Elle Fanning, Michael Esper, and Sarah Paulson smiling after a performance of “Appropriate” at the … [+]
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play about a family returning to their late father’s home will soon be switching houses.
After Appropriate concludes its limited engagement at the non-profit Helen Hayes Theater on March 3, the show will transfer to the Belasco Theatre for a 13-week commercial run starting around March 25. The move is expected to cost about $3.75 million.
Hailed as “a paragon of Southern drama,” the provocative play has become the best-selling show in the history of the non-profit Second Stage Theater, which owns the Helen Hayes Theater. Charging Broadway-level ticket prices, the average price of a ticket to Appropriate last week was $166.98, which was the second highest average ticket price of any Broadway show, and even higher than the average ticket prices for Hamilton, Wicked, and The Lion King.
Earning $762,243 at the box office last week, the eight-person play made more money than any play on Broadway other than Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and even five musicals, including Hadestown and Spamalot.
The Tony Award-winning revival of Take Me Out starring Jesse Williams and Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the same non-profit theater in 2022 never made more than $717,420 (about $746,952 in 2024) during a single week or posted an average ticket price higher than $154.95 (about $161.33 in 2024).
Taking into account a $1.2 million tax credit, the paperwork for the commercial transfer reveals that the play will need to make at least $760,047 at the box office each week in order to recoup in its initial capitalization costs. The weekly operating costs are about $440,866 before royalties and rent.
However, the past success of the show at the Helen Hayes Theater is not a guarantee that the show will continue its success at the Belasco Theatre in the future.
Although critics praised Sarah Paulson’s “eye-opening, sinus-clearing performance” in the play, her castmate, the popular film and television actress Elle Fanning, will not be joining the cast for the commercial run. She has another project lined up, and the producers have not disclosed who will replace her.
In addition, many of the people who would see the play might have already seen it during its 13-week run at the Helen Hayes Theater, the show will now need to fill twice as many seats during each performance at the Belasco Theatre, and there will be increased competition with 18 Broadway shows scheduled to open in the spring. “Shows that might get a decent amount of traction at other times of the year are sure to get trampled,” predicted one critic, and the play will be fighting against shows with bigger budgets for attention.
Also, the eligibility rules for a Tony Award might make Appropriate less appealing to producers hoping to take home a trophy for financing the commercial transfer.
According to the official rules of the Tony Awards, “[t]he producers eligible for nomination for a Tony Award shall include those producers listed above the title in the opening night program for a production together with any other producers as may be approved by the Tony Awards Administration Committee consistent with its usual policies.” The play already opened on Broadway in December, and only Second Stage Theater and the producers who enhanced the not-for-profit production for $350,000 are listed above the title in the opening night program.
While the producers can challenge the rules, the decision-makers might feel that allowing the new co-producers of Appropriate to win a Tony Award for the commercial transfer is inappropriate.
“What they are proposing is very messy or could set a crazy precedent,” commented one Broadway producer.
