NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Kimberly Belflower knew 鈥淛ohn Proctor is the Villain鈥� needed its final cathartic scene to work 鈥� and, for that, it needed 鈥淕reen Light.鈥�
鈥淚 literally told my agent, 鈥業 would rather the play just not get done if it can鈥檛 use that song,鈥欌�� the playwright laughed. She wrote Lorde a letter, explaining what the song meant, and got her green light.
Starring , the staggering play about high schoolers studying 鈥淭he Crucible鈥� as the arrives in their small Georgia town, earned seven , including best new play 鈥� the most of any this season. It鈥檚 among a group of Broadway shows that have centered the stories of young people and attracted audiences to match.
Brooklyn-rave take on 鈥淩omeo + Juliet,鈥� nominated for best revival of a play and led by Kit Connor and with music from , drew the youngest ticket-buying audience recorded on Broadway, producers reported, with 14% of ticket purchasers aged 18-24, compared to the industry average of 3%.
The shows share some DNA: pop music (specifically the stylings of Antonoff, who also produced 鈥淕reen Light鈥�), Hollywood stars with established fanbases and stories that reflect the complexity of young adulthood.
鈥淚t was very clear that young people found our show because it was doing what theater鈥檚 supposed to do,鈥� Gold said. 鈥淏e a mirror.鈥�
Embracing the poetry of teenage language
The themes 鈥淛ohn Proctor鈥� investigates aren't danced around (until they literally are). The girls are quick to discuss #MeToo's impact, intersectional feminism and sexual autonomy. Their conversations, true to teenage girlhood, are laced with comedy and pop culture references 鈥� Taylor Swift, Beyonc茅, 鈥淭wilight,鈥� and, of course, Lorde.
Fina Strazza, 19, portrays Beth, a leader who is whip-smart and well-intentioned 鈥� but whose friendships and belief system are shaken by the play's revelations.
鈥淵ou have so much empathy and are so invested in her, but she still has these mishaps and slip-ups that young people often have,鈥� said Strazza, nominated for best featured actor in a play. Some audience members have given her letters detailing how Beth helped them forgive themselves for how they handled similar experiences.
The script is written in prose, with frequent line breaks and infrequent capital letters. Director Danya Taymor, nominated for best direction of a play a year after winning a Tony for another teenage canon classic, 鈥� was drawn to that rhythm 鈥� and how Belflower's depiction of adolescence captured its intensity, just as S.E. Hinton had.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something about the teenage years that is so raw,鈥� Taymor said. 鈥淣one of us can escape it.鈥�
Classic themes, made modern
During his Tony-winning production of Gold found himself having conversations with young actors and theatergoers about climate change, politics and how 鈥渢heater was something that people their age and younger really need in a different way, as the world is becoming so addicted to technology,鈥� he said.
That conjured 鈥淩omeo and Juliet.鈥� The original text 鈥渉as it all in terms of what it means to inherit the future that people older than you have created,鈥� Gold said.
Building the world of this show, with an ensemble under 30, was not unlike building 鈥淎n Enemy of the People,鈥� set in 19th century Norway, Gold said: 鈥淚 think the difference is that the world that I made for this show is something that a very hungry audience had not gotten to see.鈥�
Fans, Gold correctly predicted, were ravenous. Demand ahead of the first preview prompted a preemptive extension. Word (and bootleg video) of Connor doing a pullup to kiss Zegler made the rounds. 鈥淢an of the House,鈥� an Antonoff-produced ballad sung by Zegler mid-show, was released as a single. With the show premiering just before the U.S. presidential election, Voters of Tomorrow even registered new voters in the lobby.
Audiences proved willing to pay: Average ticket prices hovered around $150. Cheaper rush and lottery tickets drew lines hours before the box office opened. Every week but one sold out.
鈥淭he show was initially really well sold because we had a cast that appealed to a really specific audience,鈥� said producer Greg Nobile of Seaview Productions. 鈥淲e continued to see the houses sell out because these audiences came, and they were all over online talking about the ways in which they actually felt seen.鈥�
Building a Gen Z theater experience with Gen Z
Thomas Laub, 28, and Alyah Chanelle Scott, 27, started Runyonland Productions for that very reason.
鈥淲e both felt a lot of frustration with the industry, and the ways that we were boxed out of it as students in Michigan who were able to come to New York sparingly,鈥� Laub said. Runyonland was launched in 2018 with the premise that highlighting new, bold voices would bring change.
This spring, Scott, known for playing Whitney in HBO鈥檚 acted off-Broadway in Natalie Margolin's 鈥淎ll Nighter.鈥�
鈥淚 was standing onstage and looking out and seeing the college kids that I was playing,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥業 respect you so much. I want to do you proud. I want to show you a story that represents you in a way that doesn鈥檛 belittle or demean you, but uplifts you.鈥欌��
Co-producing 鈥淛ohn Proctor,鈥� Scott said, gave Runyonland the opportunity to target that audience on a Broadway scale. Belflower developed the show with students as part of a The Farm College Collaboration Project. It's been licensed over 100 times for high school and college productions. The Broadway production's social and influencer marketing is run by 20-somethings, too.
Previews attracted fans with a $29 ticket lottery. While average prices jumped to over $100 last week (still below the Broadway-wide average), $40 rush, lottery and standing room tickets have sold out most nights, pushing capacity over 100%. The success is validating Runyonland's mission, Laub said.
鈥淎lyah doesn鈥檛 believe me that I cry every time at the end,鈥� Laub said. Scott laughs. 鈥淚 just want to assure you, on the record, that I do indeed cry every time.鈥�
Harnessing a cultural catharsis
The final scene of 鈥淛ohn Proctor鈥� is a reclamation fueled by rage and 鈥淕reen Light.鈥� Capturing that electricity has been key to the show's marketing.
鈥淭he pullup (in 鈥楻omeo + Juliet鈥�) is so impactful because it's so real. It's like so exactly what a teenage boy would do,鈥� Taymor said. 鈥淚 think when you see the girls in 鈥楯ohn Proctor鈥� screaming ... it hits you in a visceral way.鈥� That screaming made the Playbill cover.
鈥淚n my opinion, the look and feel of that campaign feels different from a traditional theatrical campaign, and it feels a lot closer to a film campaign,鈥� Laub said. The show's team indeed considered the zeitgeist-infiltrating work of their sister industries, specifically
In May, 鈥淛ohn Proctor is the Villain鈥� finished its second 鈥渟pirit week鈥� with a school spirit day. Earlier events included an ice cream social 鈥� actors served 鈥� a silent disco and a banned book giveaway. For those not in their own school's colors, the merch stand offered T-shirts, including one printed with the Walt Whitman-channeling line said by Sink's Shelby: 鈥淚 contain frickin' multitudes.鈥�
Julia Lawrence, 26, designed the shirt after the show's team saw her TikTok video reimagining their traditional merch into something more like a concert tee.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just so incredible to bring Gen Z into the theater that way, especially at a time when theater has never been more important,鈥� Lawrence said. 鈥淚n a world that鈥檚 overpowered by screens, live art can be such a powerful way to find understanding.鈥�
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For more coverage of the 2025 Tony Awards, visit .
Elise Ryan, The Associated Press
