NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 9: Signage at the opening night of the new revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway at The Winter Garden Theatre on April 9, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)

Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

A Tony Award is Broadway’s most prestigious honor, annually recognizing the “best” shows: Best Musical, Best Play, Best Performance. But more than a mere recognition of quality, the Tony Awards highlight the shows that are most likely going to keep Broadway running for another year.

Usually.

This year, many of the shows that swept the Tonys did not leverage the win to gain extensions.

Keeping the doors open is not the only purpose of the Tony Award, but it is a significant one. It is so important and consistent, in fact, that the phrase “Tony bump” refers to the rise in average ticket prices for winning shows immediately following the Tony Awards.

Indeed, shows that won several Tonys saw a boost in average ticket prices. Death of a Salesman saw an increase from $154.44 to $171.39, Schmigadoon! from $78.66 to $92.32, and Ragtime from $154.48 to $170.30.

Of the highest-grossing and most winning shows on Broadway, several have already set their closing dates. Death of a Salesman and Giant announced that they must end their runs, and soon.

The business of Broadway has always been complex. The way to make a profit seems to shift, requiring new strategies.

Giant and Death of a Salesman showcase different uses of a Tony win, like keeping the runtime limited, announcing official closing dates and relying on high demand for limited supply to increase ticket sales, as much as possible.

It’s not a new idea. The relationship between supply and demand is a cornerstone of economic theory. But the recent uptick in high-value, limited-run tickets, particularly for shows with celebrities in leading roles, highlights what Broadway values right now.

Rather than giving the Tony to shows that will stay, Broadway seems to support pieces that can sell tickets expensively and quickly.

Several factors may be responsible. As attention spans are shrinking, shorter runtimes allow Broadway houses to market something new and exciting more frequently.

The investment style is also different for a limited run with a high-value ticket. Opening a show on Broadway and seeing how long it can run requires investors to buy and hold. Of course, they cannot sell their “shares” in a Broadway show, so perhaps a better description would be “buy and hope.” Guaranteed shorter runs with expensive tickets means a faster return on investment. Giant recouped after only 10 weeks. This style may be more attractive to investors and producers who want to see profits now, rather than in a few years.

Finally, shorter runs can make shows more likely to hire celebrities. Limited runs allow film and television stars to enjoy a turn on the stage without committing to a nine-month contract. Best of all, from an investor’s perspective, celebrities draw audiences.

But not all shows are able to employ this strategy. Musicals, or at least new musicals, continue to follow the slow play. Schmigadoon! extended its run following 12 Tony Award nominations, and now the show that won Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations and Best Book of a Musical doesn’t seem likely to be going anywhere.

The Book of Mormon, Hamilton and The Lion King are famous examples of shows that have extended years and years beyond their Best Musical Tony win. Wicked, another Broadway powerhouse, famously lost in that category, but that hardly dispels the correlation between Tony awards and staying power, seeing as Wicked won in three other categories.

Musicals are also more expensive to produce. It is far more difficult to recoup a $20 million capitalization for a big musical than it is for a play. Giant, for example, only cost $5.6 million to produce, even with John Lithgow.

Finally, musicals require performers to be able to sing and act. Not all celebrities who can do one are able to do the other. George Clooney, who received a Tony nomination in 2025, for his work in Good Night, and Good Luck, recalls the “humiliating” experience of learning he cannot sing when working on the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? While it is unlikely, therefore, that Clooney would ever do a musical, the play Good Night, and Good Luck recouped its $9.5 million investment in only seven weeks.

For all these reasons, it seems likely that the limited-supply, high-demand producing style will be utilized more by plays than by musicals.

The good news for the Broadway ticket buyer is that there does not necessarily appear to be a lessening in the quality of these shows, despite their quick turnaround. Death of a Salesman and Giant both received excellent reviews.

In order for the in-and-out strategy of high-value tickets to succeed, the shows must still be excellent. Otherwise, audiences won’t want to see them. The celebrities whose names shine above the titles won’t want to be attached to them. And Tony voters won’t want to praise them. So whether the strategy is rapid or slow, Broadway will continue to fight hard to put on a spectacular production. In the time of constant streaming, it must.