America’s Nonprofit Theaters Are Finding Ways to Thrive

“The Fabulous Invalid” is the title of a 1938 George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart comedy about a theater’s struggles to survive. The phrase, which outlasted the show, refers to the resilience of theater in the face of insane odds. In the past six months, it has been an apt image for the demise of not-for-profit companies across America. Since the pandemic ended, dozens of theaters across the country have closed; many others have laid off staff or cut down their seasons. Longtime artistic leaders left their jobs. Data collected by Theater Communications Group shows that 60% of the country’s nonprofit theaters are predicting deficits this year, compared with 10% in 2021.

The reasons for the crisis are numerous: competition for audiences from streaming and phones; corporate philanthropy’s pivot away from the arts; crime driving audiences away from downtown districts; didactic plays that alienate audiences. Even at the best of times, making theater is a financial challenge. In their 1966 study “Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma,” William J. Baumol and William G. Bowen identified a central problem: It “takes a long time and a lot of work to create a play…and it still takes about four hours to watch Hamlet. You can’t shorten the creation time—or performance time—without greatly reducing the quality.”