Broadway Stars Norm Lewis, Judith Light, Nostradamus Excited For New Theatre Tax Incentives

"I have seen something rotten," exclaims Thomas Nostradamus, a/k/a Broadway's Brad Oscar in his on-stage guise as SOMETHING ROTTENS!'s not entirely reliable soothsayer.

"Not the wonderful musical at the St. James Theatre, but the old federal tax code."

Oscar's costumed appearance at a Sardi's press conference helped celebrate the recent passing of The STAGE Act, allowing tax incentives for live theatre investors.

As previously reported by BroadwayWorld, the new law allows for incentives that had been previously available only to the film and television industries.

Due largely to unwavering support from Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), investors in live theatre may now elect to deduct their full investment from their income taxes within the first year of a show's production. What this means for an individual who finances a successful show is that he or she will not be required to pay income tax until the production earns a profit. Under the current Code, only investors in TV and film benefit from this treatment (when capitalization is less than $15 million). For years, Broadway investors have been disadvantaged because their accountants were required to anticipate liability by creatively predicting a show's duration and income, often resulting in tax payments on 'profits' before a producer even earned back his or her initial investment. This was known within the industry as 'phantom income.' Commencing January of 2016, all forms of entertainment media will be treated similarly by the IRS, an amendment the theatre industry has advocated for since 2010.

"The number one request I get from my colleagues," says Senator Schumer, "is 'can you get me tickets to such-and-such Broadway show?'"

"Broadway gives New York its luster with the talent it attracts and the tourists it attracts."

"I'm am actually here to promote Michael Riedel's book," joked FINDING NEVERLAND producer, Harvey Weinstein, a long-time backer of the senator.

"This isn't just a bill for Broadway. This is a bill for New York," he insists, pointing out how more theatre jobs result in more jobs in other New York industries.

He finished by proclaiming, "My next show will be 'Chuck Schumer: The Miracle Worker!'"

After the ceremony, there were several Broadway notables in the crowd anxious to express their approval for the new law.

"It's all an umbrella," explains recent star of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Norm Lewis. "This whole idea of having tax incentives is hopefully going to incite people to write more, create more and that will give producers and investors a chance to see new works. It's going to be a reciprocal thing that just keeps going and going and going."

THERESE RAQUIN star Judith Light adds, "It's very important because, as Senator Schumer said, this expands the Broadway community."

"When I was brought out here with the television show UGLY BETTY, Mayor Bloomberg had just created a tax incentive for film and television and ABC said we will now shoot in New York, not in Los Angeles. Because of that, I always wondered why the Broadway theatre didn't have the same opportunity as film and television."

"This is not only going to be culturally great for New York, but it's also going to be great across the country because it's going to create more jobs. That's something that we really need, as we all know."