EXCLUSIVE: New York State extended a prized theater tax credit for another six weeks, benefiting the incoming Broadway shows Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests The Muppets, Oedipus and the new musical Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Empire State Development, which supports economic growth in the state, will now accept applications for the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit for shows having their first paid performance by Dec. 1, according to an email from the Broadway League to its members. This is the second recent extension: Oct. 20 and Sept. 15 were previous deadlines for the first public performance.
The subsidy is worth a maximum $3 million per Broadway show and $350,000 off-Broadway. But Jeff T. Daniel, the president of the Shubert Organization and the government aid guru of the League, noted in the email that “partial funding is a possibility based on fund availability and this is likely the final extension utilizing existing legislated funding.” News broke over the summer that the program’s fund had been depleted.
The extension comes as the League negotiates new labor contracts with Actors’ Equity Association, which represents actors and stage managers, and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians. Members of both unions have voted to authorize a strike as talks continue.
Introduced in 2021 to help Broadway recover from the pandemic, the credit has been an incentive to invest in an industry grappling with inflated costs and daunting losses.
