Theater companies pausing programming due to low grosses and attendance
Almost two years since theaters reopened following the “pandemic pause,” not-for-profit theater companies across the country are hitting the panic button, warning their subscribers and communities that revenue and attendance have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and that it threatens their continued existence. A continuing number of them have resorted to furloughing staff or cutting back on programming – or halting new programming altogether.
This can even be seen at some of New York’s largest and most prestigious theaters companies, including the Public Theater (which recently announced that it has placed the annual Under the Radar Festival on extended hiatus) and Brooklyn Academy of Music (which has laid off staff and cut back on the scope of its upcoming Next Wave Festival).
Many of these companies were able to withstand the financial losses during the pandemic shutdown thanks to extensive governmental financial assistance (including the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, which offered $16 billion in grants). However, that support is now gone, leaving companies exposed to continuing operating losses and forced to make painful cutbacks in order to just survive.
The reasons why attendance levels have not returned to pre-pandemic levels are many and complex. Some theatergoers still have concerns about COVID. However, it is primarily believed that the pandemic accelerated cultural changes in attitude and expectations that have made theatergoers less willing to devote substantial time and funds to subscribe to a theater company’s entire season when they can watch shows on Netflix or Disney Plus at their convenience and for far less money.
It may finally be time for theater producers and artists to meaningfully join together and come up with innovative solutions, including a sustainable business model, in order to move forward.
Performances of ‘Hamlet’ canceled due to air quality
The Public Theater canceled performances of its Shakespeare in the Park production of “Hamlet” on Thursday and Friday of last week due to the ongoing air quality issues affecting New York City due to Canadian wildfires. “Although we rarely make a cancellation call of free Shakespeare in the Park before the show starts at 8 p.m., to ensure the safety of our company, crew, on-site staff, and audience members, we have made the decision early,” the theater wrote on social media.
‘Camelot’ to end Broadway run early
Lincoln Center Theater’s lavish Broadway revival of “Camelot,” which notably incorporated a new book by Aaron Sorkin and featured a 30-piece orchestra playing the original orchestrations, will close on July 23 following 153 performances (including 38 previews and 115 regular performances). After its opening night, the run was extended to early September. “Camelot” will have the shortest run out of any of the revivals of classic musicals directed by Bartlett Sher at Lincoln Center, which also include “South Pacific,” “The King and I,” and “My Fair Lady.”
Rannells and Gad to lead ‘Gutenberg! The Musical!’
Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, who famously originated the roles of Elder Price and Elder Cunningham in “The Book of Mormon,” will return to Broadway in the fall in “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” a two-man parody musical in which two aspiring writers pitch a musical about Johannes Gutenberg (the inventor of the printing press) to potential investors by performing the entire show, and all of the roles, themselves. It will receive a 20-week run at the James Earl Jones Theatre beginning Sept. 15. “After years of relentless stalking and countless restraining orders, Josh Gad has finally gotten me to agree to share the stage with him again,” Rannells said in a statement. The musical was previously presented Off-Broadway in 2007 with Christopher Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos. Alex Timers (“Moulin Rouge!,” “Here Lies Love”) will direct.
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