Second Stage Theater, one of many 4 nonprofit organizations with Broadway homes, on Thursday named a brand new creative director because the sector braces for a wave of management turnover.
Founded in 1979 and distinguished by its dedication to presenting work by dwelling American writers, Second Stage mentioned that its board had chosen Evan Cabnet as its subsequent creative director. Cabnet is at present the creative director of LCT3, Lincoln Center Theater’s program for rising writers, administrators and designers. Cabnet will succeed Carole Rothman, one of many theater’s founders, who led the group for 45 years and is stepping down in August.
Second Stage has a proud historical past of presenting acclaimed work, together with the Pulitzer-winning reveals “Between Riverside and Crazy,” “Water by the Spoonful” and “Next to Normal.” Its performs and musicals have received a number of different honors; most not too long ago, the group’s manufacturing of “Appropriate” received this yr’s Tony Award for finest play revival.
Second Stage owns Broadway’s smallest home, the 600-seat Hayes Theater. Like many nonprofit theaters, Second Stage has diminished its footprint for the reason that pandemic — it let go of its Off Off Broadway area on the Upper West Side, and on the finish of this yr is letting go of its Off Broadway venue in Times Square, though it plans to proceed to supply such work in different areas. The group at present has 47 staffers and an annual finances of $27 million; this season it’s planning to stage two Broadway reveals, two Off Broadway reveals and a Next Stage Festival for early-career work.
The management of the 4 Broadway nonprofits has not modified for many years, and the trade is carefully watching to see how a brand new era of leaders would possibly differ from its predecessors. Two of the opposite nonprofits will even be on the lookout for new creative leaders: Lincoln Center Theater’s producing creative director, André Bishop, is ending his 33-year tenure subsequent spring, and Roundabout Theater Company’s creative director and chief government, Todd Haimes, died final yr after 40 years at that group. (The fourth Broadway nonprofit, Manhattan Theater Club, is led by Lynne Meadow, who has been that group’s creative director for 52 years.)
Cabnet, 46, is a Philadelphia native who has lived in New York since 1996 and at present resides in Brooklyn. He has led LCT3 since 2016; beforehand he was a contract director and a creative affiliate at Roundabout. He will begin his new job on Sept. 1; the primary season to function reveals he chooses will start within the fall of 2025. In an interview, he talked about his plans; these are edited excerpts from the dialog.
Why did you need this job?
My dedication is, and has all the time been, to new work, and up to date American work, and new voices, and the alignment of my private mission and the establishment’s mission felt like a very good match. I’m excited not solely to work with new and rising expertise but additionally to be a champion of extra established writers, and to have the ability to revive latest performs which are price one other look.
Second Stage has had this dedication to dwelling American writers. Do you propose to take care of that dedication?
Yes. Carole’s legacy is extraordinary — it’s unmatched. And it’s my hope, it’s my process, it’s my dream to uphold and honor that legacy. The mission will stay the identical.
I’m assuming you probably did some due diligence earlier than taking this place. What is your sense of the well being of Second Stage?
It’s a very wholesome group.
But, like many nonprofits, they’re doing fewer reveals than they had been, and so they’ve let go of the Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway venues.
Look, there are challenges throughout the not-for-profit theater world. The very first thing I all the time take a look at is the standard of labor on the phases — that’s all the time an important factor — and in the event you take a look at what Second Stage has completed, particularly within the final couple seasons, it’s extraordinary. And the reality is theater has all the time had challenges — I don’t see it as any tougher than earlier than the pandemic, it’s only a completely different set [of challenges].
Should Second Stage have a everlasting Off Broadway residence?
The quantity of shifting elements which have to enter a choice like that embody data that I don’t have but. What I can say is that it’s much less about actual property, and extra about what form work we’re producing, who’re the artists that we’re championing, and what sort of audiences we’re welcoming.
This might be your first job the place you’re accountable for programming a Broadway stage.
It’s thrilling. What we’ve got realized not too long ago is that there’s an actual urge for food for critical American performs on Broadway. I don’t say “critical” like all of them should be tragedies, however I imply formidable. We have confirmed this. And that is very a lot in alignment with what I’ve been doing for a very long time.
Do you suppose Second Stage is turning into a primarily Broadway firm, or what’s your stage of curiosity within the Off Broadway a part of the operations?
We deal with all of our initiatives equally. There are the established writers and the established performs that we’ll produce within the Hayes; there are midcareer or perhaps rising artists that we’ll be producing Off Broadway; and the Next Stage Festival will give alternatives to writers who’ve by no means been produced at that stage. We don’t play favorites. All of them are an important, and all of them get an equal quantity of our consideration.
Do you are feeling just like the nation is awash with glorious work, so you’ve gotten superb choices, or do you are feeling like there’s a lot of nonprofits grappling for a handful of fantastic reveals?
There are so many playwrights in America who’re working at such an unbelievably excessive stage and we are able to see it once we’re not-for-profit seasons all throughout town — there is a humiliation of riches in the case of nice performs. But a rare factor about Second Stage’s mission is the latest revival piece of the puzzle — “Appropriate” is a wonderful instance of that. Over the final 20, 25 years we’ve seen so many unimaginable performs produced at establishments that, for no matter purpose, had a brief run or didn’t get the eye it deserved, and one of many issues that Second Stage is well-suited to do is give these performs one other life in order that they will assume their place as a part of the American canon.
What’s your place on film stars?
I all the time begin with the play. We determine who’s the perfect particular person for the position, and we go from there. Sometimes it’s a well-known actor, and generally it isn’t.
I affiliate you with performs. Second Stage has completed some necessary musicals Off Broadway over time [“Dear Evan Hansen,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Next to Normal”]. Do you’ve gotten any affection for that artwork kind?
Absolutely. I need to take into account these initiatives, and I need that to be a part of the lifeblood of the group shifting ahead, particularly Off Broadway.
