8 ms·
Most U.S. live theater survives only through philanthropy. Broadway’s investor-driven model is a remarkable outlier.
by massysett 5y ago
Most U.S. live theater survives only through philanthropy. Broadway’s investor-driven model is a remarkable outlier.
- dehrmann 5y agoYou have to remember that musical theater is more pop-driven than operas, orchestras, and plays.
- kingcharles 5y agoPoster didn't mention musical theatre, but that is a much easier sell to the public, IMO, than straight plays. You don't see many indie musicals produced though compared to say the number of Shakespeare productions that are probably going on in any city right now.
- kingcharles 5y agoThis. As someone who helped to run a theatre company in the USA, it is incredibly hard to do it as a for-profit except at the very high-end, e.g. Broadway. My First Wife was an actor by career and most for-profit productions survive because they pay their actors so little. And you're only paid for performances, so those many weeks of rehearsals where you are perhaps driving 10 miles each way are going to eat up most of your income from the production.