Industry Pro

It isn’t just the organizations - as cities and regions struggle with keeping their mass transit organizations afloat, this puts a further strain on theatre groups whose audiences and artists often rely on these methods of transportation to get to and from the theatre - as the San Francisco Chronicle reported this week.

We have all the highlights you need from Broadway's biggest night, the Tony Awards. Our team at BroadwayWorld worked tirelessly to bring you the full list of winners, mesmerizing performances, stunning red carpet looks, and much more. Relive the magic of this spectacular event and catch up on any moments you might have missed.

While the writers continue to strike, and the actors have until this evening to vote on a strike authorization, at least one of the major Hollywood unions appears poised to avoid a strike - the Directors Guild, who shared many of the same concerns as the WGA membership, have secured an agreement with the producers pending a vote of its membership.

In this edition, we delve into the passionate efforts of America's playwrights to save the Tony Awards, the rebound of orchestras with growing audience numbers. We also explore the success of the 2022-2023 Broadway season, recent appointments and collaborations within the theater community.

The nominations for the 12th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards are announced, recognizing outstanding productions such as 'FAT HAM,' 'TITANIQUE,' and 'MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.' The winners of the 2023 Outer Critics Circle Awards and the Drama League Awards are revealed, honoring exceptional performances on and off Broadway.

This week, we take a look at recovery across the creative sector in an article from TRG Arts, Dance Magazine looks at how the dance industry has changed, and a new labor agreement between the Actors Union in the UK and producers highlights some of the major shifts in the industry across the globe.

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has selected Chicago, IL as the location for its 2024 National Conference, which will be hosted by the League of Chicago Theatres. Meanwhile, the WGA strike, turmoil at regional theaters continues, and Britain gets a King who loves the arts.

MFA programs in performing arts face challenges in adapting. Tony eligibility decisions and Drama League nominations revealed. 2023 Tony Awards Live Pre-Show to be streamed for free on Pluto TV. Easter Bonnet Competition raises over $3.6 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Read on for more.

The Performing Artist Tax Parity Act reintroduced provides tax relief for artists. AMC partners with Black Theatre Coalition to support diversity. Broadway struggles with ticket resellers, but official ticket sellers like Telecharge, Ticketmaster, and Broadway Direct help customers find direct box office tickets.

Actors' Equity Association and the Broadway League have come to an agreement on touring contracts. In addition, President Biden appointed a number of high-profile artists to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Furthermore, a recent ruling on Tony eligibility has raised questions about Tony nominators and nonbinary performers.

SHUCKED, a musical that debuted in Utah, has raised questions about the use of non-profit venues for regional tryouts, which allow producers to develop shows with less media attention and at lower costs.

When SHUCKED opened on Broadway last week, it marked the first time a musical that tried out in Utah made it to the big time. We hear a lot about the more mainstream regional tryout venues—La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, 5th Avenue Theatre—but very few producers utilize lesser-known non-profits to try out their shows.

AEA forms PAC to support members. Biden admin mulls higher visa fees for international artists. Playwright Sarah Mantell wins Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for 'Futurity'. Lucille Lortel Theatre expands, buys building in Chelsea for new works; Caridad Svich and Michael Heitzman named Artistic Directors.

Governmental funding shifts continue around the globe as governments reveal their latest budget proposals - often with some form of a decrease of support for the creative economy as these countries wind down the support they offered at the height of the pandemic.

While the UK grapples with unruly audiences (not an issue unique to the West End by any means), one critic makes the case that the way we are discussing unruly audiences doesn’t have the best interest of the art form in mind - that it gives it a sense of snobbishness that doesn’t invite more audiences in to enjoy a show.

Dance news, lawsuits, and J.J. Abrams is coming to the stage all featured in this week's newsletter, along with a surprisingly strong report on the state of the creative economy in California. If California is any indication, there is reason for hope even as the bounceback is slower in other parts of the country as we re-emerge from the pandemic.

A24 is entering the live theatre realm - the revered production and distribution company has acquired the Cherry Lane Theater. We’ve long seen media companies make their way toward Broadway, but A24 entering the off-Broadway space comes after Audible successfully did so a few seasons ago.

The growing threat of antisemitism in our culture spilled onto Broadway last week as a group of neo-Nazi’s protested outside preview performances of Parade. Cara Joy David dives into that, and how it fits into the wider cultural conversation and what we should be doing in our day to day lives to further combat this alarming growth of antisemitism.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.