Business Notes ENTERTAINMENT

While Broadway producers are humming to the tune of profitable musicals like City of Angels, the plight of drama is downbeat. Theaters that once launched plays by Arthur Miller and Clifford Odets have become hostile territory for non-musical works. With tickets hitting $60, theatergoers typically prefer the full song-and-dance for their money. To rebuild drama's audience, a coalition of producers, unions, theater owners and suppliers has created the Broadway Alliance, a unique agreement that will cut ticket costs by as much as 50%.

Three Broadway theaters will impose a ceiling of $24 on tickets for plays produced under the plan. To slash costs, Alliance members will work for less money. Actors, for example, will accept a 25% reduction in minimum salaries and receive a share of any profits. The Alliance hopes the markdowns will bring back theater enthusiasts who have been forced to turn to off-Broadway houses.