5 Ways You Can Help Save Theatre Right Now

Victoria Cairl
4 min readJul 9, 2023
Photo by Michael Altbaum from a “Show and Hell” night at Grey House on Broadway

Do you remember the first time you went to the theatre? Maybe you saw something on Broadway, or you saw a touring show in a nearby city or a regional show in your hometown or even the local theatre company putting something on a smaller stage.

I remember everything. I saw the musical, The Who’s Tommy at the Wang Center in high school. I think I was 15. My mind was blown. I was seated in a nosebleed seat, but I felt as close to the action as ever. The rock musical blew the roof off the theatre and the album I remember listening to with my parents was brought to life.

My first Broadway show was a revival of The Sound of Music followed by many, many more. And I have saved every Playbill from every production.

I am not alone in my passion or my Playbill collection.

A few years ago, I feared the industry I had devoted my life to would never come back. Now Broadway, touring and regional shows are up and running once again but sadly theatres across the country are struggling to get by or even closing. Ticket buyers aren’t coming back in the way we all hoped.

Now I come to you all to ask for your help and simply go enjoy the energy of live performances once again. It’s way more visceral than anything you are watching on Netflix, I assure you.

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