The legitimate theatre in the is a very small industry. Variety's statistician, Hobe Morrison, estimates that the theatre grossed $52,498,600 in 1950-51, Broadway accounting for $28,840,700 of the total. But if the theatre is small, some of its problems are very special; one of these, the degree of financial risk in the theatre, is the problem of my dissertation.

Why is the theatre so hazardous an investment? Is the theatre like Adam Smith's example, smuggling, so hazardous, such an infallible road to bankruptcy because it attracts so many adventurers that their competition reduces the rate of return below that which would compensate them for their risk? Is the economy obtaining the services of theatrical risk-takers as a free good or at a negative price? Is the theatre attractive to investors because it offers a few high prizes, the current musical hit, My Fir Lady, has earned $4,000,000 on a $225,000 investment? Is the theatre attractive to producers and angels because, as Alfred Marshall observed, some people are more attracted by the prospects of a great success than deterred by fear of failure; more taken with the prestige which is associated with great success than with the honor which is achieved on the average by those already in the industry? These are the questions which I answer in the main body of my essay.

• Chapter I shows how and why the professional theatre has declined in America from 1900-46. By 1900 the economic pattern of the theatre had been set: the long-run system on Broadway which supplied plays for the touring system on the road.
  
  
• Chapter II describes the structure of the New York stage as it is today.
  
  
• Chapter III describes the characteristics of theatre demand and supply for the period 1948-58.
  
  
• Chapter IV shows that low concentration prevails among producers in the theatre industry.
  
  
• Chapter V shows that, although chances of success are small in theatrical production, the average rate of return for the industry is positive.

CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Decline of the professional theatre in America, 1900-1946:

Decline of the road, Supply of actors and actresses.
Causes of the decline.
New York City legitimate stage 1900-1946.
New York legitimate stage, 1900-1946.
Theatre real estate, 1900-1927.
Rate of failure, 1900-1927.
New York Stage 1928-1946.

Chapter 2. Contemporary New York Theatre:

Theatre real estate.
Actors and actresses.
The firm.
Backers.
Distribution of tickets.
Theatre critics.
Theatre going public.

Chapter 3. Demand and supply of theatre:

Trends over the period.
Industry demand.
Demand for the firm.
Who goes to the theatre.
Supply of theatre production.
Theatre ticket pricing.

Chapter 4. Concentration in the New York legitimate theatre 1948-1958:

Explanation of low concentration in the theatre.
Elements of monopoly in the theatre.

Chapter 5. Rate of return in the New York legitimate theatre 1948-1958:

Rate of return on capital invested in New York Theatre 1948-1958.

Bibliography.

The legitimate theatre in the is a very small industry. Variety's statistician, Hobe Morrison, estimates that the theatre grossed $52,498,600 in 1950-51, Broadway accounting for $28,840,700 of the total. But if the theatre is small, some of its problems are very special; one of these, the degree of financial risk in the theatre, is the problem of my dissertation.