The Capitol Theatre hosts two amazing musicals in the few several weeks – Elf the Musical, with matinee performances Saturday and Sunday, October 31 and November 1, and The Music Man, with evening performances Wednesday and Thursday, November 11 and 12. Both musicals enjoy tremendous popularity as well as considerable commercial success.
So, what defines a Broadway musical as a hit?
The Broadway League has been compiling and reporting gross ticket sales figures since 1980. In the 1980s the industry gross sales hit $2.26 billion. That number nearly doubled each decade reaching $13.7 billion in the 2010s. The 2025-26 season alone reported a record-breaking $1.9 billion.
Considering longest runs on Broadway, Phantom of the Opera sits at number one on the top ten list with nearly 14,000 performances across 35 years closing in 2023. In the number two and three spots, Chicago and The Lion King both have more than 11,000 performances and are still running. At the number ten position is Mamma Mia with nearly 6,000 performances.
While those are the blockbusters, from any standard, the 1,000 performances milestone defines an unquestionable smash hit. When The Music Man premiered in the 1950s, Broadway’s scale was a fraction of its current state. It was a blockbuster of its day at 1,375 performances, with only My Fair Lady (2,717) and The Sound of Music (1,433) surpassing its success. The original production won five Tony Awards and inspired a movie musical adaptation and three distinct Broadway revivals across the decades. The 2022 revival with a cast led by Hugh Jackman in the title role is the source of the current tour.
Elf the Musical, while no less a hit, is evaluated on a different scale. Where The Music Man inspired a movie, it was the movie of Elf which inspired the musical. With the movie grossing nearly $450 million dollars, the musical had a built-in audience. Holiday musicals by their nature have restricted runs and are generally ineligible for Tony Award consideration. Nonetheless, since its premiere in 2010, Elf the Musical has dominated the holiday tourism market and its 2024 revival shattered the Marquis Theatre house records by pulling in over $2.2 million in a single week.
As for the secret to their successes, any number of factors contribute and the measures shift with every generation of theatregoers. Technology, media, and cultural shifts all play a part. Beyond the financial and commercial metrics, the music has to resonate with the times and showstopper moment can’t be discounted. With musicals, it matters how the music is integrated into the storytelling without halting the flow of the narrative. By another it’s those particular songs and those specific moments in which the energy and emotion launches people out of their seats. Word-of-mouth buzz has shifted through the years as well, with technology playing a major part. Cast albums were traditionally cut within days after opening night of a production. Shows like Hamilton and Hadestown have pre-released their cast recordings generating viral social media sensations and anticipation which sent ticket sales soaring.
No amount of social media can sustain a weak product. It comes down to quality. Capturing the moment with a well-crafted story, augmenting it with a sound that resonates in the time, possibly peppering it with a touch of star power, and then just maybe the stars will align. At the end of the day, it requires the most important ingredient, an audience.
Tickets for both productions are available at www.capitoltheatre.org/events or by calling the Box Office, 509-853-ARTS (2787). Don’t let ticket resellers fool you. Be sure you are connecting directly with the Capitol Theatre website to be certain you are getting the Best Seats at the Best Prices.
Posted October 19, 2026