Rapid Response: In hard times, the show must go on, w/BroadwayHD’s Bonnie Comley
Masters of Scale
WaitWhat
4.6 • 4.4K Ratings
🗓️ 16 September 2021
⏱️ 32 minutes
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Summary
18 months ago, the lights went out on Broadway. What can you learn as this $16bn industry begins to re-light the lights? Tony-winning producer Bonnie Comley, the CEO of BroadwayHD and board president of the Drama League, shows us how Broadway's 41 theaters are coming back to life — and how the 18-month pandemic closure created some breathing room for her industry to reimagine itself. At the core: broaden the customer base, embrace digital, and expand the touchpoints for each show as a brand.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | 41 Broadway theaters just really sat in mothballs for almost 18 months. |
| 0:07.4 | So here is an industry that brings in 16 billion that is now unplugged. |
| 0:16.2 | The industry started looking at, okay, we've got to reopen. |
| 0:20.4 | What does that mean? |
| 0:22.6 | Lion King, Wicked, all of these shows are a brand. |
| 0:26.8 | That's what we're seeing on Broadway is that there are multiple touch points for a brand. |
| 0:32.8 | It have to be a little bit off center. |
| 0:35.8 | I think to be an entrepreneur, there's so many other safe things to go into to calculate at risk. |
| 0:42.6 | But you have to be willing to lose. |
| 0:44.8 | You have to be willing to fail. |
| 0:50.8 | That's Bonnie Comley, Broadway producer, board president of Broadway's |
| 0:55.8 | Drama League and CEO of Broadway HD. |
| 0:59.8 | Even as the Delta variant has pushed up COVID-19 infections, |
| 1:03.6 | Broadway theaters are reopening, resuming their show must go on mantra. |
| 1:08.4 | I'm Bob Safian, former editor of Fast Company, founder of the Flux Group and |
| 1:12.8 | host of Masters of Scale Rapid Response. |
| 1:15.8 | I wanted to talk to Bonnie because she's been on the forefront of merging live |
| 1:19.8 | theater with new digital engagement. |
| 1:22.4 | The business of Broadway is entirely unique, yet at the same time, it offers a window |
| 1:27.0 | into the challenges we all face when rebooting longstanding practices and expectations. |
| 1:32.8 | Bonnie is charged with expanding Broadway's fan base and exposure, |
| 1:36.8 | recognizing that some things about the theater experience need to be modernized. |
... |
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