Alex Freeman

From Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS distributing $3.2 million to food programs nationwide to financial updates and future plans at 54 Below, the theater community continues to navigate challenges while supporting artists and audiences alike. We also look ahead to key dates for the Lucille Lortel Awards, explore a Stage Mag spotlight on THE SOUND INSIDE at Capital Stage, and share a moving PBS feature on Ukrainian theater uplifting children during wartime.

This week’s newsletter brings together stories of accountability, advocacy, and adaptation across the theatre world. We cover artists and organizations responding to public scrutiny, including Lauren Gunderson’s statement following her appearance in the Epstein files and the Washington Post’s elimination of its chief theater critic role. Elsewhere, new initiatives and events push forward, from Broadway Bares gearing up for its next benefit and Katharine Quinn launching a Broadway-focused marketing agency to Broadway showtunes finding new life on the ice. The issue also examines ongoing debates over access, transparency, and infrastructure, from Equity’s dispute with Spotlight in the UK to closed-door discussions about Portland’s Keller Auditorium.

We open this week with Colleen Dilenschneider’s look at the rise of localism and what it means for cultural organizations navigating tighter schedules and higher barriers to participation. On the awards front, key dates are set for the Tonys, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle, alongside a call for nominations for BroadwayWorld’s Stage Recording Awards. Elsewhere, we cover shifts in Broadway opening-night traditions, major benefit events, regional programming pauses, leadership changes, and a significant format change for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End.

Inside, you’ll find practical guidance for performers, timely conversations about safety, labor, and financial realities on Broadway, and a celebration of the often-unsung artists who keep shows running. We also look beyond New York to regional theaters rethinking their futures, another Kennedy Center cancellation, and an international announcement bringing a popular screen property to the London stage.

This week’s newsletter brings together stories of concrete action and forward momentum in theatre and dance. Highlights include Michael Sheen’s launch of a new national theatre for Wales and his starring role in its first production, New York State’s plan to preserve performing arts spaces, and major leadership appointments at Park Avenue Armory and The Public Theater. We also cover recognition for musical theatre creators Will Aronson and Hue Park, the launch of BroadwayWorld’s 2025 Stage Recording Awards, and the Next On Stage Season 6 finale. Rounding out the issue is a look at Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s relaunch and search for new leadership, underscoring themes of rebuilding, investment, and artistic ambition.

Awards season brings high-profile recognition for acclaimed film and design work, while New York headlines spotlight both expanded access to theater and the loss of a respected arts leader. Elsewhere, major institutions in Chicago and Paris enter new leadership chapters, and a Canadian orchestra announced a significant policy shift.

Happy New Year! This week, we’re catching up on a few different stories that you might have missed while you were out for the holidays - including the ongoing tumult at the Kennedy Center, multiple Broadway box office records, and the controversial reopening of a theatre in Mariupol.

This week’s newsletter brings together stories of growth, innovation, and transformation across the theater and performing arts landscape. Inside, you’ll find updates on new BroadwayWorld features and partnerships, strong Broadway attendance figures, and evolving development plans in the heart of Times Square. We also spotlight major real estate and venue news shaping theater communities in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, alongside a look at artists pushing creative boundaries in dance.

This week’s stories highlight a theater landscape in motion, with notable leadership shifts, community celebrations, and major institutional changes shaping the field. Helen Shaw’s appointment as Chief Theater Critic at The New York Times marks a significant moment in arts journalism, while audiences worldwide engage with the newly opened voting for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards. Onstage, Broadway prepares for star-studded fundraising at Red Bucket Follies, and regional companies navigate both exciting transitions and unexpected setbacks. Internationally, major UK institutions confront financial challenges and ambitious renovations, reflecting a moment of both reckoning and renewal across the global arts community.

This week, we look at the record-setting viewership of the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and renewed efforts in New York and abroad to redefine cultural priorities. Across Broadway, we probe shifting economic pressures on creatives through a new interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Meanwhile, with the announcement of a new arts and culture transition committee by Zohran Mamdani, incoming leadership may reimagine the city’s cultural agenda. On a regional level, we follow the pioneering costume exhibition by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance at Denver International Airport — a celebration of decades of creative work — and internationally, we cover a new report revealing post-pandemic shifts across UK theatres, as well as the opening night of Paddington: The Musical in London’s West End.

From award-winning Broadway marketing campaigns and fresh digital viewing options for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to updates on tax credits and Tony eligibility, the industry continues to adapt on multiple fronts. Regional and national stories examine how institutions are navigating political scrutiny and how artists across the country are sustaining their work amid financial pressures. Internationally, major regulatory changes in the U.K. signal further shifts in how audiences access live performance.

Poudre High School Theatre demonstrates how Stage Mag can be used by organizations of all shapes and sizes to build a fully interactive show program. In New York, the Performing Arts Library prepares a major Martha Graham exhibition, and Leigh Silverman steps into her new role as President of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. Regionally, IN Series appoints its first Executive Director and Dallas restores funding to Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Abroad, the National Youth Theatre expands its Assemble programme with a significant new grant.

This week’s roundup highlights major leadership changes, funding shifts, and renewed investment in the performing arts. OPERA America has named Michael J. Bobbitt as its next President & CEO, while Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS announced $1.5 million in emergency food grants nationwide. In New York, The Joyce Theater Foundation received a landmark $15 million gift, and Broadway productions prepare to take the stage at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Regionally, Chicago’s cultural department faces a proposed budget reduction, Theatre Washington released a new industry impact report, and Houston Grand Opera appointed James Gaffigan as its next Music Director. Meanwhile, in the UK, opera and arts education take center stage with efforts to broaden access and strengthen creative learning.

Broadway enthusiasts got into the Halloween spirit with show-inspired costumes, while BroadwayWorld expanded its reach with new WhatsApp Channels for international readers. Onstage and behind the scenes, the American Theatre Wing named the jury for the 70th Obie Awards, and Actors’ Equity ratified a new contract with The Broadway League, marking an important step for performer benefits and producer relations. Regionally, Center Theatre Group unveiled its 2025/26 LA Writers’ Workshop and Artist Residencies, and Albuquerque Little Theatre welcomed a new executive director. Internationally, the fallout from Arts Council England’s portal crash continues to leave arts groups in uncertainty—underscoring the ongoing challenges of supporting creativity worldwide.

On Broadway, both actors and musicians move closer to new contracts, with tentative deals heading to their respective unions for ratification. Beyond New York, the spotlight turns to growth and innovation — from Shakespeare & Company’s upcoming intensive for mid-career professionals in the Berkshires to the Shubert Organization’s landmark partnership in London. Meanwhile, TodayTix joins Ari Emanuel’s expanding live-events empire, and BroadwayWorld’s own Next On Stage competition returns for its sixth season, celebrating the next generation of musical theatre talent.

The week begins with the news that the Broadway League and AEA completed a marathon negotiation session that has resulted in a tentative agreement - meaning that one side of the potential strike equation is solved pending ratification. Negotiations with Local 802 are still ongoing. We also have a piece that looks at the compensation differences for performers for shows that originate on Broadway and those that stop on Broadway as part of an ongoing tour. A new report out of Chicago shows that arts and culture related foot traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels in downtown, an encouraging sign for arts related recoveries across the country.

This week, we're exploring the forces shaping the future of the theatre industry, from technological disruption to fundamental questions about its workforce and leadership. On Broadway, the rise of AI is changing how audiences discover new shows, even as looming labor negotiations, which have drawn the attention of Congress, threaten to halt current ones. At the same time, we're seeing innovative solutions to talent pipeline challenges emerge overseas, while also celebrating the creators and leaders steering the art form forward, from a key artistic appointment in the regional sector to a major international award for a Tony-winning writing team.

This week, we explore an industry navigating significant challenges while simultaneously planting seeds for future growth. From the looming impact of Meta's AI-driven advertising updates and financial anxieties on Broadway to the potential fallout from a government shutdown on D.C. venues, the sector faces considerable headwinds. Yet, alongside these pressures, we see powerful signs of investment and innovation, including a new fund to cultivate theatrical works in New York City, a major donation for a university performing arts center in Philadelphia, and new artistic leadership shaping the future of the Stratford Festival.

This week, we have the excitement of a new season alongside significant industry-wide challenges. As we look ahead to the new shows of the Fall Broadway season and celebrate programs designed to foster the next generation of artists and audiences, we also turn our attention to the crucial conversations happening behind the curtain. This edition highlights the pressing financial and labor issues shaping the theatre landscape, from a major union action in New York and difficult working conditions in the American heartland to the financial pressures facing venerable institutions abroad.