Starlette John Senior Project

Abstract

How does star power affects Broadway show success? This paper explores how movie actors' star power affects Broadway shows revenue and success when they have a starring role in them. Using the 2-week absence of Hugh Jackman from his role in the Broadway musical as a natural experiment, the data estimate the effect of this absence on the ticket prices in a secondary market. The results do not show any evidence of a significant impact of Hugh Jackman's presence on ticket prices. Additional data also looked at observations of 37 Hollywood Stars and 36 Broadway actors to compare ticket costs, and Broadway shows revenue. In the end, while Hollywood stars have a higher ticket cost, Broadway actors have higher show revenue. This shows that star power is not always what keeps the audience entertained, but talent and how great the product is a more determining factor of success for movies and Broadway shows.