Tom Hanks Latest Star To Go Off-Broadway as Theater Prices Skyrocket

I’ve worked on Broadway for the better part of 16 years. Have I been on stage? No, except for that time one show required drinks to be served to patrons at a “working” bar, which happened to be on a stage (I also met my wife at that show; it was a good time). I’m a Broadway Bartender, and if you think things have gotten more expensive over the years, you are correct! It’s not just your s***ty wine that’s more expensive; the shows themselves cost an arm and a leg to get into, with some climbing as high as $1000 a ticket (insanity).

I recently saw a clip of Quentin Tarantino saying (stay with me) something along the lines of “theater is more expensive, man, because you can’t f***ing watch it anywhere else, man.” I don’t totally disagree with that. Live theater (and live experiences in general) are more and more important as other forms of entertainment are easily accessible. People watch Netflix on their phones on the bus into work; it’s more casual, and is therefore valued as such (even if prices keep going up). That’s not even getting into the fact that many streaming services have pumped endless streams of garbage to train us to undervalue them.

Going to a show or live event is a whole thing. You might have to get a babysitter or want to dress up. You could go out to dinner first. Ironically enough, it takes effort to gad about town, because you want it to be worth it. Even if being out in the world is special, it shouldn’t break the bank. Unfortunately, Broadway tickets often do. The scene has slowly but surely become dominated by celebrity and IP (thanks, Giuliani), and prices have steadily risen. However, some celebs are trying to make theater accessible again.

A recent example involves George Clooney streaming his play, Good Night And Good Luck, on CNN. That’s a great way to get theater to the masses! But, if Broadway prices are still in the way of getting non-rich butts in seats, why not go Off-Broadway? That’s what happens when you do a show in a venue with less than 500 seats. Then, not only do people get a more intimate experience, but they don’t have to charge an arm and a leg. Hugh Jackman will be performing in an Off Broadway show this Spring that is specifically being marketed as “affordable.” Now, Tom Hanks is doing the same!

Hanks co-wrote and will star in a play called The World of Tomorrow that will debut at The Shed in NYC in October. Playbill says Hanks will be “playing Bert Allenberry, a scientist from the future who travels through time to 1939’s World’s Fair in Queens, New York, in search of true love.” The play is based on a short story Hanks wrote from a collection he released in 2017. “To explore the themes of love and yearning, and the struggles of today as we carry with us the eternal memories of the past, in such a place as The Shed, strikes me as a one-of-a-kind experience not unlike the World’s Fair of 1939,” Hanks noted in a statement.

I don’t think Broadway ticket prices are going down anytime soon, and I wish Off-Broadway shows could get attention without celebrities attached, but hopefully, this does wonders for NYC’s theater ecosystem. More plays could get more attention, and lesser-known actors could get a much-deserved spotlight. Or, Off-Broadway theaters will become overrun by Celebrities and find a way to raise ticket prices. We can’t act like that isn’t a very real possibility.