There is less theater in America these days. Fewer venues. Fewer productions. Fewer performances.<\/p>\n
Cal Shakes, a Bay Area favorite that staged Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater, is producing\u00a0no shows this year<\/a>. Chicago\u2019s Lookingglass Theater, where Mary Zimmerman\u2019s \u201cMetamorphoses\u201d had its premiere before coming to Broadway, has\u00a0halted programming<\/a>\u00a0until next spring. The Williamstown Theater Festival, known for its star-studded summer shows, has\u00a0no fully staged productions<\/a>\u00a0at its Western Massachusetts home this season.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Seattle\u2019s ACT Theater has reduced the length of each show\u2019s run by a week. In Los Angeles, the Geffen Playhouse will no longer schedule performances on Tuesdays, its slowest night. Philadelphia\u2019s Arden Theater Company expects to give 363 performances next season, down from 503 performances the season before the pandemic.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n As they struggle to recover after the pandemic, regional theaters in the U.S. are staging fewer shows, giving fewer performances, laying off staff and, in some cases, closing. https:\/\/t.co\/UzrmbK5BL4<\/a><\/p>\n — The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n