At Cats: The Jellicle Ball — the Tony-nominated Broadway production which reimagines the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in the world of drag ballroom — they sell rhinestone-studded water bottles and cat ears at the merchandise stands.
But one product — which isn't bedazzled — is selling like hotcakes.
Fans.
"Our clacking fan that we have, everyone asks for the minute they get to the show," said sales associate Michelle Tidmore, who's been selling Broadway merch for 18 years. "They come downstairs to ask to get a fan. They're used throughout the show for people to cheer on the actors."
She demonstrated how to open and close the fan, to get the loudest sound.
These yellow and black fans, which cost $30 a piece and say "Come One, Come All," which is a lyric in the show, can be heard throughout the Jellicle Ball – even at the pre-show announcement. After hearing about turning their phones off and unwrapping their candies, the announcer says "I know a lot of you Broadway kitties like to sit quietly and hold your reactions in. But this is a ball, darling," and the clacking starts loudly and in unison. And it continues after every song.
"I couldn't talk about the show without talking about the fan," said Steven Downing of Platypus Merchandise, who consulted with the producers and set and costume designers of Jellicle Ball to come up with this piece of merch.
"The fan is absolutely amazing. I call it the applause meter when you're in the theater. It went beyond just a piece of merchandise. It gave us the opportunity to have an interactive piece, right? This show is a party."
Likewise, Noah Sprock of Creative Goods Merchandise — a company which does design, manufacturing and retail for shows — had fun creating a unique piece of merch for Schmigadoon, the Tony-nominated musical, which is a gentle parody of Golden Age shows, like Oklahoma!, Carousel and The Music Man.
One of the sillier numbers in the musical is a playful hoedown called "Corn Puddin'" and Sprock said the producers suggested, "'Let's make a candle in the shape of an ear of corn that comes in, like, a can. And you have to open it like you would open a can of corn.' And so, we worked with the factory and developed the shape. And they sent us a bunch of different corn scent options, you know, some lean sweeter, some lean a little more savory. It's genuinely, I think, one of the coolest products we've ever made."
Creative Goods has a robust online presence, Sprock explained, but "the majority of our sales are captive audience and in-person, we're sort of pulling at the heartstrings of people in the building, because they've committed money on buying a ticket."
And, indeed, at another of Sprock's shows, the Tony-nominated Every Brilliant Thing, the merch stand in the lobby was packed before the audience had even seen the play.
One of the more creative items for sale was a pair of socks that each turn into sock puppets, referring to a poignant scent in the play. But Nancy Masterson, from Mount Pleasant, Mich., bought a refrigerator magnet. It was the first of four shows she was seeing in two days, and she planned to buy magnets from each one. "I have a special board just for them," she explained. "And I actually have a map that shows all the theaters I've been to and how many times I've been to them."
Broadway merch isn't just about making memories or creating secondary revenue for producers it's also about free advertising. "You want people to wear those items as they're walking down the street," said Downing, "or if they're in their cubicle with their mug going, 'Oh my god you guys, I just saw this incredible show.'"
The Tony Awards, hosted by P!NK, will be broadcast from Radio City Music Hall on CBS Sunday evening, and will be available to stream live on Paramount+ Premium.
Jennifer Vanasco edited the broadcast story and edited and produced the digital story. Chloee Weiner mixed the audio for broadcast.
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