Industry Pro Newsletter: Woolly Mammoth Announces New AD, RSC Faces ‘financial peril’

This week’s stories highlight a theater landscape in motion, with notable leadership shifts, community celebrations, and major institutional changes shaping the field. Helen Shaw’s appointment as Chief Theater Critic at The New York Times marks a significant moment in arts journalism, while audiences worldwide engage with the newly opened voting for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards. Onstage, Broadway prepares for star-studded fundraising at Red Bucket Follies, and regional companies navigate both exciting transitions and unexpected setbacks. Internationally, major UK institutions confront financial challenges and ambitious renovations, reflecting a moment of both reckoning and renewal across the global arts community.

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Employment Opportunity

Managing Director - The Old Globe

The Old Globe is seeking a Managing Director to co-lead the company as it looks ahead to the landmark celebration of its 100th anniversary over the coming decade. This new leader will arrive at a company committed to building upon the highest level of artistic excellence at the core of its mission as it seeks to grow resources to expand its impact as the most vibrant and active theatre producing organization in the United States. The Managing Director will collaborate with Barry Edelstein, The Old Globe’s Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director on a visionary approach to creating an environment that offers audiences, supporters, artists, and staff the chance to consistently experience the best-of-the-best, a world-class commitment to producing theatre that matters.

Industry Trends

Helen Shaw Joins The New York Times as Chief Theater Critic

Helen Shaw will become the new Chief Theater Critic at The New York Times, beginning in mid-January. She previously served as a critic and staff writer at The New Yorker, and before that as chief critic at New York Magazine. Shaw has also written for outlets including Time Out New York, 4Columns, Artforum, and The Village Voice. She is the winner of the 2025 Grace Dudley Prize for Arts Writing and a co-winner of the 2017–18 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. 

Voting Open For The 2025 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards Worldwide

Voting has now opened for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards Worldwide. Eligible productions are those whose first performance took place between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025. Readers may vote through December 31, 2025, selecting their favorites across the many participating regions worldwide. This year’s awards include productions from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe, and Australia — a record number of participating cities.

Broadway/New York

Kristin Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff and More to Join RED BUCKET FOLLIES

Stars including Kristin Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff, Tom Felton, Jane Krakowski, Jessica Hecht and Kecia Lewis will perform in Red Bucket Follies at the New Amsterdam Theatre on December 8 and 9. The event will include original songs, skits and dances by Broadway casts and special guests, and will also reveal the top fundraising shows and winner of “best onstage presentation.” The Follies caps off six weeks of fundraising for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, an initiative that has raised over $100 million since 1989.

Regional

San Antonio Current: San Antonio Philharmonic Cancels Holiday Pops and New Year’s Eve Concerts

San Antonio Philharmonic has canceled its planned Holiday Pops concerts and New Year’s Eve gala. The cancellation follows a letter from the building’s owner requiring the orchestra to vacate its previous venue; the group had been using the historic downtown Scottish Rite Cathedral. Although the orchestra has not officially been evicted, the notice removed the holiday performances from its schedule — but two classical concerts planned for December 12 and 13 remain listed as scheduled for now.

Woolly Mammoth: Introducing Our New Artistic Director Reggie D. White

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has appointed Reggie D. White as its new Artistic Director, effective early Spring 2026. White becomes only the third artistic leader in the company’s 46-year history, following Maria Manuela Goyanes (departed September 2025) and co-founder Howard Shalwitz. With nearly two decades of experience as an actor, director, playwright, educator and arts strategist — including Broadway, regional theatre and institutional leadership roles — White brings a broad and versatile background. In his first months, he plans to engage deeply with staff, artists and audiences, review programming pipelines, strengthen community partnerships and guide Woolly toward its 50th-anniversary season.

International

The Guardian: RSC to cut workforce by 11% as it faces ‘perilous situation’

Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) announced plans to cut 11% of its workforce and merge its costume departments in response to a financial shortfall between £5 million and £6 million. The initiative, which could save around £2.8 million annually, includes voluntary redundancies and compulsory layoffs; remaining costume-department staff may need to reapply for jobs with lower pay and fewer hours. The company cited declining funding from Arts Council England, rising operational and materials costs (notably timber), and its commitment to affordable ticketing as drivers behind the cuts. The RSC is currently consulting with staff and unions — including Bectu — with the process expected to conclude by January 2026.

The Guardian: Barbican revamp to give ‘bewildering’ arts centre a new lease of life

Barbican Centre, the iconic London arts complex, is undergoing a major overhaul with a £451 million renovation plan, of which £231 million has been approved for the first phase. The renovation aims to address structural issues such as leaking tiles and outdated infrastructure, while improving accessibility, updating visitor facilities, and simplifying the centre’s famously convoluted layout. Among the upgrades: replacement of foyers and carpets, improved lighting, enhanced signage and wayfinding, and ensuring public access to spaces like the conservatory, which so far has been mostly inaccessible to wheelchair users. The renewal efforts seek to preserve the Barbican’s mid-century architectural spirit while making it more inclusive and user-friendly for its 1.5 million annual visitors.

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December 1, 2025 - Andrew Lloyd Webber on Broadway Economics, Paddington Takes First Bow on the West End

This week, we look at the record-setting viewership of the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and renewed efforts in New York and abroad to redefine cultural priorities. Across Broadway, we probe shifting economic pressures on creatives through a new interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Meanwhile, with the announcement of a new arts and culture transition committee by Zohran Mamdani, incoming leadership may reimagine the city’s cultural agenda. On a regional level, we follow the pioneering costume exhibition by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance at Denver International Airport — a celebration of decades of creative work — and internationally, we cover a new report revealing post-pandemic shifts across UK theatres, as well as the opening night of Paddington: The Musical in London’s West End.

November 24, 2025 - Broadway Wins Big at the Clio Awards, UK Looks to Ban Resellers

From award-winning Broadway marketing campaigns and fresh digital viewing options for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to updates on tax credits and Tony eligibility, the industry continues to adapt on multiple fronts. Regional and national stories examine how institutions are navigating political scrutiny and how artists across the country are sustaining their work amid financial pressures. Internationally, major regulatory changes in the U.K. signal further shifts in how audiences access live performance.

November 17, 2025 - Leigh Silverman New President of SDCF, UK’s National Youth Theatre Expands Access Initiative

Poudre High School Theatre demonstrates how Stage Mag can be used by organizations of all shapes and sizes to build a fully interactive show program. In New York, the Performing Arts Library prepares a major Martha Graham exhibition, and Leigh Silverman steps into her new role as President of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. Regionally, IN Series appoints its first Executive Director and Dallas restores funding to Dallas Black Dance Theatre. Abroad, the National Youth Theatre expands its Assemble programme with a significant new grant.

BroadwayWorld Resources

BroadwayWorld Stage Mag - A Fully Interactive Show Program

The digital solution to your show program needs - want to see what's possible? Check out the Stage Mag's for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and for The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)! Then start building your own at stagemag.broadwayworld.com.

Add Your Show to our Regional Events Calendar

As audiences get set to return to in-person performances, and as your company works to market your own return to the stage, make sure you've got your upcoming shows in our regional events calendars. Listings are free of charge, with boosting options available. Get your show listed now

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