Girl power is formidable force on Broadway stages

Is girl power Broadway’s not-so-secret weap- on?

Tapping into the female adolescent audience has been a boon for such shows as “Wicked,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Mamma Mia!” and even “Hairspray” and “Brooklyn the Musical.”

And now Broadway has “Little Women,” the latest musical that has a special interest for girls -- and their mothers, aunts and grandmothers -- particularly those who are fans of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel about the spirited, would-be writer Jo March and her three sisters. It, too, is aggressively seeking those young women to fill seats.

It’s no secret women buy more theater tickets than men. During the 2003-04 season, 63% of the Broadway audience was female, according to figures from the League of American Theatres and Producers. “Little Women” opened in January to mixed reviews.

“Wicked,” a tale of two witches in “The Wizard of Oz” before the arrival of Dorothy, is a show that managed to quickly establish itself. The musical found an enthusiastic audience in young women, some of whom even paint themselves green in sympathy with the show’s misunderstood heroine, Elphaba, a green witch.

“Mamma Mia!” -- a well-established musical with 14 productions worldwide in seven languages -- features three women in leading roles. It was created by producer Judy Craymer, book writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd and features music by the Swedish pop group ABBA, who “write great songs for girls,” according to Craymer.

Craymer said that “Mamma Mia!” has great word-of-mouth among women, which makes it a good show for girls-night-out parties. Pre-wedding parties are popular too, particularly in Las Vegas, where the musical is now in its third year.

“Hairspray” gets celebratory audiences too, often of young women who have “Sweet 16” birthday parties. They cheer on its heroine, overweight teen Tracy Turnblad, who gets snubbed in high school.

“Little Women” has been aggressively courting the female audience. The show’s logo features graceful line silhouettes of women’s profiles, and Barbara Eliran, head of the Eliran Murphy Group, the show’s advertising agency, said the musical is taking a line from one of its more favorable reviews -- “a must-see for mothers and daughters” -- and using it as their “linchpin.”

The “Little Women” TV ad has been shown on programs in which it will have maximum effect, according to Eliran, such as “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “Today” and “Good Morning America.” Radio spots are played by stations that primarily have a young or female audience.

Can Broadway get too much of girl-power musicals, particularly when ticket prices range from $25 to $100 for many of these shows?

No one knows, but more are in the pipeline. Already planned for fall is “Princesses,” a musical about a girls’ boarding school putting on a version of “A Little Princess,” another classic Victorian novel.