I serve on a play selection committe and the rousing topic of which genres to include on a season slate consumes a lot of our time.  Though I know it depends heavily on the audience in question, do dramas tend to make money, break even or lose revenue? 

There is an old adage that the comedies pay for the dramas; a good comedy makes you money and a good drama grows your audience. As pdavis said, that's not always true with the well-known dramas, but comedies do always seem to do historically better than dramas.

We seem to have a nonstop battle going on whether to do more comedies--and make more money--or to do more dramas, mysteries, children's theatre, etc. to fulfill our obligation to educate and to bring "theatre"  (all kinds) to the community.  l think typically we end up doing comedies for the audience and the coffers, and dramas for ourselves.

I agree - it depends. Generally the dramas do not make money, but I think they should be included in a season package.

I'm in the Denver area, and I sit on the board of directors for two different theater companies that have made money on different dramas. One company produced 12 Angry Men and grossed well into the five figures. The second company did Angels in America, and it sold very well and ended up turning a good profit.

I think it depends upon what drama you plan on doing. I've had and seen bad luck with playwrights like David Mamet and Lillian Helman. But really, both of those had different circumstances. If your going to do a drama, doing a piece with a name attached to it from a playwright or a famous film might seem like selling out, but it can still be a great show that'll turn a profit and earn plenty of accolades.