Industry Pro

This edition of our newsletter brings a focus on leadership transitions and legal battles within the performing arts world. From the San Francisco Ballet facing serious lawsuits that challenge its treatment of dancers, to Anna Netrebko's narrowed but ongoing lawsuit against the Metropolitan Opera, the theme of accountability resonates throughout.

This week, we look at Richard Ridge’s upcoming discussion on Broadway poster art at the NYPL to NYC’s 2025 budget allocations. Regional and international stories highlight key initiatives and challenges, including Everyman Theatre’s efforts to enhance accessibility and Scotland’s funding crisis, which threatens the future of UK theater.

We have stories from the decline of intervals in London productions to significant organizational changes in regional and international theaters. Other stories include the financial challenges faced by Berkeley's Aurora Theatre, the preservation efforts for Washington's National Theatre, and the strategic rebranding of arts organizations.

In New York, leadership transitions at Lincoln Center signal a new chapter, while regional theaters like Timeline and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival push forward with ambitious projects despite financial hurdles. Internationally, theaters like the Bristol Old Vic and the Old Vic in London grapple with ethical and economic dilemmas.

In this week's newsletter, we look at national trends impacting arts organizations, including financial shifts and attendance barriers from three different data sources. Moving to New York, we cover Soho Rep's relocation, Signature Theatre's interim leadership, and Under the Radar Festival's upcoming season.

We highlight the U.S. House of Representatives' decision to preserve NEA funding, the new collective bargaining agreement between Actors' Equity Association and the Off-Broadway League, and a GoFundMe campaign to save the West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre. Additionally, IATSE joins the No Times Square Casino Coalition.

Tom Viola, Executive Director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, announced his retirement, and we look at the closure of New York's iconic West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre. Additionally, NYC's HERE Arts Center names four new co-directors, and the beloved Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction returns this September.

This week's newsletter celebrates New York City's record $254 million investment in cultural institutions. Regionally, Milwaukee theaters respond artistically to the Republican National Convention, and new leadership appointments at Virginia Repertory Theatre and Shakespeare Center Los Angeles promise fresh visions.

BroadwayWorld launches its Trendsetters program to connect influencers and shows, while Drabinsky's legal woes continue with a lost appeal. SOLT and UK Theatre call for governmental support, while QPAC appoints a new Chief Executive. Additionally, the UK Labour Party proposes substantial cultural funding boosts, aiming to revitalize the arts sector

New leadership appointments at Playwrights Horizons and Second Stage signal strategic shifts, while a regionally, new managing directors at STAGES and Creede Repertory Theatre promise fresh visions, the RSC's first London Executive Producer aims to expand its influence.

We highlight the Situation Project's fundraising campaign for arts education, a viewership drop for the Tony Awards, and Actors' Equity Association's contract halt amid negotiations. Regionally, we explore the economic boost from Hennepin Theatre's Broadway season and the significant arts funding veto by Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis.

This week, we are connecting the excitement of award season with the realities facing theaters. We'll catch you up on the Tony Awards' memorable moments, including a complete winners list and behind-the-scenes photos. Exclusive essays from producers Jeffrey Richards and Rachel Sussman offer personal insights into their Tony-nominated productions.

Starting tonight with a special preview episode, 'The Broadway Cast' with Ben Cameron is coming to BroadwayWorld. Also, we report on the indefinite postponement of NYC's congestion pricing plan. Stories include the Cultural Solidarity Fund's COVID relief efforts, Public Theater crew members joining IATSE.

This week we celebrate Baltimore's CJay Philip for her upcoming Tony Award in theater education and LaChanze's launch of a new multimedia production company. On a concerning note, Ticketmaster has experienced a major security breach. Finally, we examine the pressing need for unity in the arts community amidst ongoing discord and funding debates.

As we hit the final stretch ahead of the Tony Awards, this week we’re including the first in a series of guest essays from the producers of the Best Production nominees, with this installment from Tommy producers Stephen Gabriel and Ira Pittelman.

In California, a victory for AEA in their recent union election at Disneyland means the character and parade performers at the resort will be joining the actors union, while in Minnesota, the Guthrie faces further financial challenges after a reported $3.8 million shortfall during the 2023 fiscal year.

In California, the continued momentum of the labor movement from last year continues on as dates are now set for the union election at Disneyland Resort in California. Job shuffles continue in key leadership positions, and Mark Morris Dance Group shows that dancers are athletes as part of a new show on ESPN+.

As awards season gets fully underway with the Tony Award Nominations announced last week, and the Lortel Awards last night, the industry gets ready to celebrate the incredible work on the New York stage this past season - a season crowded with celebrities, big revivals, and exciting new shows.

Reports from both New Zealand and the United States show that not only is participation in the arts not waning, there is a large population that holds an interest in engaging with the arts. The question emerges of how best to reach these audiences with the right information and prices that can turn them from being curious to regular attendees.

Charleston Stage has a new Managing Director, and Dallas Theater Center has a new interim Artistic Director. Along with these movements of the regional leadership carousel, Seattle Opera has introduced a new Artistic Ambassador, a role designed to help bridge the gap between the stage and the community, and foster new audiences.

As news of additional cuts comes from more councils in the UK, in the US, a new piece of legislation looks to support the still struggling live entertainment industry as it emerges into the new normal. As evidence of the need for such action, we’ve got stories about layoffs at a New Jersey NPR station, as well as another urgent fundraising plea.

In a sign of an industry on the rebound, Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles is getting ready to announce a return of programming at the Mark Taper Forum, where production was paused last year while the organization went through a budget crunch. Additionally, following the casting of a Black actress in the role of Juliet, an upcoming West End production of Romeo and Juliet from the Jamie Lloyd Company started dealing with racist backlash online - we’ll show you how the company responded.

This week, stories abound about the impact funding can have on the arts - from the UK, an editorial about how the collapse of funding for the creative industry was predictable. In the US, we have stories of large gifts making a huge impact - no-cost rentals at 59E59 - as well as changes to the way Florida is apportioning their arts budget.

The storm of openings has begun on Broadway, as we prepare for what will be an even busier April leading into the conclusion of the 2023-2024 Broadway season. Amidst that storm, great work continues off-Broadway, as Cara Joy David reminds us when she pays a visit to Dead Outlaw.

As the unionization wave continues to move through theatrical workers across the country, two developments last week highlighted the movement: the Public Theatre declined to voluntarily recognize the unionization effort of their workers, and workers at the Goodman Theatre sought their own union affiliation.