What Broadway’s HELLO DOLLY can teach nonprofit theatre marketers

Sorry for the absence for a couple of weeks-I know you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for my return! I’m playing two lead roles in two different shows this summer, one of which I’m producing, and have also had some other life complications…so it goes. But this story has been on my mind in the midst of everything else that’s going on.
In early July, it was widely publicized that Bette Midler’s week-long absence from the Tony-winning Broadway revival of HELLO DOLLY caused a box office crash. Granted, the crash still resulted in a gross of $936,000. But it was down from $2.3 million, a 60% drop. Performing in the Divine Ms M’s place was two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy, a spectacular artist with a long list of impressive credits. But she didn’t have the household cache of Midler, and therefore sales significantly dropped.
When a star is absent from a Broadway show, there are often many who feel it’s not worth the time. But I would contest that in this instance, the unusually large drop in sales shouldn’t be blamed entirely on Midler’s absence. The marketers should share some blame.
As I’ve stated time and again, marketing the content of the show and articulating the value of a production is crucial to attracting audiences, particularly because the investment at stake is far more than a monetary one. I have not seen HELLO DOLLY, but everyone I have talked to has raved about how the entire production is spectacular. Wonderful performances, gorgeous visuals, hilarious, heartfelt, a fine tribute to a classic musical. In fact, the only thing that seemed to be up for a little bit of debate was Bette Midler’s suitability for the role, particularly alongside a star of Ms. Murphy’s vocal caliber.
But since it was announced, the marketers have pushed predominately one angle: Bette Midler. If you visit the show’s website, the “media” tab features two text-only videos stating that Bette Midler is the reason to come see the show. Virtually every marketing strategy, at least that I’ve seen, focused totally on Ms. Midler’s presence, sending the message that she was the sole reason to see the show. Whether this was their intention or not, I’d argue that it’s what came across.
So naturally, when Bette was out, some potential ticket-buyers failed to see the point of attending. Where was the message about a two-time Tony winner and veteran of films such as Disney’s Tangled appearing in her place? (Donna Murphy’s bio does not even appear on the website!) Where was the message of joy and escapism? Where was the message of the other phenomenal cast members? Why were none of the other, plentiful virtues of this show communicated?
There was a news story or two. The occasional social media post. Photographs of the show circulated. But Midler was the key element in the message in a way that made it seem the show relied entirely on her. Considering that the show was nominated for another 11 Tony Awards, winning four, that seems unlikely.
The strategy here seemed to be “Scream about Bette in the lead, and don’t let anyone see even a glimpse of her without a ticket.” Bette didn’t perform on the Tony Awards, which instead featured a bizarre choice of David Hyde Pierce singing “Penny In My Pocket” (a cut song that should have stayed cut). No video exists. At a top ticket price of $748, this is elitist theatre at its finest. It works here…but it’s not a good strategy for us to follow.
Broadway economics are different, and I’m hardly an expert on them. Star casting is a tale as old as time and it’s not going anywhere any time soon. But I think we, as marketers in the nonprofit world, can learn a couple of things from the extreme drop in income the show had between Bette’s week and Donna’s week:
- Do not rely on one message: There are different angles to be explored in any piece. When you are looking at how you’re going to tell your marketing story, find all of the different sides, and strategically place those angles. One angle can be more prevalent than another. I’m certainly not suggesting that HELLO DOLLY should have ignored the fact that a superstar was the headliner. But what other angles could have been put out there? The show had many things going for it, but Bette Midler’s presence dominated about 95% of the advertising and social media posts. We can only help ourselves by thinking of different ways to communicate the virtues of the pieces we’re marketing. We are storytellers, after all! And different audiences are looking for different things, which leads me to:
- Don’t forget the content! HELLO DOLLY missed an opportunity to appeal to a new generation of theatergoers by focusing on nostalgia. Rather than articulating the plot, songs, and value of the show as a fixture of musical theatre, and what new audiences could get from it, the vast majority of the marketing focused on Bette Midler in a legendary show. Marketers assumed that the people with the power to buy tickets already knew the songs and plot inside and out. And they may have been right…but apparently those people who loved the show weren’t nearly as willing to see it without Bette in the lead. In our nonprofit organizations, we can’t make those assumptions. Much has been discussed about bringing in a new, young audience. One way we alienate them is by not telling them what the thing is about. My research has indicated that a detailed description is one of the more common motivators of a ticket purchase. Clearly, “everyone knows HELLO DOLLY” can’t be relied upon anymore…as audiences age, those shows with the name recognition and status as classics are going to begin “selling themselves” less and less. How could the marketing team have sold HELLO DOLLY to a different audience, an audience who didn’t automatically assume its inherent value?
Look, HELLO DOLLY is going to be fine. Once Donna Murphy was reviewed positively, revenue recovered, which was also due to the fact that the show was able to do additional performances with an alternate available. Broadway is an entirely different beast than nonprofit theatre in many ways. And I’m not one to tell the Shubert Organization what to do. But I do think that the initial crash didn’t have to be so extreme. And we as marketers, whose organizations probably don’t have the luxury of bouncing back from such financial peaks and valleys, can learn from it in our own ways.
THE BOTTOM LINE(S):
Extol your show’s many virtues, articulate its content, and don’t take for granted that a title will automatically guarantee ticket sales.