How Broadway found its Gen Z audience

NEW YORK — Kimberly Belflower knew “John Proctor is the Villain” needed its final cathartic scene to work — and, for that, it needed Lorde’s “Green Light.”“I literally told my agent, ‘I would rather the play just not get done if it can’t use that song,’” the playwright laughed.She wrote Lorde a letter, explaining what the song meant, and got her green light.Starring Sadie Sink, the staggering play about high schoolers studying “The Crucible” as the #MeToo movement arrives in their small Georgia town, earned seven Tony nominations, including best new play — the most of any this season.

It’s among a group of Broadway shows that have centered the stories of young people and attracted audiences to match.Sam Gold’s Brooklyn-rave take on “Romeo + Juliet,” nominated for best revival of a play and led by Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler with music from Jack Antonoff, 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 “Green Light”), Hollywood stars with established fanbases and stories that reflect the complexity of young adulthood.“It was very clear that young people found our show because it was doing what theater’s supposed to do,” Gold said.“Be a mirror.”The themes “John Proctor” 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 — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, “Twilight,” and, of course, Lorde.Fina Strazza, 19, portrays Beth, a leader who is whip-smart and well-intentioned — but whose friendships and belief system are shaken by the play’s revelations.“You have so much empathy and are so invested i...