It is astonishing how few people, even among those working in the theater, realize that the problems of Broadway have been accumulating for decades, that they are built, in fact, into the system. The problems are not going to be solved by passing new laws or repealing old ones, by increasing or lowering ticket prices, by passing out more free tickets to young people, by regulating ticket distribution more closely or by removing restrictions, by curbing labor unions or silencing the critics, or by the myriad schemes proposed to lure more people into the theater.
Some of these actions may help, but the basic problem will remain. The difference between the costs and income is so great that only a few plays with very long runs can succeed. The profits from these may more than compensate for the great numbers of plays that lose money. But it is hard - and it is going to get harder - for new American plays, especially serious works, to get a hearing.
No amount of money can start a revolutionary theater. Every group that has set out to make major innovations in the art of the theater has started with minimal financial resources. The main assets have been determination and a willingness to starve if necessary.
I have been speaking so far only of justice, which has nothing to do with art. A more important objection to poverty and instability is that they are not particularly helpful to the development of an artist. There is no home for artists in the theater in America. I am not speaking of the fact that few actors can settle down in a house, raise a family, and grow a lawn. Actors have always been vagabonds, vagrants, and masterless men. When I speak of a home, I mean a place where playwrights, actors, directors, and designers can work together for a lifetime, each contributing to the growth of others and of the theater. A few theaters in Europe have achieved this kind of stability. None has yet in America. - Jack Poggi, Theatre in America: The Impact of Economic Forces, 1870 - 1967
Group Theatre Members at Brookfield Theater Center, summer, 1934
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