Not matter how big streaming services will become and already is, it doesn’t beat going to a live show and seeing real people do the show and being around fans of the same one. As someone who doesn’t live anywhere near a live show I’ve never experienced it but I know it would be different than just seeing wicked(or other musicals) on the screen at home.
The real competition for theater though isn’t sitting in the comfort of your own home, pausing when you want and being surrounded by friends and family, its the fact that it cost so much to see it live, and the fact that most people have busy lives, with jobs, children and other commitments that they can not just take off to go see a live show.
Life is busy, if you have a family and are a stay at home parent, then you have to take care of those children, cook, clean after them, put them to bed. People have jobs that they have to go to and sometimes those jobs don’t even pay enough for bills let alone luxuries like going to the theater and seeing a show. Some people find the time but then the amount of money for just a single ticket, and being able to afford it without it being sold out, is hard to do as well.
You can’t expect them to lower the price because of inflation and the people in the show have lives as well and really rely on the ticket sales to pay them for their performance. I think that theater has its own dedicated fans and I think that once you see a show, you don’t need to see it again so a show being showed multiple nights is hurting them because most people can only afford to see it once if at all. And if you have children, they might be too young, or don’t like theater enough to go and that there is another problem. Maybe one day there will be cheaper way to watch it live and enjoy it.
