The recession is taking a heavy toll on Broadway. Major shows are scheduled to close by January 4 including Young Frankenstein, Equus, Boeing-Boeing, Grease and Hairspray. The resurgence of the American dollar has made it expensive for foreigners to visit the US and Broadway relies heavily on this tourist trade. For example, until recent months, the American dollar was trading at $2 against the British pound. Today, it is $1.47 to the pound. This makes it an attractive proposition for Americans to visit Britain, but an expensive endeavor for Brits to visit the USA. Broadway has always been a street of big dreams and small profits. While there are occasional blockbusters, the staggering overhead of putting on live, multi-million dollar productions has made it possible for plays to run for years without showing a net profit. Incredibly, the only shows to show a profit this season were revivals of The Seagull and All My Sons. This is surprising because it is usually musicals and comedies that do well while dramas suffer to break even. One of the main reasons for the downturn is the extravagant ticket prices which skyrocketed during the boom years of the 1990s. Standard orchestra sets now sell for over $100 a ticket to top shows. To combat the downturn, most productions are having fire sale specials on ticket prices. To get E mail discount offers, such as two-for-one specials, sign up for newsletters at sites such as Playbill.com and Broadway.com . For more click here