For those who think of Broadway as solely a commercial bastion, its worth noting that the world of not-for-profit theatre is now inextricably linked with that of the Great White Way. So much so, that its hard to tease out the delineation between shows that began as not-for-profit productions and those which have been wholly commercial – largely because many commercial producers now arrange with not-for-profit companies to develop and premiere material to which the rights are already optioned. But that said, in an imprecise survey (since there are many shows being discussed which are not yet confirmed for the Broadway season), the not-for-profit influence is rife.
Here’s how it falls:
Between the three Broadway not for profits, we’re getting no less than nine shows this season: Mauritius, Come Back Little Sheba, and Top Girls from Manhattan Theatre Club; Cymbeline and South Pacific from Lincoln Center Theatre; and Old Acquaintance, The Ritz, Pygmalion, Sunday in the Park With George and Les Liaisons Dangereuses from the Roundabout. Delving deeper in that very same list, the not-for-profit pedigree extends to Playwrights Horizons, which debuted Sunday in the Park in the 80s; Center Theatre Group, which premiered the new Sheba production this spring; and Hartford Stage, where director Mark Lamos explored his passion for Cymbeline in separate productions which bookended his 17 year tenure as artistic director (one a co-production with the McCarter in Princeton).
Beyond the not-for-profit producers, we have The Farnsworth Invention by way of the La Jolla Playhouse, The Seafarer, which premiered at London’s subsidized National Theatre, August: Osage County, a transfer from Chicago’s Steppenwolf, and Lone Star Love, seen a number of years ago as The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas in separate productions at Cincinnati Playhouse and Great Lakes Theatre Festival.
Though perceptions die hard, with half of this year’s current Broadway slate rooted in not-for-profit theatre, it’s apparent that these are hardly the exception to the rule. And while a production being commercial or not-for-profit is irrelevant to the audience – they just want to know whether it’s something worth seeing – its clear that the not-for-profits add a lot to the mix.
Posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 9:57 am
by
Howard Sherman
Filed under:
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