Programming Strategies or the Making of Success Evidence from the La Grange and Comédie-Française Registers (1659-1793)

This article investigates the notion of success based on a statistical analysis of theatre revenues for the period 1659-1793. First, we propose two working categories for characterizing the success of plays. Then we assess the extent to which troupes actively tailored their programming strategies to foster a play’s success. Theater registers thus functioned as strategic tools that enabled troupes to make informed and economically sound programming decisions.