Cleveland Orchestra strike ends in three days; Loew's Paradise set to reopen
Plus Equity Scotland's five-day rehearsal week, an $8.5M Latinx theater award, and BroadwayWorld's new weekly crossword.
Industry News - September 28, 2026
This week's news is about who is putting money into the field and who is organizing within it. Capital is going toward buildings and institutions, from a 97-year-old Bronx movie palace set to reopen with 4,000 seats to new endowments in New York City and Wilmington. The city and philanthropic funders are also backing access and new work, through 70,000 free Met Opera tickets, an $8.5 million commitment to Latinx theaters, and commissions for emerging audio playwrights. Performers are pushing for better terms too. A Cleveland Orchestra strike was settled in three days, Scottish performers secured a shorter rehearsal week, and Korean musical actors formed their first association. And a report that Ford's Theatre has come up in discussions about federal properties that could bear a new name shows how easily theaters get pulled into larger public debates.
Industry Trends
BroadwayWorld Launches Weekly Broadway Crossword
BroadwayWorld's new weekly crossword is built from the week's Broadway news: the stars, shows, openings and closings. Free to play, with streaks, best times and a leaderboard. (Read more)
Audible Theater Opens Applications for Emerging Playwrights Fund
Audible Theater has opened applications for its Emerging Playwrights Fund, offering up to five commissions of $25,000 each to early-career writers creating original audio plays. (Read more)
Broadway/New York
Historic Loew's Paradise Theatre to Reopen as Performing Arts Center
The Bronx's 97-year-old Loew's Paradise Theater, one of NYC's last surviving movie palaces, will reopen as a 4,000-seat performing arts center presenting theater, concerts, comedy, dance, and film. (Read more)
City Center Receives $5M Gift to Establish Dance Endowment
New York City Center announced a $5 million gift from Richard and Lisa Witten to establish a permanent endowment for dance presentations, education, and community engagement programming. (Read more)
Mayor Mamdani Launches 'Opera for All', Giving Away 70,000 Free Metropolitan Opera Tickets to New Yorkers
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Diya Vij announced “Opera for All,” a long-term partnership between the City and the Metropolitan Opera that will provide 70,000 free tickets this season to New Yorkers who have never attended a performance at the Met. (Read more)
Regional
Addie Gorlin-Han Named Associate Artistic Director At Children’s Theatre Company
Children's Theatre Company has announced that Addie Gorlin-Han will join the organization as Associate Artistic Director. Learn more about Addie and the role here. (Read more)
Ford's Theatre Reportedly Eyed in Trump Naming Push
Ford's Theatre, the Washington, D.C. playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, has come up in discussions among Trump administration officials about federal properties that could bear President Donald Trump's name. (Read more)
Latino Theater Company Receives $8.5 Million for Round 2 of its National Latinx Theater Initiative
Latino Theater Company received a five-year, $8.5 million award from the Paul Angell Foundation to continue its National Latinx Theater Initiative, which provides grants and professional development to Latinx theaters. (Read more)
Thalian Hall Completes $2 Million Endowment Match
Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Wilmington, North Carolina has completed The Endowment's $2 million fundraising match, bringing its capital campaign total to $11 million of a $25 million goal for its transformation project. (Read more)
New Statewide Guide Advances Arts Education Access for Students with Disabilities in New Jersey
All In for Inclusive Education, Arts Ed NJ, and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association released the Inclusion Guide for Arts Education to help schools ensure students with disabilities have access to arts programs. (Read more)
Cleveland Orchestra Agrees to New Three-Year Contract Ending Strike
The Musical Arts Association and the union representing the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra have agreed to a new three-year contract, ending a three-day strike and clearing the way for concerts to resume. (Read more)
International
Korean Musical Theatre Actors Unite to Form Their Own Association
South Korea's musical theatre performers have a new organization in their corner. The Korean Musical Actors Association (KMAA) held its inaugural general meeting on September 17, where members named actor Jung Young-ju as the group's first board chair. (Read more)
Equity Scotland Secures Five-Day Rehearsal Week with National Theatre of Scotland
Equity has negotiated the first five-day rehearsal week agreement in Scotland with the National Theatre of Scotland, reducing working hours from 44 to 40 hours weekly for performers and stage management. (Read more)
Missed Our Last Newsletters?
Drunk Shakespeare sues Amazon; two orchestras settle
Drunk Shakespeare's producers sue Amazon, NYC Ballet and SF Opera reach orchestra deals, AKA names a global CEO, and NYPL lands a record $60M gift. Plus leadership moves at Soulpepper and the Florida Theatre, and remembering Duncan Sheik. (Read more)
Kennedy Center Warns of Bankruptcy, SF Opera Strikes, and Broadway's Money Trail Goes Public
Kennedy Center warns of bankruptcy, SF Opera cancels over a strike, and Gate Theatre closes after 50 years — plus Shaw Festival's $25M rebuild, new leaders at Le Petit and Quantum, and what Broadway's SEC filings reveal. (Read more)
BMG-Concord Merger Closes as Open Jar Studios Doubles Down on Times Square
BMG and Concord finalize their merger, Open Jar Studios expands to a second home, and leadership shifts hit Classical Theatre of Harlem, Paper Mill Playhouse, and National Queer Theater. Equity secures £15K for unpaid Manchester Pride performers. (Read more)
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