High ticket prices are fuelling a Broadway boom

New York

MUSICALS about the aftermaths of a teenage suicide and a terror attack proved unlikely sensations. Star turns by Bette Midler, Josh Groban, Jake Gyllenhaal and Glenn Close added sizzle. And, led by Hamilton and Hello, Dolly!, the hottest shows started charging once unthinkably high prices for the best seats.

The Broadway season that ended on Sunday was one for the record books. Box-office grosses, which have been climbing since 2013, rose 5.5 per cent, to US$1.449 billion, a new high, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Broadway League, an industry trade group.