Massachusetts Legislators Propose Tax Credit for Pre-Broadway and Touring Shows in State

According to the Boston Globe, legislators are proposing a tax credit for producers who bring pre-Broadway tryouts to Boston and other Massachusetts cities. The credit would provide up to $3 million to a show that runs in the state before opening in New York, or a touring production that begins in Massachusetts. The credit would also reimburse up to 35 percent of state labor costs.

Read the original report here.

Proponents of the bill cite its possibility for creating jobs and boosting the Massachusetts economy, while those opposed point to the state's disputable film tax credit program, as well as the fact that there is no guarantee a show will be successful enough in Boston to bring a large amount of business.

Josiah Spaulding Jr., president of Citi Center for the Performing Arts, and Richard Jaffe, vice president of Broadway in Boston, are behind the bill, with support from state reps Nick Collins and Paul McMurtry, who filed a theater tax credit bill late last month.

Annie Get Your Gun, Oklahoma! and more have previously begun their runs in Boston, and Emerson College will soon present the new musical Tuck Everlasting in a pre-Broadway tryout this summer.

More Articles by This Author...