EXCLUSIVE: A key subsidy for commercial plays and musicals is out of money.
The Broadway League held a video meeting with members on Tuesday afternoon to disclose the depletion of the four-year-old New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit program. Shows that begin public performances by Sept. 15 may still receive the subsidy — of up to $3 million for Broadway productions. Shows that start later won’t be eligible.
“Broadway investing was already volatile,” Joey Monda, a commercial producer who’s president of the Off-Broadway League trade association, told Broadway Journal. “This takes away what little ability we had to mitigate risk.”
The credit subsidizes 25 percent of most production costs and is worth a maximum $3 million per Broadway show and $350,000 off-Broadway. It “continues to be vital to the funding of Broadway productions,” League President Jason Laks said in a statement tonight. “The success of this past Broadway season is a direct result of the State sustaining the tax credit program to incentivize private investment in productions.”
“The NYC Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit has played a key role in driving the city’s economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Empire State Development, which administers the program, said in a statement to Broadway Journal. “By supporting live performances across Broadway and Off-Broadway, the program has helped bring audiences back, boost tourism, and create good-paying jobs across the five boroughs.”
In May, the state allocated a fresh $100 million to the program. At the time, the League’s government aid guru, Shubert Organization President Jeff T. Daniel, wrote to members that while the tax credit was extended for two years, “we have likely received one year of funding.” In reality, the allocation added a few months to the program’s life. To-date, $400 million has been allocated to the tax credit.
Monda, who spoke to state officials, said the program will undergo an audit in the fall. “If there are any remaining funds left over, a new application would be initiated to distribute them.” Any remaining funds will be distributed to projects in the order of their first public performance date, a state official said.
Introduced in 2021 to help Broadway recover from the pandemic-related shutdown, the credit has continued to induce investment in an industry grappling with inflated costs and poor investment returns. The credit can take months off a production’s path to recoupment, or offer some recovery to investors on flops that otherwise would result in total loss of capital.
“Everybody is in full freakout mode,” one industry professional said this week about the exhausted funds and lack of definitive information available.
Although Broadway reported record grosses in 2024-25, investors are suffering steep losses, especially in new musicals that cost $20 million or more and have weekly operating expenses in the neighborhood of $1 million. Musical revivals haven’t fared much better.
Several plays featuring movie and television stars have been extremely profitable and were nonetheless eligible for the aid.
The Off-Broadway League will lobby to restore funding. And the Broadway League will attempt to wield its considerable influence. Jeff T. Daniel wrote in his email to members in May that advocacy is “as important as ever and the League’s Government Relations Committee is already at work to propose additional funding in the next budget cycle.”
Laks said in his statement that Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature “understand how important Broadway’s success and the work of our thousands of employees are to the economy of the city and the state. We will continue to work with them to sustain this vital program.”
Note: This story was updated to include a statement from Broadway League President Jason Laks.
