New York’s Public Theater Lays Off 19 Percent of Staff, Citing Reduced Audiences and Rising Costs
The Public Theater announced the layoff of 19 percent of its staff, in the latest move from a nonprofit theater struggling to recover from the pandemic.
The downtown New York-based theater, which has developed hits such as Hamilton and A Chorus Line, had previously put its Under the Radar Festival, a festival of experimental work, on hiatus and now says it has needed to do the layoffs, in addition to scaling back its programming and cutting down expenses as costs escalate and audiences have been slower to return.
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“As we have seen for the past months, the field continues to be severely impacted from the after-effects of the pandemic. The combined impacts of smaller audiences, a nationwide reduction in philanthropic giving, and rising labor and material costs have forced many to reduce in size, go on hiatus, or even close completely. The Public is not immune to these challenges,” the theater said in a statement.
This follows moves from other large nonprofit theaters such as Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. On June 16, the organization announced the layoffs of 10 percent of its staff and paused programming for 2023-2024 at the Mark Taper Forum, one of its theaters known for newer and experimental work. Theaters such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore.; Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago and the Brooklyn Academy of Music have also had to undergo belt tightening, layoffs and large-scale fundraising campaigns.
The Public Theater has the benefit of its ties to Hamilton, from which it continues to receive royalties, as well as other Tony-Award winning musicals such as Fun Home, Hair and A Chorus Line. The theater is also well-known for its free Shakespeare in the Park productions in Central Park. Still, the theater said the layoffs and reductions were necessary to keep the organization running.
“The decisions we make now will enable us to navigate the short- and long-term financial landscape, allow us to innovate and produce impactful and new works, and solidify our continued success and our cultural role in New York City and the field. But this moment goes beyond The Public. Non-profit theaters need their community’s support more than ever, and we urge people wherever they are to support their local theaters in whatever way possible,” the theater’s statement reads.
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