Industry Pro

When walking into MCC Theater to see Hansol Jung‘s WOLF PLAY, you are greeted by very little on the floor where the action will take place—a couch, a table, some balloons—but yet an entire wall chock full of stuff. Where did the stuff come from? Some came from part productions the team members have worked on, but much of it came from NYC.

Earlier this month, the Box Office of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kimmel Center became tied up in a cyber attack - not unlike the attack that tied up the Met’s box office for weeks - offering everyone a reminder that cyber security vulnerabilities should be examined by institutions of all shapes and sizes.

As last year wound to a close, the Hal Luftig Company, Inc. (which I'll call the 'Company' for short), well-known producer Hal Luftig's theatrical production company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In layman’s terms, the goal is to come out of bankruptcy with a payment plan which will enable the Company to pay off its debts on a set schedule. Meanwhile, Luftig continues to produce.

Recent reporting from the UK has many, anecdotally at least, convinced that post-pandemic shutdown audiences are significantly worse behaved than they were before the pandemic. While we don’t have hard data to back up that claim, the stories in the linked article below about the audience behavior are certainly eyebrow raising.

On October 7, 2022--a mere three days before 2nd Annual Antonyo Awards were supposed to take place at the Apollo Theater--the Antonyos were canceled. The related press release was light on details. Rumors swirled. Broadway Black founder Drew Shade, who originally conceived of the awards in 2020, stayed silent publicly.

In both the US and the UK government funding decisions have shifted the way that many companies are able to go about their business - in England, the massive shift in Arts Council England funding has left many major stages looking to fill huge gaps in their books.

Brian d'Arcy James is Tony eligible this season for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in INTO THE WOODS. But he didn't perform on INTO THE WOODS on what appeared to be the revival's opening night, July 10, as required by the Tony rules for eligibility. So how is he eligible? The Broadway League allowed the show to change its opening night after the fact.

Audiences are buying tickets closer to the actual show date - but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re making the decision to see the show late. In a post-COVID era, audiences are more attuned to the fact that things can shift, and so in an effort to protect themselves from navigating a cancellation, they’re waiting to purchase their tickets.

Sometimes seasons go by without any truly perplexing questions for the Tony Award Administration Committee to answer. This will not be one of those seasons. As I wrote last month, there are close calls on what will be considered a new play versus revival and now thrown into the mix is the play or musical decision involving ROOM.

With more frequency, we are starting to see alliances of theaters come together across different regions to create a stronger entity. And that isn’t a surprising development. Given the rising costs within the industry, collaboration continues to be one of the best ways to keep those costs down.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the problems regional theaters are having attracting audiences. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula. Audience members I’ve spoken to on my trips to regionals have cited all kinds of reasons for being there.

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A new labor agreement in the UK, multiple high profile departures, and the end of the streaming truce between AEA and SAG-AFTRA are the highlights of this week’s Industry Pro newsletter, which indicates an industry that is in the midst of roaring back and finding its footing.

We've got the latest scoop on the Equity/SAG-AFTRA streaming deal. Actors Equity Association is no longer in charge of theater streaming, at least according to SAG-AFTRA.

how are things going regionally? This week, Cara Joy David takes a look at what bumpy waters might be ahead for these large regional companies. Additionally, stories of troubling trends on who is leaving the field - women of color, directors in the UK - and theaters adjusting their leadership models as they step into an unknown future.

Theater folks in New York tend to be focused on what is happening in New York. But theaters all across the country -- the professional regional theaters, the community theaters, the commercial houses -- are part of the same theater ecosystem that New York theaters are part of.

Early reports indicate that last week was a good one for Box Offices, and here’s a reminder that you can get up to date gross information on BroadwayWorld when the League releases their data. With the year coming to a close last week, Cara Joy David offers her thoughts on a few of the lessons learned from 2022.

Back when 2021 became 2022, it was hoped that live theater could return to pre-pandemic normality in the new year. Alas, 2022 was not smooth sailing for the theater. Not only were there still plenty of Covid cancellations, but there were also a host of other problems plaguing the industry. (Many of which were discussed in a prior column, archived here.) In this piece, there are three takeaways from 2022.

As the year draws to a close, Cara Joy David offers us a preview of some of the decisions facing the Administration Committee of the Tony Awards. We’ve also got good news out of Washington, as the NEA received increased funding in the most recent budget passed by Congress and a look at the uncertain future of Victory Gardens Theater.

By the end of December, there has traditionally been one meeting of the Tony Awards Administration Committee to determine Tony eligibility. This season there has yet to be a meeting, leaving open a big question: which plays will be revivals and which will be new.

Amid continued economic uncertainty, a wave of closing notices have hit Broadway - but why aren’t audiences coming? In London, in response to the rising cost of living, the government has announced a plan for the cultural equivalent of a food bank - providing free tickets to cultural institutions for those that are struggling to make ends meet.

This past week, there have been updates in a couple of the big theater-related lawsuits. BroadwayWorld has the latest on Paradise Square and Garth Drabinsky, and The New York Post and Laura Osnes.

New research from IMPACTS highlights the importance of mission in soliciting both donations and membership renewals, the Met works to recover from a cyber attack, and as Cara Joy David reports, Roundabout will be dark on Broadway this Spring.

Slipping under the radar this past week was the news that Roundabout Theatre Company would not be presenting a winter/spring offering at the American Airlines Theatre for the first time (pandemic excluded) since the space opened in 2000. In fact, Roundabout will not be presenting anything at its three Broadway houses this spring.

Nothing has been more exciting than our announcement last week of our 20th Anniversary Celebration set to take place on May 21, 2023 at Sony Hall in the theatre district. The event will be hosted by none other than BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge and Tony Award-Winning Broadway Legend Chita Rivera.