Curtains?

Is theatre a dying art?  Are we as artists soon doomed to perform only in the chorus line of unemployment?  Theatre experts have debated for centuries whether or not theatre is becoming more and more irrelevant.  With the coming of film and television in the last century, that debate is more fervent than ever.

According the more passionate and perhaps cynical theatre lovers, film and television have robbed our beloved world of drama of countless dollars and opportunities for growth and expansion.  

However, some experts state that such fears are mere histrionics.  Let's look at some numbers:

Find more statistics at Statista

According to a study from The Broadway League, gross revenue on Broadway has increased from 938.5 million dollars in 2006/07 to 1.1 billion dollars in 2012/13.  This is an increase to be sure, however slight, but let's look at the film industry.

According to Forbes.com, the gross revenue of box office sales alone have increased a whopping 24%, not to mention the widespread innovations of DVD, Bluray, and royalties from streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Consider as well that the highest grossing film in history, James Cameron's Avatar, was enough to gross $760 million dollars in US box office revenue - one film alone falling only roughly $300 million dollars behind an entire season of shows in the same year in the most profitable theatrical medium in the entire world.

James Cameron's Avatar as one film grossed
the equivalent of over 75% of Broadway's
annual income in the same year.

These numbers cannot be overlooked.  Statistically, film is growing at a much more rapid pace than theatre.  Also, considering the rate of inflation, could we truly say these slight increases of profit on Broadway over the years is even growth at all?  We certainly cannot draw the conclusion that theatre is dying.  From these numbers, it would be more accurate to say that it is currently in a state of stalemate (at least regarding Broadway).  Perhaps Jay McAdama, co-founder and Executive Director of the 24th Street Theatre in Los Angeles put it best: "Theatre will never be completely dead in our lifetime, but it's moved from Intensive Care to a ventilator."