Theater Resources Unlimited Workshop on Commercial Potential Nov. 22

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announced Recognizing Commercial Potential: Is This Show Worth Investing In?

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announced Recognizing Commercial Potential: Is This Show Worth Investing In? on Sunday, November 22, 2026, from 12PM to 5PM. Tickets start at $97 and can be purchased here.

The event takes place live at Cody Lassen & Associates' conference room. It is virtual for those outside of New York City. Registrants receive the live location and virtual link. Only the first 25 registrants can attend live; everyone else is welcome virtually. There is no ticketing at the door, and registration is required before the event.

The workshop is described as an essential program for producers and investors. The panel will include Sharon Fallon/Sharon Fallon Productions, executive producer, general manager and consultant (Indecent, Beautiful Broadway, London & National Tour, Matilda The Musical, Lysistrata Jones); Eric Goldman, entertainment attorney; Cody Lassen, producer (B'way: How I Learned To Drive, Indecent, Spring Awakening; Off-Bway: A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, Picking Up Speed, Hyprov); James Simon, producer and investor (The Play That Goes Wrong, The Velocity of Autumn, Something Rotten, Pippin; UK premiere of Something Rotten; upcoming: Damn Yankees).

It's every producer's job to find investors for a production. Whether a self-producing artist looking for a lead producer to option a piece, a lead producer looking for co-producers and investors, or a not-for-profit theater looking for enhancement funds, at some point one will have to sit down and make the case for why a show is the right investment.

In this program, a lineup of theater professionals will share their personal views on evaluating shows as investments. Attendees will hear insider takes on how producers and investors determine the productions in which they want to participate, as well as how they bring others on board, including methods for evaluating the structural integrity of the play itself, the production and creative teams, the financial plan for the initial commercial production, the possibility for downstream revenue, and the potential competition. Panelists will also share stories about pitches that were wildly successful and some that were epic disappointments.

Schedule

12 to 12:15PM - Introduction, with Bob Ost

12:15 to 1PM - Legal Perspective: Laying the Legal Groundwork and Identifying Potential Issues, with Eric Goldman

1 to 1:45PM - General Manager Perspective: Budgeting and Contracts - Are the Financials Realistic? with Sharon Fallon

1:45 to 2:30PM - Lunch

2:30 to 3:15PM - Producer's Perspective: How to Pick a Winner, with Cody Lassen

3:15 to 4PM - Why I Choose to Invest in a Property, with James Simon

4 to 5PM - An open conversation about some of the best and worst decisions the speakers have made, and how their assumptions about commercial viability have evolved.

Panelists

Sharon Fallon, founder of Sharon Fallon Productions, Inc., is an independent theater producer, general manager, and theatrical consultant with over two decades of experience in commercial and non-profit theatre. In 2015, Sharon established her theatrical production and general management company with a mission to bridge the gap between art and business — ensuring productions are both financially sustainable and artistically fulfilling. She takes a holistic approach to her work, overseeing all stages of production from initial concept to final performance. Sharon works closely with early-career producers and artist-driven projects, providing guidance across readings, development workshops, and full productions to help bring new theatrical works to life. Her career spans roles as actress, director, general manager, managing director, and producer. Broadway credits include Indecent, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Matilda the Musical, and Lysistrata Jones. She has also served as Associate General Manager for both the Helen Hayes Theatre and the Lyric Theatre in New York. Sharon is currently working as executive producer and/or general manager on several projects in development. She serves on the Board of the National Alliance of Musical Theatres (NAMT), co-chairing the Member Resources and Conference Committee, and is a member of the Off Broadway League.

Eric Goldman has, for over 25 years, provided legal services to Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award-winning talent, and to technology and internet entrepreneurs. Recent projects include representing the writers of the Broadway smash hit Come from Away and the producers of the highly successful Off-Broadway musical parody of the television show Friends. Before launching his own firm in 2011, Eric worked for 15 years as a Senior Associate for entertainment attorney Mark Sendroff of Sendroff & Baruch LLP. Eric also served as in-house counsel for St. Martin's Press and Hertz Computer. His first job out of law school was working as an associate for copyright guru Stanley Rothenberg. Eric is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law.

Cody Lassen is a Tony-nominated theatre producer and live entertainment consultant. Broadway productions include Indecent, the Deaf West Theatre revival of Spring Awakening, and the revival of Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive. Recently off-Broadway: A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, Picking Up Speed, and Hyprov. He has been part of the producing team for other Broadway productions, including Othello, The Wiz, Damn Yankees, Tootsie, What the Constitution Means to Me, Torch Song, The Band's Visit, Macbeth and Significant Other. In addition to producing his own projects, Cody consults for producers, theaters and agencies to help them discover how they should market their shows for the best chance of financial and critical success. Previously, he was the director of marketing for Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group and its three theaters: the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre. He is an active member of the Broadway League, the National Association of Musical Theatre, and serves on the Board of NY's Vineyard Theatre. More info at codylassen.com

James Simon is a co-producer for the upcoming Broadway revival of Damn Yankees. Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Operation: Mincemeat, Best Revival for Bells Are Ringing, Death Of A Salesman with Wendall Pierce and Sharon D. Clarke. Associate Producer of the Tony-winning revival of Pippin. Broadway producing credits include The Velocity of Autumn and Play On! Off-Broadway Alliance winner for the revival of The Woman in Black. He produced the European premiere of 'The Marriage Of Alice B Toklas…' at London's Jermyn Street Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe.

About Theater Resources Unlimited

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-three-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily, and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. Membership includes self-Producing Artists as well as career producers and theater companies.

TRU publishes an email community newsletter of services, opportunities, and productions; presents weekly Community Gatherings about the arts, and monthly Town Halls about current social issues; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater; and presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices (adapting short plays into films), Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works, and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation, Stewart F. Lane & Bonnie Comley, Merrie L. Davis, Dunbar Hofmann Productions, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.