In some ways, summing up the news of 2001 or 2002 was easier than summing up that of 2003. The news of 2001, obviously, ultimately revolved around the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and how the theatre was so upended by it. It made sense that 2002 was all about rebuilding -- how an industry battered by events beyond its control would adapt, however unhinged it was by a world filled with perpetual uncertainty.
By contrast, 2003 found our memories of that fateful 2001 day beginning to fade, if only a little. Despite a war in Iraq and orange alerts bringing submachine guns to Duffy Square, Broadway managed to complete its first full season since the attacks with aplomb, although there was still enough drama to go around, from snowstorms to blackouts. To the immense relief of producers, artists, and audiences, the city was safe enough to sport a record-setting Main Stem season, and Off-Broadway had it not so bad, too.
Yet there was also a nagging feeling that the rebuilding process started in 2002 stalled in 2003. This year, for example, nearly every state grappled with yawning budget deficits and that, in short order, decimated arts funding -- and that, in short order, quickly loomed over the livelihoods of hundreds of not-for-profit theatres coast to coast. Would thousands of administrators and artistic, managing, development, and marketing directors still have jobs? Making matters worse, there were few places to turn: Arts giving from individuals and arts giving from foundations were both down, courtesy of three years of a weak stock market. And while there was some evidence suggesting that corporate philanthropy was on the rise, it wasn't enough to change the impression that 2003 represented the American theatre's worst business climate in a generation. A Broadway musicians strike and scores of venues suspending their seasons or closing their doors didn't help.
Was there hope? Of course: the American theatre, dysfunctional as it is, is built on it. For every venue that shuttered in 2003, for example, it seemed at least two others announced capital building projects totaling millions of dollars. The Pulitzer Prize for drama went to a Latin playwright for the first time. Two men shared a kiss -- and a Tony -- on live TV. A movie musical based on a beloved Broadway tuner won multiple Oscars. Women playwrights dominated festivals from coast to coast. And at a time when American troops are fighting all over the world -- supposedly in the name of our constitutional liberties -- it was heartening to see the theatre so determined to weather this rocky historical patch as it had weathered so many others before. The American stage has its troubles; there's no doubt about that. But it remains one of America's greatest democratic assets -- an unquenchable source of free speech. It deserves no less than our sincerest salute.
Heralding the Headlines
January: By a 40-9 vote, the New York City Council makes audience use of cell phones at Broadway shows illegal. TheatreVirginia, the only Equity venue in Richmond, suspends operations, citing a $500,000 deficit. The League of American Theatres and Producers reports the highest grosses for one week in Broadway history: over $21.3 million. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation announces plans for a South Village Historic District, protecting six venues, including the Provincetown Playhouse, Circle in the Square Downtown, and the Sullivan Street Playhouse. Revelation Theater places its inaugural season on hold, citing fiscal concerns. The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) reports a six-figure budget surplus and its seventh consecutive year in the black. The Tony Awards administration committee announces a May 7 awards deadline and June 8 awards. Playwrights Horizons unveils its new $27 million complex. Mayor Bloomberg vetoes the cell phone ban; the City Council moves to override. The Broadway Theater Institute goes into expansion mode, providing space to two developmental programs: the Hinton Battle Theatre Laboratory and the Musical Mondays Theater Lab. The Tony administration committee rules "Movin' Out" eligible for Best Musical and "La Boheme" eligible for Best Musical Revival, plus "Imaginary Friends" is eligible for Best Play, yet the show's songs, by Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia, are eligible for Best Score. 59E59 Theaters, a new three-venue complex, commences construction; opening date is January 2004; Primary Stages is anchor tenant. In Washington, D.C., the Kennedy Center approves a $650 million expansion adding two buildings and improving pedestrian access and public parking.
February: Broadway grosses fall; shows close. In a speech, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer proposes nonprofit reforms. Twin studies from the Urban Institute reveal data on how Americans perceive artists and how often -- and why -- they go to arts events. The 46th annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters tackles processing foreign artist visas. Elizabeth Block, the New York State assistant attorney general, demands that eight major venue owners stop adding certain fees to ticket prices to comply with the state's Arts and Cultural Affairs Law. The Consumer Affairs Committee of the New York City Council votes 5-2 to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of the cell phone ban bill. Downtown, the Howl Festival is announced by the Federation of East Village Artists. For the second consecutive year, the Carnegie Corporation receives a $10 million "anonymous" gift; once again, it appears the gift is from Mayor Bloomberg. The full City Council votes 38-5 to override Bloomberg's veto of the cell-phone-ban bill, which takes effect April 13. The city's largest snowfall in seven years dumps a foot of white stuff on Gotham; only a few shows don't play. More intriguing are the National Broadway Theatre Awards and a story in the New York Post referring to a League of American Theatres and Producers "memo" suggesting that the Main Stem trade group was "seeking to create its own award show to rival the Tonys." The league denies it. The Lysistrata Project and THAW (Theaters Against War) begins taking action. In Seattle, A Contemporary Theatre narrowly escapes closure.
March: After a five-month competition, Lincoln Center chooses Diller + Scofidio to lead the redesign of the six-acre complex. New York's nonprofits react to proposals by Eliot Spitzer, the state attorney general, to enact accountability reforms. The Frog and Peach Theatre Company may disband after losing its longtime home. The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) presents a roundtable on diversity; at New Dramatists, roundtable panelists tell audience members "You Can Make a Life." A $2 million grant from Morgan Stanley puts the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater closer to the $54 million needed to build its new home on West 55th Street. Mayor Bloomberg announces the city is gearing up for tight security as the invasion of Iraq nears. CBS announces it will air a three-hour Tony Awards; NY1 drops live TV coverage of the Drama Desk Awards. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Dana Gioia announces "the largest theatrical tour of Shakespeare in American history." At the Kennedy Center, plans are unveiled for a retrospective of Tennessee Williams plays for 2004. The New York International Fringe Festival announces a new record for applications: 716, a 25% increase over the statistics from 2002, including 135 new musicals. Broadway Bares VI raises $116,495. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino announces the 90-year-old Modern Theatre is slated for refurbishment.
April: Plans for an East Fourth Street Cultural District are unveiled. The Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC), a three-year audience-research project, releases an interim report. The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a consortium of the state's professional theatres, launches a Virtual Job Fair. In Seattle, ACT announces it has raised half the $1.5 million needed to keep operating and mount a 2003 season. The League of American Theatres and Producers keeps mum on the date, location, and structure of the 2003 National Broadway Theatre Awards. Downtown, a mobile ticket booth called ArtsVan is announced for the summer; funding problems will delay its launching. Actors' Equity Association (AEA) releases a timeline to celebrate its 90th anniversary. Florida Cypress Gardens ceases "normal park operations." The Public Theater's "New Work Now!" series turns 10. The Empire State Development Corporation announces $100,000 in funding for a study leading to the creation of a Lower Manhattan media arts center. The Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) Easter Bonnet Competition raises $2,149,744.
May: The Tony Awards administration committee makes rulings; "Urban Cowboy" says it will fight to be eligible for Best Score. The 34 city-owned facilities in the Cultural Institutions Group announce plans to challenge the mayor's budget cuts to the Department of Cultural Affairs. The Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays suspends its 2003 cycle pending reorganization. The NEA plan to organize a major private fundraising effort miffs Norma Munn, chair of the New York City Arts Coalition. A bill to create a culture-zone program for towns and cities in New York state sits bottled up in the state Legislature. Stage & Screen, the storied theatrical book club, shuts down. Ballet Tech, the Eliot Feld-led troupe, folds for a year. The Neighborhood Playhouse celebrates 75 years. Meadow Brook Theatre, the Detroit area's only LORT playhouse, may become a commercial venue. The Lower East Side Festival gets underway. Americans for the Arts, the recipient of a multimillion-dollar gift given by Ruth Lilly, the pharmaceutical heiress, in the form of a trust, sues the bank, citing fiscal mismanagement. The Guthrie Theater ogles a $25 million bond issue to help pay for new digs. The "Charitable Giving Act of 2003," known as H.R. 7, seeks to increase the federally mandated level of annual giving a foundation must disperse as a percentage of assets. The original publisher and editor of Show Music magazine launches a legal challenge against the Goodspeed Opera House Foundation to return the publication's rights to him. The New York Public Library acquires Robert Wilson's audiovisual collection.
June: The League of American Theatres and Producers announces total season grosses are up 12% to a new high of $720.9 million. GAle GAtes calls it quits. H.R. 7 faces opposition from the foundation community. The SDCF's annual weekend-long symposium looks at "Directing a New American Theatre." The Cherry Lane Theatre opens a mammoth collection of 2,000 antiquarian theatre books. In its out-of-town tryout, "Little Shop of Horrors" gets eaten alive by critical brickbats, leaving Broadway transfer in doubt. It will retool with Jerry Zaks at the helm; revivals of "Sweet Charity" and "Fiddler on the Roof," plus Sondheim's newest musical, "Bounce," are all in various stages of reexamination. The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy releases a study supporting H.R. 7; Charity Navigator, a New Jersey-based group tracking the efficiency of charities, predicts giving for 2003 falling to $165 billion. In Michigan, Meadow Brook Theatre is saved. The fiscally bereft, New Brunswick, N.J.-based Crossroads Theatre Company enters into a partnership with the Kennedy Center's "Capacity Building Program." Broadway grosses surge after the Tony Awards; six productions close. Theatre Communications Group issues a preview summary of its 28th annual "Theatre Facts Survey." After six years as the Lower East Side's main cultural event, the New York International Fringe Festival announces it will play in some West Village venues. In the second week after the Tonys, Broadway grosses continue to rise. The Martin Beck Theatre is renamed for the late Al Hirschfeld. Two New York-based nonprofit research orgs, the Foundation Center and Grantmakers in the Arts, issue reports showing that while the Sept. 11 attacks hurt arts philanthropy, the drop wasn't as steep as feared. More foes of H.R. 7 begin making their voices heard. Broadway Bares raises $450,000. The TKTS booth turns 30.
July/August: State arts funding under siege: With most state legislatures facing mammoth deficits, big arts cuts loom. New York City's "cabaret laws" -- outmoded guidelines dating back to the 1920s -- face a rewrite. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announces a "worldwide initiative" to solicit proposals from arts and culture groups. A broken water main floods the Worth Street Theater -- twice. At the National Press Club, Dana Gioia, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, articulates his philosophy. Also from the NEA: a once-a-decade survey shows citizens' participation in culture about the same. "Culture Builds New York," an Alliance for the Arts report, charts NYC's cultural building boom. Lambda Legal files a federal employment-discrimination complaint against Cirque du Soleil. "Make Love," Karen Finley's latest, gets delayed when the Department of Consumer Affairs shuts the theatre. New York state's new Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibits smoking in virtually every public workplace, may apply to actors smoking on stage. For the third time in 2003, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sets his sights on the foundation world as his office backs provisions of H.R. 7. The state arts funding crisis continues -- the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies reports total appropriations falling from $408.6 million in fiscal 2002 to $354.9 million in fiscal 2003. Film studios sprout -- in Brooklyn's Navy Yard, where Steiner Studios gets underway, and in Midtown, where Studio City New York moves ahead. Roundabout Theatre Company buys Studio 54. IATSE endorses Richard Gephardt for president. FringeNYC scores a record advance -- $63,000 "and climbing." The 28th annual Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival kicks off. New Haven's mayor, John DeStefano, talks to Back Stage about arts funding. In Chicago, the new Equity Member Center nears completion. Five foundations form a "working group." Blackout: A third of the country -- and Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway -- goes lights out for the first time since 1977. Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway bounce back from the blackout; FringeNYC loses thousands. The Denver Theatre Center announces a new play development program; in Florida, the Key West Playwrights Company launches. After a search, the Frog and Peach Theatre Company finds a new pad.
September: Now that state legislatures have determined how much to cut arts funding, localities begin wrestling with the same issue. In Washington, D.C., the Kennedy Center and the State Department launch a new initiative, Performing ArtsServe. Americans for the Arts urges passage of H.R. 806, allowing artists to take fair-market-value deductions for charitable contributions of their work. TCG releases the full version of "Theatre Facts 2002." The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center announces its annual Playwrights Conference will no longer accept open submissions. Commercial fundraisers working for nonprofits eye new rule allowing them to use nonprofit postal rates. Charlotte Rep unveils its new facility. The National Music Theatre Network and the Theater for the American Musical announce development programs for new musical theatre works. A.R.T./NY preps first-ever "Prelude to Off-Broadway Weekend." The General Accounting Office scolds the Kennedy Center for cost overruns on new construction. The House of Representatives approves H.R. 7. Broadway Flea Market raises $512,000 for BC/EFA. In Princeton, N.J., the Roger S. Berlind Theatre opens.
October: Broadway producers Bob Boyett and Bill Haber announce a first-look deal with London's National Theatre. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council turns 30. National Arts and Humanities Month revs up. The Shubert Organization announces plans to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The Bottom Line announces it must raise $185,000 to pay back rent to New York University or the real estate-hungry institution will evict it. The American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers ink an agreement to co-produce the Tonys through 2008. Off-Broadway's Revelation Theater again prepares to open. The NEA partners with the Department of Defense to bring the national Shakespeare tour to U.S. military bases. The Bottle Factory Theater Company dissolves. A nude scene in John S. Green's "The Liquid Moon" at the Barter Theatre brings the community to a boil in Abingdon, Va. Chicago City Limits announces it will close. A new play contest from Barrington Stage Company, including a $20,000 prize, is announced. H.R. 7 stalls in Congress. Harlem theatres suit up. Annual reports from A.R.T./NY and BC/EFA show the orgs in hard times.
November: A trio of buildings -- Henry Miller's Theatre, Off-Broadway's Century Center for the Performing Arts, and 59E59 -- get ready to be razed, sold, and opened, respectively. Facing fiscal problems, the Cleveland Play House mulls new ways to play. In Michigan, the Cherry County Playhouse closes its doors. The Chronicle of Philanthropy issues its annual analysis of charitable giving, finds arts giving down 26%. Barrow Street Theatre, formerly Greenwich House Theatre, opens. On Broadway, "Bobbi Boland" doesn't open, closing in previews. The Yale School of Management-The Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures asks arts organizations to think big. In Chicago, the $52.7 million Harris Theater for Music and Dance opens. On the way to Broadway, "Bounce" and "Harmony" get waylaid. The League releases "Who Goes to Broadway?" Fringe Festivals in New York and Seattle face shortfalls. Stapleton Studios sues the city's Economic Development Corporation. The South Village Historic District moves ahead. Movado drops fiscal support of American Ballet Theatre.
December: Goodspeed Musicals announces it may build its new $45 million facility in Middletown, not East Haddam as planned. "Golden Girls Live!" gets sent to Shady Pines. "Rent" launches a Web casting contest. The Gypsy of the Year Competition raises over $3 million for BC/EFA. The Bottom Line gets evicted. The New York International Fringe Festival inks a "side letter" to Equity's Basic Showcase Code.
Prizes and Plaudits, Grants and Generosities
January: Actors Theatre of Louisville picks five women playwrights and one play written collaboratively for its 2003 Humana Festival of New American Plays, including "The Faculty Room" by Bridget Carpenter, "Orange Lemon Egg Canary" by Rinne Groff, and "Omnium-Gatherum" by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros. The latter play will arrive Off-Broadway later in the year minus its hyphen. Forty arts organizations are selected to receive grants from the Rockefeller Foundation Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund, including 19 groups based in New York City. At Repertorio Espa?ol, five plays and playwrights are selected as the winners of its third annual National Playwriting Competition, funded by MetLife. Twelve plays reach the final nomination stage for the 25th annual Susan Smith Blackburn Awards, including Claudia Allen for "Unspoken Prayers" and Dael Orlandersmith for "Yellowman." On the big screen, "The Pianist," Roman Polanski's drama based on a true story, wins Best Picture from the National Society of Film Critics. Adrien Brody wins for Best Actor for the film; Polanski takes Best Director. In London, the Olivier nominations cite a number of American plays, yet both David Hare's "The Breath of Life," which starred dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, and the musical "The Full Monty" get snubbed. The 60th annual Golden Globes get jazzed about "Chicago," giving it three awards, including Best Picture (Comedy/Musical), Best Actor (Richard Gere), and Actress (Renee Zellweger). In an upset, Martin Scorsese takes the Best Director Award for "Gangs of New York." And "Chicago" and "The Hours" head up the SAG nominations.
February: LAByrinth Theater Company wins the $100,000 Jujamcyn Theaters Award. The Academy Award nominations lavish good fortune on "Chicago," with 13 nominations. Also, the 55th annual Writers Guild of America Award nominees are announced. Five individuals and two nonprofit organizations are named recipients of 2003 grants from the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation. Six playwrights and a composer receive a three-week residency at the Sundance Playwrights Retreat. In London, director Sam Mendes wins three Olivier Awards, including a special award in recognition of his 10-year run as artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse. Dael Orlandersmith wins the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for "Yellowman." The 18th annual Bistro Awards are doled out. The Library for the Performing Arts announces a tribute to playwright Michael Frayn.
March: "Chicago" sweeps the top film honors at the ninth annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. In Washington, D.C., Brian Stokes Mitchell, Len Cariou, Barbara Cook, Judd Hirsch, and Christine Baranski are among those receiving Helen Hayes Award nominations. Also in D.C., legendary actress Uta Hagen, dancer-choreographer Trisha Brown, and the late caricaturist Al Hirschfeld are among the recipients of the 2002 National Medal of Arts, bestowed by President Bush. Back in New York, the nominations for the 2003 Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) Awards are announced. AEA announces its yearly grants to nonprofits -- this year totaling $60,000 to 55 Equity theatres across the country. Three musicals, meanwhile -- "The Tutor," "Once Upon a Time in New Jersey," and "The Devil in the Flesh" -- win the 2003 Richard Rodgers Awards. The nonprofit New York Foundation for the Arts receives a $1 million unsolicited gift from the Cordelia Corporation, which it will use to support its Artists' Fellowship program. At the 2003 Oscars, "Chicago" is a six-time winner.
April: The Jerome Foundation taps 28 arts organizations for a total of $1,210,590 in grants. "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme" leads the 2003 Lucille Lortel Award nominations with six. The Los Angeles-based Deaf West Theatre and the Beverly, Mass.-based North Shore Music Theatre receive 2003 Rosetta LeNoire Awards, conferred by Actors' Equity. Jose Varona and the late Ruth Morley are recipients of the Theatre Development Fund's Irene Sharaff Awards for outstanding achievement in costume design. Nilo Cruz wins the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for "Anna in the Tropics" (which will arrive on Broadway by year's end). Edward Albee's "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?" and the Off-Off-Broadway (later Off-Broadway) musical "Zanna, Don't!" are tapped for the 14th annual GLAAD Media Awards. At the MAC Awards, Don't Tell Mama-based shows capture 16 of the 27 honors. Librettist Susan DiLallo and lyricist Nell Benjamin win the 13th annual Ed Kleban Awards, while the 2003 grants from the Spencer Cherashore Fund are announced. The Actors' Fund of America announces the largest single gift from an individual in its 121-year history: $2 million from philanthropist and humanitarian Lillian Booth. "Hairspray" and "Nine" top the nominations for the 53rd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards. Mayor Bloomberg recognizes the Theatre Development Fund's Theatre Access Project and Theater by the Blind.
May: No fewer than 25 shows in three categories are nominated for the 69th annual Drama League Awards. In Chicago, the 30th annual Joseph Jefferson Citations Wing Awards are announced. Willa Kim is honored with the Fashion Institute of Technology's Patricia Zipprodt Award. The Outer Critics Circle doles out its 2003 awards, honoring "Hairspray," "Nine," and "Take Me Out." The Richard Greenberg play also does well at the Lucille Lortel Awards, as does "Avenue Q." Soon, the Drama Desk weighs in as well, giving "Hairspray" a whopping 14 nominations; as usual, Off-Off-Broadway gets barely a nod. Down in D.C., the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center wins five Helen Hayes Awards. Chita Rivera gets tapped for Lifetime Achievement as the Astaire nominations are unveiled, and the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Awards go to John Guare and Craig Lucas. "Hairspray" takes 13 Tony nominations; "Movin' Out" takes 10. The New York Drama Critics Circle chooses "Take Me Out" as Best Play and "Hairspray" as Best Musical. The same two productions then wow 'em at the Drama League Awards, then wow 'em again at the Drama Desk Awards. The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation picks Adam Belcuore, an early-career director from Chicago, to be the first recipient of its Mike Ockrent Fellowship. There's a BAM grand slam at the Obies -- plus honors to Edward Norton, Mos Def, Jason Petty, and Denis O'Hare. The 59th annual Theatre World Awards honor 12 Broadway newbies. In Boston, the 21st annual Eliot Norton Awards celebrate Beantown's best. Back in New York, the 58th annual Clarence Derwent Awards go to Denis O'Hare and Kerry Butler. The National Broadway Theatre Awards eliminates the four best-actor honors, while "Movin' Out" dominates the Astaire Awards.
June: The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York presents its eighth annual Local Hero Awards. Eighteen New York artists are selected for 2003 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships in Performing/Multidisciplinary Arts. Chita Rivera, Tina Chen, and Isabelle Stevenson receive Exceptional Achievement Awards when Women's Project & Productions celebrates its silver anniversary. At the 57th annual Tony Awards, the big winner is "Hairspray," with eight honors, including the fourth Tony for star Harvey Fierstein. In Chicago at the Jefferson Citations, there are 46 recipients in 23 categories. In Hartford, the 13th annual Connecticut Critics Circle Awards are distributed.
July/August: The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation announces over $5.2 million in grants through its arts program, mostly targeting cultural institutions in New Jersey. The National Alliance of Musical Theatre announces its lineup for its 15th annual Festival of New Musicals. The Casting Society of America announces the nominations for its 19th annual Artios Awards. Carol Burnett and Mike Nichols are among those announced to receive Kennedy Center Honors. A score of companies enjoy the largesse of the JP Morgan Chase Regrant Program from A.R.T./NY. The Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, created and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, announces over $500,000 in grants to a dozen nonprofits. Also in Philadelphia, the Barrymore nominations come out.
September: The 35th annual Joseph Jefferson Awards release the nominations -- 125 in 26 categories. The 2003 Bessies -- the New York Dance and Performance Awards -- are doled out. Actors' Equity announces the Richard Seff Award, to be given to character actors of a certain age and accomplishment. In Los Angeles, the Theatre L.A. Ovation Awards release this year's nominees. The 55th annual Emmy Awards honor "The West Wing" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."
October: Woodie King, Jr., receives Actors' Equity's Paul Robeson Award. Bridget Carpenter nails the 2003 Joseph Kesselring Prize for her play "The Faculty Room." The 28th annual Carbonell Award nominations are announced. The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) honors Antonio Banderas and Nilo Cruz at its annual awards fete. Karl Malden is tapped for SAG's Lifetime Achievement Award. Daniel Swee, Bernard Telsey, and William Cantler are among the big winners at the Artios Awards. The 2003 Henry Hewes Design Awards are distributed. The Barrymore Awards are given out. The 31st annual AUDELCO nominees are announced. The Princess Grace Foundation honors its grant winners.
November: In Chicago, "The Cider House Rules" rules the Jefferson Awards. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater establishes a fellowship in the name of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon for the study of dance. The New York Landmarks Conservancy honors Elaine Stritch, and John Kander and Fred Ebb. President Bush announces that Tommy Tune, Suzanne Farrell, and Ron Howard will receive the National Medal of Arts. "Crowns" rules when the AUDELCO Awards are handed out. In Florida, the Carbonell Awards celebrate "Floyd Collins." In Los Angeles, the Ovation Awards are distributed.
December: AT&T: OnStage Awards go to Manhattan Theatre Club and New York Theatre Workshop. The MetLife Foundation earmarks $2 million to support dance tours. The American Theatre Wing gives over $140,000 in grants to 51 groups.
Placements and Replacements
January: Jerry Goehring, executive director of the 35-year-old, Tony-winning National Theatre of the Deaf, announces his departure, effective March 31. At the Guthrie, Susan Baird Trapnell resigns as managing director after an 11-month tenure, citing "personal reasons" for her departure. Thomas Proehl, the Guthrie's general manager since 1999, is appointed managing director on an interim basis. Barry Edelstein, artistic director of Classic Stage Company, announces that he will end his five-year tenure at the end of the group's 35th anniversary season.
March: Mayor Bloomberg appoints 21 new members to the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, an arts advocacy body mandated by the City Charter that assists the Department of Cultural Affairs, including Judith O. Rubin, chairman of the board of Playwrights Horizons. After a 20-year run, Tony-winning composer-lyricist Maury Yeston announces that he will relinquish his position as head of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
May: Roy A. Somlyo resigns as president and chief executive officer of the American Theatre Wing. Howard Sherman, executive director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, announces his departure. James Haskins is named executive director of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. Agent Jack Menashe opens the Independent Artists Agency.
June: Joy Golden, head of Joy Radio, is now heading Joy Radio Casting, which will specialize in casting voiceovers for TV spots, industrials, animation, and Internet projects. Following Monty Silver's retirement, Silver, Massetti and Szatmary East will be called Leading Artists. In Chicago, David Hawkanson is selected as the third executive director in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 28-year history. Actor-singer Theodore Bikel is reelected to an eighth term as president of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (Four A's).
July/August: David White, the executive director of Dance Theater Workshop, retires after 28 years. Brian Kulick succeeds David Edelstein as artistic director of Classic Stage Company. Manhattan Theatre Club announces a staff restructuring: Paige Evans is named director of artistic development; Mandy Greenfield is named artistic associate in charge of artistic operations at the soon-to-open Biltmore Theatre; Dan Fields is named artistic associate; Nancy Piccione and David Caparelliotis are named casting directors for MTC; Clifford Lee Johnson III continues as director of musical theatre. Michael M. Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center, is named a cultural ambassador through the State Department's CultureConnect program. Julia Miles, founder of Women's Project & Productions, steps aside to become artistic director emeritus; Marya Cohn will serve as acting artistic director. Amy Sullivan is named executive director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.
September: Howard Sherman is named interim director of the American Theatre Wing.
October: Texas Arts Commission Chairman Tony Chauveaux is named the National Endowment for the Arts' deputy chairman for grants and awards.
November: James Houghton abruptly resigns as artistic director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Playwrights Conference. Michael Bush resigns as producing artistic director of Charlotte Repertory Theatre. Liz Thompson ends her tenure as executive director of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Howard Sherman is tapped as executive director of the American Theatre Wing.
December: J Ranelli is named the first-ever resident artistic director for the entire Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Mark Russell resigns as artistic director of Performance Space 122.