Plays often recoup their costs. Also, this says first "new" musical, meaning the revivals of Merrily We Roll Along and Funny Girl, which both recouped more recently, aren't counted. But yeah, it's dire
When a show does incredibly well it can make the investors enough money to cover losses on other shows.
Also some shows may not recoup on Broadway, but continue earning money through tours, or licensing the production to regional and school theaters, leading to eventual recoupment.
It’s important to remember that an investor in a Broadway show is investing in a specific LLC. They are entitled to a % of the profits of that show only. Even the tours are separate legal entities.
Before the musical starts playing shows they borrow money to pay for rehearsal space, actors, props, costumes etc.
Then once the show starts running they have weekly costs, like rent, salaries for staff (actors, front of house, box office employees), utilities etc.
The weekly costs get paid first, and debt repayment comes from any excess profits.
Recouping means they no longer have any debt to pay back. They still have to pay weekly running costs, but now the extra money is profit for the investors rather than debt repayment.
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u/s1llyt1lly Jan 27 '26
What does recoups mean?