Theater Odds & Ends

 

[Soon after I started Rick On Theater, I began collecting and stashing articles from various sources for possible future use as posts for the blog.  Items of interest or curiosity or practical use or edification went into a file on my computer.  Over the years, I’ve posted many of them, but some have been too short to republish on their own and I didn’t have something with which to pair them to make a good post.

[I decided to collect a few of those items and present them as what they are: a random collection of theater-oriented “odds & ends.”  They’re not timely or topical—they’re just sort of fascinating.  I hope ROTters will find them so.] 

“ARTIST AS SEERS”

by Raymond J. Steiner 

[Raymond J. Steiner’s Art Times essay, “Artist As Seers,” caught my attention when I read it because my acquaintance, theater director Leonardo Shapiro, about whom I’ve blogged many times in Rick On Theater, often wrote and said that artists were seers and visionaries.  Many of his mentors and role models said so, too—Julian Beck of the Living Theatre and Peter Brook, author of The Empty Space, most prominently among them.

[Beck wrote, for instance: “An actor who brings back from his adventures a moment of communicable penetration is a hero, the light of our lives” (The Life of the Theatre [Limelight Editions, 1972: 5]).

[This essay was published in the “Peeks & Piques!” feature of Art Times [Mt. Marion, NY] 22.5 (Dec. 2005).  Art Times, founded in 1984, is a monthly paper that provides commentary and reportage on the fine and performing arts, including editorials, reviews, essays and critiques; short fiction and poetry; opportunities listings, essays on dance, theater, film, music and an extensive calendar of cultural events.  It’s distributed free at arts centers and galleries.

[One note regarding the posting of this item: Steiner wrote this essay all in one, long paragraph (which would look even longer in Blogger's narrow column), so I've taken the liberty of dividing it up for easier reading.  I trust the author won't mind.]

Long before they became craftspeople and technicians, prehistoric image-makers (dare we call them artists?) were seers. Though largely incomprehensible to us, the abstract squiggles and rectilinear lines chiseled into rocks, tomb markers, and cliff faces meant something to their carvers, but what precisely they signify remains a mystery. In the first place, why such markings? What did they convey to the maker? What to their fellows?

Some, like Otto Rank [Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher; 1884-1939], have hypothesized that these markings represent mankind’s earliest attempts at expressing the inexpressible and, as such, represented an incipient spirituality that served as some prototypical ‘religion[‘]. In this sense, then, these early image-makers were our first ‘priests’ since our major religions, being book-based, came long after speech was transformed into a written language—and, as we know, these pre-historic “artists” were around a long, long time before speech as a means of communication came about.

It was only after, when the tools became as important to mankind as had been their original use—namely, to express ‘something’—that the idea of craftsmanship began to arise. As craftspeople became more and more technically proficient in both the making and use of their tools, it then became the doing—and not the tools—that was deemed all-important. Attention thus shifted to process. A foregone conclusion, then, that it would eventually be the product that became the focal point.

In time, it was the object created by a craftsperson proficient in the use of special tools that became all the rage—and thus the concept of “art” was born. From purpose, to process, to proficiency, to product. What an evolution!

But what of that original impetus that started the whole thing going in the first place? What happened to the seer? To the one who tried to point his fellows to a something beyond their senses? Don’t we still tend to think of artists as those who can see more clearly than the rest of us? Do we still owe anything to that original gift of being able to see more than others? And how—and why—did he/she slowly evolve into a mere producer of objects? How did they get from ‘see’-ers to ‘do’-ers?

Ought there not be some homage paid to this business of genuine seeing? After all, these pre-literate stone-scratchers are the great, great, great, great granddaddies and grandmamas of all artists—from [Leonardo] da Vinci [Italian polymath who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect; 1452-1519] to Rembrandt [van Rijn; Dutch painter, printmaker, and draughtsman; 1606-69] to [Berthe Morisot; French painter and a member of the Impressionists; 1841-95] to [Andy] Warhol [American visual artist, film director, and producer; 1928-87] to the very latest wannabe on the block.

Shouldn’t today’s artists be showing/telling us something other than where we’ve been, where we are, or where we’re heading? Shouldn’t they be doing something about giving us a heads-up on where we ought to be going?

Come on, being a seer is where it begins, isn’t it? It can’t all be about technique, trend setting, and sales—can it? When did the impetus first hit you? Remember? What was your vision and why was it strong enough for you to attempt to express it through an image? Is that initial urge to put pencil to paper still there, lurking around in your subconscious? Or have you buried it under a style, a favorite motif, or the theme of an upcoming, juried show?

Have you slavishly followed the same evolution from purpose, to process, to proficiency, to product? Or are you finally going to get serious and get back to that vision? Who knows—it might be you who really has something to share with us.

[Raymond J. Steiner (1933-2019) was a teacher, writer, lecturer, painter, and art critic/reviewer for Art Times, which he co-founded and for which he served as editor.]

*  *  *  *

“GAITHERSBURG INCLUSIVE THEATRE COMPANY

BRINGS GERMANTOWN MENTOR BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR”

by Samantha Schmieder 

[This article, from a local paper from a Washington suburb, just interested me because it was about a generous young woman, still in high school at the time, who made wonderful use of theater to benefit some community residents.  I find it heartwarming.  It ran on 16 April 2015 in The Gazette of Gaithersburg, Maryland.  (It was also published in the Washington Post of 30 April 2015 on the “Local Living: Montgomery Edition,”]

For Northwest High School [Germantown, Maryland, another D.C. suburb just west of Gaithersburg] senior Hannah Kauffman, mentoring ArtStream’s Gaithersburg Inclusive Theatre Company for the past five years has been more than community service — it’s been a passion.

“I started in eighth grade with no expectations,” said Kauffman, who turns 18 on April 25 [she’d be 27 now]. “We have 18 or 20 actors with a complete range of abilities. Just being able to see them grow over the five years I’ve been here has been amazing.” 

ArtStream’s general mission statement, according to its website, is to “create artistic opportunities for individuals in communities traditionally underserved by the arts.” Part of that occurs through its Inclusive Theatre Companies in Gaithersburg; Silver Spring; Arlington, Va.; and Raleigh, N.C.; and at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., that are open to adults with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities and those who are on the autism spectrum. There are two groups in Gaithersburg, and Kauffman has been working with Group B.

Nicolette Stearns, a co-founder of ArtStream, has children around Kauffman’s age and noticed her in their plays and social groups [she’d have been about 13 then].

“We needed mentors at ArtStream. She’s kind, smart, a quick study, respectful and very much a leader in the group. I asked if she wanted to come and she never left,” Stearns said.

Montgomery County Public Schools students must each earn 75 Student Service Learning hours in order to graduate and 260 or more for a special tassel to wear at graduation, Kauffman explained. She said she has earned 900 SSL hours in the five years she has been involved in ArtStream.

“It’s just one of those things you have to like doing. Even if I didn’t get the SSL hours, I would still do it,” Kauffman said.

Stearns explained that Kauffman is a prime example of a student really taking something away from their SSL hours rather than just doing something once and moving on.

“She actually comes in and makes a difference. She came here, wanted to give and she really is someone who took a lot away,” Stearns said. She added that Kauffman has even used her experience at ArtStream to guide her future career path and is planning on studying musical theater as well as speech pathology in college.

Not only does Kauffman mentor the members, but she performs in the play with them, as well. She explained that sometimes being up on stage and working with the actors with lines and choreography helps everything run smoothly.

“We do an original musical every year that is derived solely from the actors, director and team. For us by us,” Kauffman said.

This year’s play, “Broadway Story,” also features a play within the play called “Gaithersburg the Musical.” During rehearsals on Tuesday, the actors practiced a song lamenting the woes of the Red Line as they waited for the metro at Shady Grove. 

[The Red Line is a line of the Washington Metro System that runs in a loop south from north of Bethesda and Rockville in Montgonery County, into central DC and returns to Montgomery County through Silver Spring and Wheaton to Glenmont in an elongated U pattern.]

Terrel Limerick, 43, lives in Rockville and is one of the actors in this year’s production. His favorite part of the program is when all of the actors, mentors and directors work together to write their original play.

“We write all together. We have to talk and give ideas back and forth,” Limerick said. “I like to give my ideas and they like to hear my ideas and they put all the ideas together for the play.”

Kauffman said her favorite part of each cycle is the time they all take at the beginning to write the play.

“These unconventional ideas you don’t think will go together that completely do,” Kauffman said, smiling, while recalling the space monsters and Greek mythology from previous years.

“Broadway Story” and Group A’s play, “The Lost Toys,” will be performed at The Historic Stage at Olney Theatre Center from May 7 to May 10. Both plays, according to Stearns, are “very sweet stories about family, finding who your people are and belonging.”

“All my friends come see the shows. They all know the actors, they love seeing the actors, they love the actors,” Kauffman said. “And I love the actors, too, for all of their quirks.”

[Samantha Schmieder is a University of Maryland graduate who wrote for The Gazette for over a year-and-a-half.  She’s now the Corporate Communications Manager at JBG Smith, a real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland.

[I have tentatively identified the high school senior from Germantown on whom Schmieder’s article above focuses.  A website called RocketReach, a sales intelligence platform intended to streamline the sales processes which features an extensive contact database, lists a Hannah Kauffman from Germantown, Maryland, who was active with ArtStream from 2009 to 2022.  I can’t be certain, but the listed credits strongly suggest she’s the Hannah Kauffman about whom the Gazette article reports.

[The site says that she has a 2020 Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre (Musical Theatre Track) and Bachelor of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indiana, Pennsylvania) and a 2022 Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist from West Virginia University (Morgantown).

[Kauffman has experience as a graduate assistant at WVU, and from work at ArtStream; as a teaching artist with Imagination Stage, a Bethesda theater arts organization that presents productions for young people by professional actors and artists and offers a range of programs for children and families; and as a sales lead for Janie and Jack, the San Francisco-based children’s clothing manufacturer.  She’s currently a Speech Language Pathologist at CommuniCare Health Services, a provider of skilled nursing care with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio (and eight healthcare centers in Maryland and Virginia).]

*  *  *  *

“BROADWAY POLISH ADDED IN CHICAGO”

by Michael Paulson 

[If you know anything about the history of commercial theater in the U.S. since the end of World War II, you know that plays that land on Broadway used to do a try-out tour to work out the kinks and find their sea legs.  That’s what the Cole Porter song from Kiss Me Kate, “Another Op’nin’, Another Show,” is all about: Another op’nin’, another show / In Philly, Boston or Baltimo’, / A chance for stage folks to say “hello” / Another op’nin’ of another show.  Philly, Boston, and Baltimore were among the city’s the Broadway try-outs played—Washington and New Haven were others.

[But touring got too expensive as post-war inflation pushed costs up, and the New York preview performances were created.  But as you’re about to read, sometimes it’s still a good idea to test the show in front of an audience outside the Big Apple before letting the highly critical New York theatergoers loose on your baby—not to mention the acerbic review-writers with their mighty sharp pens (think the late John Simon or Frank Rich, the Butcher of Broadway).

[So producers find a city with a sophisticated and theater-wise populace, but one that’s gentler than we Gothamites.  According to Michael Paulson, who writes about theater for the New York Times—but used to cover religion—some producers think that town is Chicago.  Maybe . . . after all, it does have a play named after it!

[Paulson’s report on Broadway in Chicago ran in the New York Times on 13 January 2016; it appeared on the paper’s website on 12 January under the headline “Before Broadway, Musicals Make a Detour to Test the Waters in Chicago.”]

CHICAGO — When the director Jerry Mitchell was looking for a place to try out a new musical about a struggling shoe company saved by a drag queen, he picked Chicago because the city was familiar (Mr. Mitchell grew up in the Midwest [born in Paw Paw, Michigan, in 1960, grew up in St. Louis, Missouri]) and the audiences friendly (compared with New York).

That show was “Kinky Boots,” and after Chicago’s embrace, it moved to Broadway [4 April 2013-7 April 2019 (2,505 performances); Al Hirschfeld Theatre] and won a Tony Award for best new musical. So a few years later, when Mr. Mitchell was ready to see what theatergoers might make of a jukebox musical about Gloria and Emilio Estefan, he again chose Chicago — and after some nipping and tucking, that show, “On Your Feet!,” also landed on Broadway, where it is pulling in more than $1 million a week [5 November 2015-20  August 2017 (746 performances); Marquis Theatre; no Tonys].

Now Mr. Mitchell is back in Chicago, for the third time in four years, using a five-week run here to find what works and what doesn’t with “Gotta Dance,” a Broadway-bound musical about older adults learning to dance hip-hop for a New Jersey basketball team’s halftime show.

[Gotta Dance débuted 28 December 2015-10 January 2016 at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre. The Broadway transfer was postponed and the show retitled Half Time. Then the Broadway run was canceled and Half Time was rescheduled for a limited engagement at Milburn, New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse, 31 May-1 July 2018. No Broadway opening has been announced.]

“I come to this town to do my work, so when I get to New York, I don’t have to do the work,” Mr. Mitchell said. “The performances get sharper, and everything just gets focused. Chicago, for me, is a great place to do that.”

Over the last several years, Chicago has emerged as the go-to city for Broadway tryouts, consolidating a key position in the commercial theater industry as a stream of new musicals try to find their footing here.

The reasons are manifold. Most important, producers say: The city has a large population and a strong theater scene, meaning that there is a sizable base of experienced showgoers. And the audience mix resembles that of the Broadway audience: mostly female, older and more affluent than the general public, and with a significant dose of out-of-town tourists.

“You know you’re seeing the actors, the sets, just the way it’s going to be done in New York, minus the changes and tweaks, and it is a lot cheaper,” said Roger Zawacki, a 66-year-old retired high school administrator and theater director who saw “Gotta Dance” in late December and then offered an endorsement on Twitter, calling it “so much fun that it made me want to be a senior citizen. Oh wait, I am.”

There are other reasons as well. Several large downtown houses — in a newly revitalized theater district — are configured like Broadway stages, allowing sets built to be used here to be reused in New York. The State of Illinois has adopted tax credits to encourage local production of shows headed to Broadway. Labor unions, hungry for the related jobs, have embraced the challenge of making frequent changes to shows even after opening night.

And Chris Jones, the theater critic for The Chicago Tribune, is known for authoritative but also instructive reviews that producers say often help them persuade creative teams to make difficult but necessary changes.

Since a rollicking tryout of “The Producers” in Chicago in 2001, more than two dozen musicals with Broadway aspirations have had premieres here. A vast majority have been at commercial theaters, although a handful have been at nonprofits; many have successfully transferred, but some flamed out in Chicago (“First Wives Club,” which played early last year, appears to be the most recent example), while others transferred and then flopped (“Amazing Grace,” “The Last Ship” and “Big Fish,” to name a few).

[First Wives Club premièred at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego, California, on 17 July through 23 August 2009 and then opened on 16 February 2015 at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre and closed on 8 March; no New York production has been scheduled. Amazing Grace had a 17 May–10 June 2012 production by Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut and a pre-Broadway run in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre from 19 October to 2 November 2014. It opened on Broadway on 16 July 2015 and closed on 25 October (116 performances).

[After a tour of the United Kingdom and a run on the West End, Sting’s The Last Ship opened a U.S. tour at Los Angeles’s Ahmanson Theatre from 25 June to 16 February 2020. The show played the BoA Theatre in Chicago from 25 June to 13 February 2014. It opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on 26 October 2014 to 24 January 2015 for 105 performances.

[Big Fish opened at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre on 2 April 2013 and closed on 5 May.  It transferred to the Niel Simon Theatre in New York City on 6 October 2013 and closed on 29 December for 98 performances.]

Several more new musicals with Broadway hopes are on Chicago’s calendar, including Nickelodeon’s first theatrical venture, “The SpongeBob Musical,” based on the animated TV show “SpongeBob SquarePants” and featuring original songs by pop stars including Cyndi Lauper, John Legend and the Flaming Lips.

[The SpongeBob Musical opened at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago on 19 June 2016 and closed on 10 January.  SpongeBob SquarePants débuted in New York at the Palace Theatre on 4 December 2017-16 September 2018 for 327 performances. The production won the 2018 Tony for Best Scenic Design of a Musical and six 2018 Drama Desk Awards: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Actor in a Musical for Ethan Slater, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for Gavin Lee, Outstanding Wig and Hair for the hair design by Charles G. LaPointe, Outstanding Set Design for a Musical for David Zinn, and Outstanding Director of a Musical for Tina Landau.]

Russell Hicks, the Nickelodeon executive overseeing that project, said that when he turned to theater experts for advice, “it was the consensus that was brought to us: Chicago is a great place to start.”

Out-of-town runs are expensive — Mr. Mitchell said his tryouts cost $1.5 million to $2.5 million [$1.9- 3.1 million in 2025] — but they are built into the capitalization of the ensuing Broadway productions. Audience feedback is assessed instinctively — are people in the seats laughing? crying? yawning? — but also, sometimes, more methodically, via focus groups and surveys.

“We’ve been at just about every performance, sitting in every section of the theater, to watch the audience watching the show,” said Dori Berinstein, one of the producers of “Gotta Dance.” Her co-producer, Bill Damaschke, added, “You become a bathroom stalker for a lot of anecdotal response.” (So far, the creators have taken steps to make the 20-something head of the dance squad more likable, and have written new songs that they may introduce later on.)

Most of the commercial productions take place in one of the five theaters operated by Broadway in Chicago, a subsidiary of the Nederlander Organization [second-largest owner of Broadway theaters, with nine, plus five in Chicago], which has aggressively courted pre-Broadway tryouts (some of which later wind up in Nederlander-owned theaters in New York).

Lou Raizin, the president of Broadway in Chicago, cited the work presented at nearly 250 Chicagoland theaters, as well as the increasing number of Broadway-bound productions beginning here, to argue that the city is “now the third-most-important theater city in the world, behind New York and London.”

And the theater operators have a partner in labor, which is eager for the associated jobs. “It’s found money, and it’s putting a lot of people to work,” said Craig Carlson, a third-generation Chicago stagehand and leader of the local stage workers’ union [International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) – over 170,000 members: technicians, artisans, and craftspersons].

As in other cities around the country, there are several nonprofit theaters that are developing musicals with Broadway aspirations: Last fall, Chicago Shakespeare Theater mounted “Ride the Cyclone,” a Canadian musical that has received strong reviews as it heads toward a likely production in New York [world première in Canada followed by American première from 29 September 2015 until 8 November; opened Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on 30 November 2016, closing on 18 December], and next summer, the Goodman Theater is mounting “War Paint,” a new musical that features the Broadway stars Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole as competing cosmetics industry titans [18 July-21 August 2016; Nederlander Theatre, 6 April-5 November 2017 (236 performances)].

There are also a pair of commercial houses in the suburbs, the Marriott and Drury Lane theaters, that are mounting musicals with Broadway aspirations.

“Until recently, we just did revivals, and some of our subscribers, who have been with us for 30 years, have seen some shows multiple times,” said Kyle DeSantis, the executive director of Drury Lane, which began producing new musicals with New York aspirations last year. “It’s nice to have new titles for them.”

Drury Lane first mounted “Beaches,” a musical adaptation of the Bette Midler film, last year [24 June-16 August 2015; no Broadway dates have been announced], and this year is presenting “Hazel,” a musical adaptation of the comic strip/television series [NBC, 1961-1965; CBS, 1965-1966], directed by the Tony-nominated choreographer Joshua Bergasse (“Smash”) [6 April-26 May 2016; Broadway opening hasn’t been announced].

For actors, the Chicago tryouts are a challenge (many leave children with relatives in New York), an adventure (they tend to live in a few apartment buildings recommended by the production), and a chance to develop their roles.

“The purpose of being here is to change things, experiment,” said Nancy Ticotin, a 58-year-old Broadway veteran (“Gotta Dance” will be her sixth show) playing Camilla, a character excited by trying to master hip-hop dance, as well as by a relationship with a much younger man. “Yesterday, I said to Jerry, can I say this word, instead of that word? He said, ‘Try it!’”

[From 2000 to 2010, Michael Paulson covered religion for the Boston Globe.  Since 2010, he’s worked at the New York Times, where he initially continued his religion coverage.  His work at the Times reflected his early politics roots and continued to tie religion to national issues.  Since April 2015, Paulson has covered theater at the New York Times.]  

*  *  *  *

“PROSECUTORS: PRODUCER BILKS 7 INVESTORS

OUT OF $165K FOR FAKE BROADWAY SHOW” 

[This report was broadcast on WCBS-TV (Channel 2) on 19 August 2016, reported by CBS2’s Jessica Layton.  Aside from its sheer audacity—you’ll see what I mean when you read the short report—the similarity to a Max Bialystok scheme, which Layton points out, make this an irresistible post for ROT.  If theater is often art imitating life, then this story is absolutely life imitating art—and I wonder if con artist Scahill figured as much.

[I also wonder how Mel Brooks felt when he first read a report like this one—because you know it went viral!] 

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – It seems like the kind of crime Mel Brooks made famous, except this one was a flop.

Roland Scahill [b. 1975] claimed to be the lead producer of a new Broadway show and scammed $165,000 from seven would-be investors in less than three months, according to District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s [b. 1954; New York County (i.e., Manhattan) District Attorney: 2010-22] office.

Scahill, 41 [in 2016], told his investors he had secured the rights to opera star Kathleen Battle’s [American soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone; b. 1948] life story and that Lupita Nyong’o had signed on to star in a production [a one-woman play] about her at Broadway’s Booth Theatre, prosecutors said. He also told them Netflix would film the bogus show, dubbed The KB Project, and make it available online, according to prosecutors.

Scahill told his victims he was raising money for the show at a rate of $15,000 per share [equivalent to $19,700 in 2025] to fund the first stages of production, prosecutors said.

After a while, the investors wanted their money back, and Scahill sent them checks which bounced, prosecutors said. He had already spent it on stocks, options, credit cards, rent as well as food, alcohol and entertainment, according to prosecutors.

“This indictment closes the curtain on Roland Scahill’s phantom production,” Vance said. “My Office will continue working to safeguard the integrity of this vital industry.”

Scahill faces charges of criminal possession of stolen property, grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

New Yorkers had mixed reaction to the investigation.

“I think it’s absolutely disgusting. It makes me sick when stuff like that that happens in the city,” Christopher Poyiatzis of Queens told CBS2’s Jessica Layton.

“It’s not surprising . . . right? I think what’s surprising is the people invested without having all the facts,” another person said.

Running a show starring some of the best names in the business? It’s nice work if you can get it, but the only ticket Scahill has right now is the one to jail.

His attorney told CBS2 the client pleaded not guilty. Attempts at reaching the producer were not successful.

[In 2017, Scahill, owner of RMS2 Productions, pleaded guilty and was convicted of stealing $205,000 [$264,000 today] by falsely claiming to be producing a play based on the life of Kathleen Battle.  He was charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count; Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony, seven counts; Scheme to Defraud in First Degree, a class E felony, one count.

[Scahill was sentenced to six months in jail and five years’ probation.  In addition, he must also undergo psychiatric treatment and repay $189,000 [$243,000] to his investors over the next six years.

[According to court papers, Scahill sold shares in the non-existent show for $15,000 and got investors to buy extra shares by representing that that Netflix had agreed to film and broadcast a performance.  Not only were none of Scahill’s claims true, “representatives for [Battle, Nyong‘o, and the Shubert Organization, which owns the Booth Theatre] say Scahill never approached them and that they never had any deal with him.”  

[Most of the alleged scam took place between October 2014 and August 2015.  It fell apart in late 2015 when several investors demanded their money back.  Scahill reportedly sent them checks that bounced, then ceased all communications with the investors.

[Music critic Michael Walsh (b. 1949) described Kathleen Battle as “the best lyric coloratura in the world.” She rose quickly in the ranks of the opera world and branched out into other types of music.  She soon gained an international reputation and was in demand all over the world.  She was admired by both audiences and critics.

[Battle was not only collecting a stack of laudatory reviews and articles, she was showered with awards and honors.  But in the early 1990s, her relationship with the leadership of the Metropolitan Opera was straining.  She was gaining a reputation for being difficult and exacting.  She began exhibiting harsh, willful behavior with both company members and management.

[In a February 1994 article entitled “Battle Fatigue,” Time magazine reported that Battle was “renowned for leaving a trail of ill will in her wake wherever she goes.”  The Met general manager Joseph Volpe, said Time, cited Battle for “unprofessional actions” and “summarily fired” her.

[The singer claimed that she had no idea there was a problem and didn’t understand shy she’d been fired.  She ceased performing opera immediately and has only recently made overtures to returning to the musical form that made her famous.

[It was reputedly this contretemps and its consequences that was to be the focus of The KB Project.]

A Crisis In America's Theaters

 

[Some time ago, I started to compile a list of theaters that had closed in the previous decade or so.  I was working from memory, with the idea that I’d move on to research, both to check my recollection and to expand the list.  I didn’t really have any idea what I’d do with the list; maybe I’d create a report for Rick On Theater from it, but I hadn’t figured that far ahead.

[I never got further than a dozen or so companies that I thought had ceased operating, then I let the idea lapse.  Now and then, I’d consider returning to the idea and see if there was anything in it, but I never did.  Then this summer, I read two articles in the New York Times that discussed pretty much the idea that I’d had years ago. 

[Both articles are by the same reporter, Michael Paulson, a native Bostonian who, since April 2015, has covered theater at the Times.  In essence, they make a two-part series, and I’ve chosen to post them together on ROT to make what had been my original point that we in the United States are facing a crisis on our regional non-profit theaters.] 

“THEATER IN AMERICA IS FACING A CRISIS 
AS MANY STAGES GO DARK”
by Michael Paulson 

[Michael Paulson’s first article was published on 24 July 2023 in Section A (the news section) of the New York Times.  It essentially sets up the second report, posted below.]

As they struggle to recover after the pandemic, regional theaters are staging fewer shows, giving fewer performances, laying off staff and, in some cases, closing.

There is less theater in America these days. Fewer venues. Fewer productions. Fewer performances.

Cal Shakes [California Shakespeare Theater – performance space: Orinda; administration: Berkeley], a Bay Area favorite that staged Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater, is producing no shows this year. Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater, where Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” had its premiere [1996] before coming to Broadway [2002], has halted programming until next spring. The Williamstown Theater Festival, known for its star-studded summer shows, has no fully staged productions at its Western Massachusetts home this season.

The coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath have left the industry in crisis. Interviews with 72 top-tier regional theaters located outside New York City reveal that they expect, in aggregate, to produce 20 percent fewer productions next season than they did in the last full season before the pandemic, which shuttered theaters across the country, in many cases for 18 months or more. And many of the shows that they are programming will have shorter runs, smaller casts and simpler sets.

Seattle’s ACT Contemporary Theater has reduced the length of each show’s run by a week. In Los Angeles, the Geffen Playhouse will no longer schedule performances on Tuesdays, its slowest night. Philadelphia’s Arden Theater Company expects to give 363 performances next season, down from 503 performances the season before the pandemic.

Why is this happening? Costs are up, the government assistance that kept many theaters afloat at the height of the pandemic has mostly been spent, and audiences are smaller than they were before the pandemic, a byproduct of shifting lifestyles (less commuting, more streaming), some concern about the downtown neighborhoods in which many large nonprofit theaters are situated (worries about public safety), and broken habits (many former patrons, particularly older people, have not returned).

“It’s impossible not to be distraught about the state of the field,” said Christopher Moses, an artistic director of the Alliance Theater in Atlanta. “It’s clear this is the hardest time to be producing nonprofit theater, maybe in the history of the nonprofit movement.”

The number of nonprofit theaters in America had grown significantly in the two decades before the pandemic, but many small and midsize companies are now closing. Just last month, Book-It Repertory Theater in Seattle, Triad Stage in Greensboro, N.C., and Unexpected Stage Company in Maryland announced they were closing. Chicago, a city proud of its vibrant storefront theater scene, has lost at least a half-dozen companies.

“We’re seeing two to three organizations closing a month right now,” said Greg Reiner, the director of theater and musical theater at the National Endowment for the Arts.

There are substantial layoffs and cuts taking place at some of the field’s biggest institutions: This month New York’s prestigious Public Theater cut 19 percent of its jobs; just before that the powerhouse Brooklyn Academy of Music cut 13 percent and the sprawling Center Theater Group of Los Angeles cut 10 percent. The Dallas Theater Center has cut its full-time staff nearly in half, to 38 from 70, since last fall.

The pandemic exacerbated many trends that had long challenged nonprofit theaters, including the steady erosions of subscribers [see following article] — the loyal audience members who sign up in advance to see most or all of a season’s shows. Hartford Stage [Connecticut] and Kansas City Repertory Theater have each lost half of their subscribers since the pandemic, leaving them far more reliant on single-ticket buyers, whose purchase patterns are unpredictable and who tend to be less interested in unfamiliar work.

A new survey conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Census Bureau found that 10.3 percent of American adults attended a musical last year, down from 16.5 percent in 2017; just 4.5 percent attended a play, down from 9.4 percent.

At the same time the costs of making theater have risen significantly because of inflation, labor market issues (the Great Resignation [see Great Resignation - Wikipedia] led to significant staff turnover, so both recruitment and retention costs have risen), and social justice concerns (many theater workers have successfully argued that they were undercompensated). “As we work toward a more equitable work force, the cost of producing theater goes up,” said Ross Egan, managing director of Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, Fla.

Even as they cut staff positions and hire fewer actors and freelance artists, many theaters are awash in red ink after running through the government aid that helped sustain them during the height of the pandemic. “I’ve been here 20 years, and at some point in the spring I started to realize this would be the greatest and largest deficit in my history,” said Paul R. Tetreault, the director of Ford’s Theater Society in Washington, D.C.

Why cut back on shows? “We don’t have the demand for it, so why would we try to act like we do?” said Ken-Matt Martin, the interim artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage and the Arkansas Repertory Theater [Little Rock]. And many nonprofits run shows at a loss, with even strong ticket sales unable to cover production costs, leaving them reliant on philanthropy to make up the difference. “We all lose money by doing productions,” said Angel Ysaguirre, the executive director of Court Theater in Chicago. “We’ll be losing less money by cutting one production.”

The crisis has led to a new spirit of collaboration, and an enormous increase in coproductions in which several theaters come together to produce shows and share the costs of sets, costumes and creative teams. In the season before the pandemic only one of the six shows at Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, D.C., was a coproduction; next season at least five of its six shows will be coproductions.

“It’s a sea change,” said Simon Godwin, the theater’s artistic director. “There’s an economic imperative, but also a sense of sharing the challenge of making theater now.”

Theaters are looking for other ways to share costs. Several in Connecticut are exploring whether they could consolidate their set-building operations, and a group in Chicago is discussing whether it’s possible to share back-office functions like human resources, finance and marketing.

Many theaters are trying to make money by renting out their buildings. Some are finding other ways to raise funds. Northern Stage, in White River Junction, Vt., decided to get a liquor license. “While this is certainly auxiliary to our mission,” said Jason Smoller, the theater’s managing director, “it will represent a not insignificant revenue stream, and it undoubtedly improves the experience for our patrons.”

There are varying reports about how well philanthropy is holding up, but many theater leaders express concern about donor fatigue after the pandemic, and some say foundations are shifting away from support for the arts toward health, human services and social justice. “What’s happening now, just in the last few months, is that really large, steadfast, institutional donors are reprioritizing and moving away from arts funding,” said Nora DeVeau-Rosen, managing director of Two River Theater in Red Bank, N.J. “We’ve lost 11 percent of our institutional support in the last three months, and we anticipate that continuing.”

Nonprofit theaters, many of which strive to produce new work and artistically adventurous fare, are doing far less well than touring Broadway productions, which are often juggernauts and jukebox musicals. Nonprofit theaters are also lagging behind Broadway itself, where attendance levels are now 91 percent of where they were at the same time before the pandemic.

There are a handful of nonprofits that say they are doing just fine, with a variety of theories about why: Some minimized the length of time they were closed during the pandemic; others cite populist programming choices; and some are in midsize cities with a less competitive performing arts market and strong civic support.

But far more say they are facing serious challenges. “Clearly the financial model for most regional theaters is profoundly in trouble,” said Stuart Carden, the artistic director of Kansas City Repertory Theater.

Some artistic directors believe that programming is partly at fault — that some theaters have turned off audiences by choosing shows that are too downbeat or preachily political. “Some theaters have forgotten what audiences want — they want to laugh and to be joyful and to cry, but sometimes we push them too far,” said Timothy J. Evans, executive director of Northlight Theater in Skokie, Ill. But numerous theaters say they are still finding at least occasional success with edgy or challenging titles.

In Kansas City, Carden said audience behavior has been volatile: A new Sherlock Holmes-themed comedy by Kate Hamill called “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — Apt. 2B” vastly outsold expectations, but a production of Marco Ramirez’s acclaimed play “The Royale,” about a champion boxer who confronted racism, “barely sold.”

“There’s been so much heartache and pain, a lot of people are looking for a joyous experience and a guaranteed good time,” Carden said.

In California, Pasadena Playhouse saw big demand for a series of Sondheim-related shows, but then struggled with Martyna Majok’s immigration-themed “Sanctuary City.” “It was an artistic high point by every metric possible, but we could not get people to pay attention,” said Danny Feldman, the theater’s producing artistic director.

Meanwhile, theater leaders are grasping for signs of hope, or at least faith.

“I’ve had many dark nights of the soul — who is going to survive, and how is the field going to survive?” said Taibi Magar, one of two artistic directors at Philadelphia Theater Company. “But then some days I wake up and remember that this art form is thousands of years old, and it has survived so many terrible moments. It will move and morph into its next phase.”

[Michael Paulson is the theater reporter of the New York Times.  He previously covered religion at the Times and at the Boston Globe, and was part of the Globe team whose coverage of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.]

*  *  *  *
“THEATERS THRIVED ON SUBSCRIBERS, TILL THEY QUIT”
by Michael Paulson 

[Paulson’s second article, reported from Knoxville, Tennessee, appeared on 30 August 2023 in Section A of the Times.]

The subscription model, in which theatergoers buy a season’s worth of shows at a time, had long been waning, but it fell off a cliff during the pandemic.

As a group of stagehands assembled train cars for the set of “Murder on the Orient Express,” Ken Martin looked grimly at his email. His first year as artistic director at the Clarence Brown Theater in Knoxville, Tenn., was coming to an end, and the theater had missed its income goals by several hundred thousand dollars, largely because it had lost about half its subscribers since the start of the pandemic.

“I’ve already had to tear up one show, because of a combination of cost and I don’t think it’s going to sell,” he said. “I’m in the same boat as a lot of theater companies: How do I get the audience back, and once I get them in the door, how do I keep them for the next show?”

The nonprofit theater world’s industrywide crisis [see above article], which has led to closings, layoffs and a reduction in the number of shows being staged, is being exacerbated by a steep drop in the number of people who buy theater subscriptions, in which they pay upfront to see most or all of a season’s shows. The once-lucrative subscription model had been waning for years, but it has fallen off a cliff since the pandemic struck.

It is happening across the nation. Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater had 13,566 subscribers last season, down from 19,770 before the pandemic. In Atlanta, the Alliance Theater ended last season with 3,208, down from a prepandemic 5,086, while Northlight Theater, in Skokie, Ill., is at about 3,200, down from 5,700.

Theaters are losing people like Joanne Guerriero, 61, who dropped her subscription to Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J., after realizing she only liked some of the productions there, and would rather be more selective about when and where she saw shows.

“We haven’t missed it,” she said, “which is unfortunate, I suppose, for them.”

Subscribers were long the lifeblood of many performing arts organizations — a reliable income stream, and a guarantee that many seats would be filled. The pandemic hastened their disappearance for a number of reasons, according to interviews with theater executives around the country and theatergoers who let their subscriptions lapse. Many longtime subscribers simply got out of the habit while theaters were closed. Others grew to appreciate the ease and flexibility of streamed entertainment at home. Some found the recent programming too didactic. And the slow return to offices meant fewer people were commuting into the downtown areas where regional theaters are often located.

Many artistic leaders believe the change is permanent.

“The strategic conversation is no longer ‘What version of a membership brochure is going to bring in more members,’ but how do we replace that revenue, and replenish the relationship with audiences,” said Jeremy Blocker, the executive director of New York Theater Workshop, an Off Broadway nonprofit that has seen its average number of members (its term for subscribers) drop by 50 percent since before the pandemic.

Why do subscribers matter?

“No. 1, it reduces your cost of marketing hugely — you’re selling three or five tickets for the cost of one,” said Michael M. Kaiser, the chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland. “No. 2, you get the cash up front, which helps fund the rehearsal period and the producing period. And No. 3, subscriptions give you artistic flexibility — if people are willing to buy all the shows, some subset of the total can be less familiar and more challenging, but if you don’t have subscribers, every production is sold on its own merits, and that makes taking artistic risk much more difficult.”

There’s also a strong connection between subscriptions and contributions. “Most donors are subscribers,” said Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, the producing artistic director of Capital Repertory Theater in Albany, N.Y., “so there’s a cycle here.”

Theaters are simultaneously trying to retain — or reclaim — subscribers, and also reduce their dependence on them. Many are experimenting with ways to make subscriptions more flexible, or more attractive, but also seeing an upside in the need to find new patrons.

“For some theaters, a reliance on an existing homogeneous group of patrons has really shaped the work they’re doing,” said Erica Ezold, managing director of People’s Light, a nonprofit theater in Malvern, Pa. “Ultimately it’s going to be really positive to be not as reliant on subscriber income and have greater diversity in our audiences.”

Programming is clearly on the mind of lapsed subscribers around the country. Even as subscriptions have fallen sharply at regional nonprofits whose mission is to develop new voices and present noncommercial work, they have remained steadier at venues that present touring Broadway shows with highly recognizable titles.

“There’s so much going on with the ‘ought-to-see-this-because-you’re-going-to-be-taught-a-lesson’ stuff, and I’m OK with that, but part of me thinks we’re going a little overboard, and I need to have some fun,” said Melissa Ortuno, 61, of Queens. She describes herself as a frequent theatergoer — she has already seen 17 shows this year — but finds herself now preferring to purchase tickets for individual shows, rather than subscriptions. “I want to take a shot, but I don’t want to be dictated to. And this way I can buy what I want.”

But there are other reasons subscribers have stepped away, including age. “We’re all old, that’s the problem,” said Happy Shipley, 77, of Erwinna, Pa., who decided to renew her subscription at the Bucks County Playhouse [New Hope], but sees others making a different choice. “Many of them don’t stay up late anymore; they’re anxious about parking, walking, crime, public transportation, increased need of restrooms, you name it.”

Arts administrators say that many people who were previously frequent theatergoers remain fans of the art form, but now attend less frequently, a phenomenon confirmed in interviews with supersubscribers — culture vultures who had multiple subscriptions — who say they are scaling back.

Lisa-Karyn Davidoff, 63, of Manhattan, subscribed to 10 theaters before the pandemic; now she is far more choosy, citing a combination of health concerns and reassessed priorities. “If there’s a great cast or something I can’t miss,” she said, “I will go.” Rena Tobey, a 64-year-old New Yorker, had at least 12 theater subscriptions before the pandemic, and now has none, citing an ongoing concern about catching Covid in crowds, a new appreciation for television and streaming, and a sense that theaters are programming shows for people other than her. “For many years, I’ve pushed my boundaries, and I’m just at a point where I don’t want to do it anymore.”

And Jeanne Ryan Wolfson, a 67-year-old from Rockville, Md., who had four performing arts subscriptions prepandemic, is just finding she likes an à la carte approach to ticket purchasing; she kept two of her previous subscriptions, dropped two, and added a new one. “I was paying a lot of money for the subscriptions, and some of the productions within those packages were a bit disappointing or might not have the wow factor I was looking for,” she said. “I think what I want to do is pick and choose.”

Martin said the Knoxville theater’s staff has spent much of the summer discussing the drop in subscriber numbers — the theater had about 3,000 before the pandemic, but 1,500 last season — and hired a marketing firm to study the situation.

Now he is picking productions carefully. He has set aside his dream of staging William Congreve’s “The Way of the World,” worried that the Restoration comedy wouldn’t find an audience. This season he’s starting with “Murder on the Orient Express,” which should do well, followed by a war horse — the annual production of “A Christmas Carol” — and “The Giver” [Eric Coble; 2006], which Martin hopes will appeal to younger audiences because it was adapted from a popular young adult novel [Lois Lowry; 1993].

Then comes “Kinky Boots” [Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein; 2012], the kind of uplifting musical comedy many of today’s audiences seem to want. (“Kinky Boots,” with a plot that involves drag queens, also makes a statement for a theater in Tennessee, where lawmakers have attempted to restrict drag shows.) There will be more adventurous productions, but in a smaller theater: “The Moors” by Jen Silverman, and “Anon(ymous)” by Naomi Iizuka.

But selling tickets show by show, instead of as a package, is challenging and expensive.

“It takes three times as much money, time and effort to bring in someone new,” said Tom Cervone, the theater’s managing director. He said the theater is trying everything it can — print advertising, public radio sponsorships, social media posts, plus appearances at local street fairs and festivals where the theater’s staff will hand out brochures and swag (branded train whistles to promote “Murder on the Orient Express,” for example) while trying to persuade passers-by to come see a show.

The theater, which is on the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee, is less dependent than some on ticket revenue, because, like a number of other regional nonprofits, it is affiliated with a university that subsidizes its operations. Still, the money it earns from ticket sales is essential to balancing the budget.

“It’s been scary some days,” Cervone said, “like, where is everybody?”

[These two reports by Michael Paulson could be read as companion pieces to the series of articles that ran in the New York Times last year under the umbrella title “The Reformation,” which discussed some major changes underway in American theater practices.

[The series included four articles by Times drama reviewer Jesse Green and an introductory piece by Callie Holtermann.  I posted the series on ROT on 20, 23, 26, and 29 September, and 2 October 2022.

[Now, a brief comment on theaters like the Clarence Brown Theater that are subsidized by institutions like the University of Tennessee.  The relationship may stabilize the theater’s budget and make it financially more secure, but there’s almost always a trade-off, which Paulson doesn’t consider here.

[I’m thinking about the institution’s clout when it comes to a disagreement over some aspect of the theater’s functioning.  The most serious form of this problem arises if the parent institution objects to a production choice or, worse, the artistic director’s artistic philosophy. 

[I refer readers to “The First Amendment & The Arts, Redux,” posted on ROT on 13 February 2015, especially the section regarding Theater J in Washington, D.C.  Theater J is a subsidiary of the Washington DC Jewish Community Center, which fired the troupe’s longtime artistic director, Ari Roth, in 2014 over just such an objection.

[The upshot is, the institution that dispenses the funds that keep the theater afloat can wield the authority to influence or, indeed, make even artistic decisions without recourse to appeal.  As I wrote in the 2015 post, “[G]etting a say in the policy decisions of an organization in exchange for money isn’t actually philanthropy—it’s a purchase.”]

"As Attendance Falls, Now Is the Winter of Broadway’s Discontent"

by Michael Paulson 

[As most theatergoers know, Broadway shut down on 19 March 2020.  Other theaters and entertainment venues followed suit.  They began to reopen in September of last year, but the reopening hasn’t been smooth.  Many shows have cancelled performances at the last minute, even, in some cases, after spectators were seated.

[Other shows have announced temporary closings until later this year and some productions have closed outright.  Even plays that are still running are having trouble attracting audiences, with empty seats all over the house.  Productions for which tickets were hard to come by pre-pandemic are no longer a difficult get.

[The question of how to manage this situation, which effects the artists, crews, theater staffs, and the very economy of the city, and keep the industry alive is what Michael Paulson’s New York Times article below, “As Attendance Falls, Now Is the Winter of Broadway’s Discontent,” examines; it was published on 17 January 2022 in Section A, the front section, starting on the first page (below the fold).]

Curtains are rising again after the Omicron surge caused widespread cancellations, but attendance has fallen steeply. Nine shows are closing, at least temporarily.

The reopening of Broadway last summer, following the longest shutdown in history, provided a jolt of energy to a city ready for a rebound: Bruce Springsteen and block parties, eager audiences and enthusiastic actors.

But the Omicron variant that has barreled into the city, sending coronavirus case counts soaring, is now battering Broadway, leaving the industry facing an unexpected and enormous setback on its road back from the pandemic.

In December, so many theater workers tested positive for the coronavirus that, on some nights, half of all shows were canceled — in a few troublesome instances after audiences were already in their seats.

Now, producers have figured out how to keep shows running, thanks mainly to a small army of replacement workers filling in for infected colleagues. Heroic stories abound: When the two girls who alternate as the young lioness Nala in “The Lion King” were both out one night, a 10-year-old boy who usually plays the cub Simba went on in the role, saving the performance.

But there’s a new problem: Audiences are vanishing.

During the week that ended Jan. 9, just 62 percent of seats were occupied. That’s the lowest attendance has been since a week in 2003 when musicians went on strike, and it’s a precipitous drop from the January before the pandemic, when 94 percent of seats were filled during the first week after the holidays.

The casualty list is growing. Over the last month, nine shows have decided to close their doors, at least temporarily. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a huge hit before the pandemic, announced last week that it would close until June; on Sunday “Ain’t Too Proud,” a successful jukebox musical about the Temptations, closed for good.

Box-office grosses are falling off a cliff. The all-important Christmas and New Year’s weeks, which producers count on each year to fatten their coffers in anticipation of the lean weeks that follow, generated just $40 million this season, down from $99 million before the pandemic. Requests for ticket refunds are now so high that on some days some shows have negative wraps, meaning they are giving back more money than they are taking in.

“This is the worst I have ever experienced,” said Jack Viertel, a longtime executive at Jujamcyn Theaters, which operates five Broadway houses.

Over the long run, industry leaders say, there is every reason to remain bullish about Broadway. Until the pandemic, the industry had been enjoying a sustained boom, fueled by a rebound in the popularity of musicals and by New York’s gargantuan growth as a tourist destination. And this downturn might not last long: There is some evidence that the Omicron surge may be peaking, at least in some parts of the country, including New York.

But before it eases, the slump will cost investors tens of millions of dollars, and will push theater workers back into unemployment, as dwindling attendance forces productions without abundant reserves to close. And the distress is not just financial: Artists spend years developing shows before they get to Broadway, so a premature closing is a crushing blow.

“It’s harrowing, and there will be a lot of damage done,” Mr. Viertel said. “Some shows will be put out of business permanently, and this will be career ending for some individuals.”

Dominique Morisseau, the playwright who wrote the book for “Ain’t Too Proud,” and whose new play, “Skeleton Crew,” is now in previews [opening 20 Feb. at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre] following two virus-related delays, called this moment “extremely painful.” “My play is about plants shutting down during the auto industry collapse [Sept.-Dec. 2008], and factory workers wondering every day, ‘Is it shutting down?’” she said. “Now that’s how we’re coming to work.”

The Broadway League, which represents producers, has asked labor unions to consider pay cuts to help shows survive this rough patch. At one point, in a step previously reported by The Daily Beast, the League asked workers to accept half-pay when Covid-19 forced performance cancellations; there have also been discussions about offering lower pay for scaled-back performance calendars.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep as many shows open as possible,” said Charlotte St. Martin, the president of the Broadway League, citing safety protocols and marketing efforts as well as labor discussions.

The talks stalled as unions sought more financial information.

“It’s fair to say that all the unions recognize that shows remaining open is important — that represents jobs for actors and stage managers and everyone else who makes a living in the live theater,” said Kate Shindle, the president of Actors’ Equity [the union that represents theatrical actors and stage managers]. But Ms. Shindle noted that Broadway shows had received tens of millions of dollars in federal aid last year, and that the industry is no longer even disclosing weekly box-office grosses for individual shows, as it did before the pandemic. “Pretty universally, the unions’ response has been that if you want us to make financial concessions, we need financial transparency,” she said.

Meanwhile, shows are collapsing. There are always closings in January, a soft time of year for Broadway, but this season a crush of announcements started in December, usually one of the most lucrative months.  []The musicals “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Diana,” “Flying Over Sunset,” “Jagged Little Pill” and “Waitress,” as well as the play “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” all decided to close earlier than planned after Omicron hit. And three other shows, including “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Girl From the North Country” as well as “Mockingbird,” said they would close for a few months and then attempt to reopen.

“If it means that shows get to come back, hooray,” said Jenn Gambatese, the lead actress in “Mrs. Doubtfire.” “The alternative was, run another week and buh-bye.”

More and more theaters are now dark. By next Sunday [23 Jan.], there will be only 19 shows running in the 41 Broadway theaters. Cast and crew members from shuttered productions are trying to figure out whether they even worked enough weeks to qualify for unemployment; those who do will get less assistance than they did earlier in the pandemic, because the maximum weekly benefit in New York is now $504, down from $1,104 when the federal government was offering a supplement.

The surviving shows seem to have figured out how to avert the cancellations that bedeviled the industry last month.

One reason: So many workers have already tested positive, and are now back at work (and, notably, no performers are known to have been hospitalized during this latest round). More important: Productions have trained and hired additional replacement workers, including for crew members.

Playbills are regularly stuffed with cast-change inserts. One night, Keenan Scott II, the playwright of “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” kept his show afloat by going on to replace an actor who tested positive. “Come From Away” saved a performance by deploying eight swings, including alumni and a touring performer who had never worked on Broadway. At “Wicked,” a longtime understudy who had left Broadway to become a software engineer in Chicago returned and performed as Elphaba.

And then there was “The Lion King,” where the young Simba went on as young Nala (uncostumed, and after a preshow explanation to the audience).

“I didn’t want the show to close,” explained the child actor, who performs as Corey J. “I was nervous at first, but then the person who plays Shenzi winked at me, and I wasn’t nervous anymore.”

In the wings between scenes, cast members cheered him on, and at the end of the show, the cast gave him the honor of the show’s final bow.

Producers say they are confident Broadway will regain strength, although they can’t be sure exactly when.

“Let’s face it — producing on Broadway in the best of times is a ridiculous proposition, and the amount of risk involved doesn’t make sense for any sane person,” said Mara Isaacs, a lead producer of “Hadestown.” “But the dreamers will continue to dream. Yes, it’s going to be harder for a little while, but I do believe we will recover.”

One major challenge producers face now is shoring up consumer confidence. Follow the social media account of any Broadway show and you’re likely to see a simple message: Broadway is open. Worried about safety? All patrons are vaccinated and masked, and many theaters have stopped selling food and drinks so masks can stay up.

The most popular shows are still packed, but not quite as tough to get into as they were: Last week, there were seats available even at the industry’s most in-demand shows, including “Hamilton,” “The Music Man” and “Six.” (Premium seats at “Hamilton” were selling for $299, compared to $847 before the pandemic.)

And this has become a good time for bargain hunters. Tickets to shows like David Byrne’s “American Utopia” and the best musical Tony winner “Moulin Rouge!,” both of which were routinely sold out before the pandemic, are now discounted at the TKTS booth in Times Square. And the city’s annual Broadway Week, which starts Tuesday and offers 2-for-1 tickets for most Broadway shows, this year will last 27 days — the longest in the program’s history.

“I would never be able to afford a normal Broadway ticket, but now it seems super affordable to someone like me,” said Amy Grimm, a 45-year-old administrative assistant from Brooklyn, who this month has seen “Girl From the North Country” and “Six.” She said she enjoyed “Girl,” but added, “There was hardly anyone in the audience, and it was sad to see.” “Six,” she said, felt more normal. “I hooted and hollered through my mask,” she said, “and it was fine.”

[Michael Paulson is the theater reporter for the New York Times.  He previously covered religion, and was part of the Boston Globe team whose coverage of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (2003).]