30. Tie: Annie / Cabaret (the revival) 2,377

CHAPTER 17: DIRECTORS, DESIGNERS

Top Colleges where the 2022/2023 Broadway Creative Teams (designers, directors, musical directors, orchestrators) graduated from:

  1. NYU (more than 50!)

  2. Yale (more than 45!)

  3. Tie: Columbia / Juilliard (17)

  4. Brown (10)

  5. Tie: Harvard / North Carolina School of the Arts (8 each)

  6. Tie: Boston / Princeton / SUNY-Purchase / Oberlin (6 each)

Honorable mention: London Academy (LAMDA), U of San Diego, Carnegie Mellon, The New School and U of Michigan.