紐時賞析／疫後藝人重返舞台 卻面對坐不滿的觀眾席

Stars Return to Fill the Stage, But Gaze at Many Empty Seats

疫後藝人重返舞台  觀眾仍未回座

Patti LuPone, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig came back to Broadway. Dancers filled stages, symphonies reverberated in concert halls and international theater companies returned to American stages.

佩蒂盧彭、休傑克曼、丹尼爾克雷格回到百老匯。舞者登上舞台，交響樂在音樂廳內迴盪，國際劇團重返美國舞台。

The resumption of live performance after the long pandemic shutdown brought plenty to cheer about over the past year. But from regional theaters to Broadway, and from local orchestras to grand opera houses, performing arts organizations are reporting persistent drops in attendance.

經歷長時間疫情封鎖後，現場演出得以恢復，這在過去一年裡帶來很多歡呼，但從地方劇院到百老匯，從地方管弦樂隊到大型歌劇院，演藝組織均報告說，觀眾人數持續下滑。

Many presenters anticipate that the softer box office will extend into the upcoming season and perhaps beyond. And some fear that the virus is accelerating long-term trends that have troubled arts organizations for years, including softer ticket sales for many classical music events, the decline of the subscription model for selling tickets at many performing arts organizations, and the increasing tendency among consumers to purchase tickets at the last minute.

許多出品人預期，疲弱票房將延續到下一季，甚至更久。一些人擔心，病毒正讓困擾藝術機構多年的長期趨勢加速，包括許多古典音樂活動門票銷售疲軟，許多演藝團體銷售門票的訂閱模式正逐步下滑，以及消費者愈來愈傾向於最後一刻購票。

The concert industry, which attracts younger patrons than many other performing arts sectors, has been a real bright spot. Live Nation, the global concert giant, recently reported that it had sold 100 million tickets for the full year, more than in 2019.

與其他表演藝術領域相比，吸引更年輕顧客的演唱會產業一直是個真正亮點。全球演唱會產業龍頭Live Nation近來公布財報表示，該公司全年賣出1億張門票，比2019年多。

But scattered hits and crowded concerts can distract from the reality that, for most classical and theatrical institutions and shows, attendance is down, ticket prices are depressed, productions are fewer, and memberships or subscriptions have fallen.

然而，零星的叫座演出和擁擠的演唱會，可能會分散人們對現實的注意力。對大多數古典和戲劇單位及秀場來說，觀眾數下跌、票價下降、製作減少、會員或訂閱人數下滑。

Broadway offers the most obvious (and stark) evidence of diminished attendance and its economic consequences. During the 2021-22 season, which started slow and late as the industry gradually reopened, there were 6,860 performances seen by 6.7 million people, grossing $845 million. By contrast, during the 2018-19 season, the last full season before the pandemic, there were 13,590 performances seen by 14.8 million people, grossing $1.8 billion.

百老匯提供了最明顯（且赤裸裸）的證據，證明觀眾減少及其造成的經濟後果。由於這個產業緩步重啟，2021至22演出季較慢且較晚開始，這一季有6860場演出，670萬人觀看，票房收入8.45億美元。相較之下，2018至19年，也就是疫情爆發前最後一個完整演出季，共有1萬3590場演出，1480萬人觀看，票房收入18億美元。

Even far from Broadway, numbers are mostly down.

即便在遠離百老匯的地方，數字也大多是下滑的。

“I’d be a liar if I said I was happy,” said Brian Kelsey, managing director of Peninsula Players Theatre in Door County, Wisconsin. “I don’t know if people are out of the habit or unaware or if the clientele that had come is now more interested in outdoor beer gardens, I just know that we’re definitely seeing a downturn.”

威斯康辛州多爾郡半島演員劇院總經理布萊恩．凱爾西表示：「如果我說我很高興，那我就是在說謊。我不知道人們是出於習慣還是沒意識到，還是曾來過的客人現在對戶外啤酒花園更感興趣，我只知道我們絕對見證了景氣低迷。」

文／Michael Paulson、Javier C. Hernández　譯／陳韋廷