Nonprofit Theater and the Tonys

Last week, Darryll mentioned a Wall Street Journal article about the outsized representation of plays created or produced by nonprofit theaters in the Tony nominations this year.

Last night the Tonys happened. (Full disclosure: I didn't watch, though this morning I did watch the Alicia Keys/Jay-Z performance from the show.) As Darryll underscored, financially, nonprofit theater is struggling. Artistically, though? By my (quick, casual count), at least 19 of the 26 awards went to the shows with their roots in the nonprofit world.

I've been thinking about why and how we differentiate tax-exempt art from for-profit art (especially in the world of jazz and classical music vs. popular music). I don't have any firm conclusions--I'm still trying to decide how to think about it--but I will say that I think losing the art produced in the nonprofit world would be a net loss to society.

But can it only be produced by the nonprofit sector? Or can it best be produced by the nonprofit sector? That's a fair question.

Samuel D. Brunson

Photo by David. CC BY 2.0