4 Predictions for the Theater in 2023

As the Covid pandemic taught us all too well, it is impossible to see the future with 20/20 accuracy. However, a careful examinations of the recent past can give you a sense of what the near future holds. Here is what our critics see on the theatrical horizon in 2023:

1. Producers and Landlords Will Agree to Bolder Interior Changes to Broadway Theaters
All but six of the currently operating Broadway theaters were built before the stock market crash of 1929 — meaning they were designed for the plays and musical entertainments of a century ago. That makes them imperfect venues for the immersive work many directors are now creating: TheaterMania's review of KPOP noted that the musical, which was presented in immersive form off-Broadway, suffered in a more traditional staging for Broadway. A Broadway building boom is exceedingly unlikely (probably for our lifetimes), which means that landlords will have to agree to major renovations to accommodate the theatrical visions of 2023 and beyond. We've already seen examples of this in Alex Timbers's 2014 staging of Rocky, in which a boxing ring extended out into the house of the Winter Garden Theatre. Most notably, Rachel Chavkin's 2016 production of The Great Comet transformed the Imperial Theatre into an opulent Russian nightclub, with audience members seated onstage. This trend will continue in 2023, with productions creating playing space beyond the proscenium and rearranging the furniture in the house. One might even forsake orchestra seating altogether to present a hybrid nightclub-musical experience, like we saw off-Broadway in 2013 with Here Lies Love. It will be a powerful sign that the Broadway of this century will not be limited by the imaginations of architects from the last. –Zachary Stewart

2. Celebrities Will Try to Get Closer to an EGOT by Producing Broadway Shows
Awards don't matter, they always say, except we all know that they do. In that department, there's nothing more prestigious — and rare — than achieving EGOT status. Emmys, Grammys, and Oscars aren't exactly easy to achieve, but it's doable, especially if you're a songwriter or musician. A Tony, however, is much harder: You need to either create a Broadway show or act in one. But what if there were a way to win a Tony just by lending your name (and maybe some cash money) to a production? Fortunately, now there is, but there always has been. Whoopi Goldberg won a Tony in 2002 as producer of that year's Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. John Legend took home the gold in 2017 as a co-producer of August Wilson's Jitney. In 2022, A Strange Loop winning Best Musical helped Jennifer Hudson achieve her EGOT, and gave RuPaul the T to his E. Mariah Carey is the next to make the attempt, hoping Some Like It Hot is the T to her G, while Lee Daniels, Gabrielle Union, and Dwayne Wade are trying to jumpstart their collection with Ain't No Mo'. Without question, there are more on the way. –David Gordon

3. Broadway Press Houses Will Keep Actors Off Twitter and on Message
As performers fervently lean into their personal brands and open windows to their personal lives on dozens of social media platforms, the job of the theatrical publicist becomes less and less enviable. These days, controlling the narrative of a show and its stars is like taming a six-headed monster in a wildfire. Just this year, the Roundabout revival of 1776 was a lesson in the massive public fallout that can come from an actor undermining a show's mission statement in one rogue interview. The infamous Funny Girl saga, meanwhile, revealed the pros and cons of an understudy taking to Twitter to seize the reins of a sinking ship. Systems seem to be getting shakier with every season, and I predict that producers and publicity houses will start responding by tightening their grip on performers' personal messaging (as much as the law allows). Tyranny is never a successful strategy, but it's always the last-ditch effort before revolution. –Hayley Levitt

4. The Last of the Mask Mandates Will Be Lifted
As we approach the three-year mark of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are only two places where New Yorkers are expected to don face masks: the doctor's office and the theater. This isn't even true anymore at New York's largest venues: Broadway did away with its mask mandate last July and the Metropolitan Opera ditched its mask requirement in October. Many institutional off- and off-off-Broadway venues have been slow to follow, although not all: Since August, the Public Theater has required masks only at select performances. This is a good compromise model for theaters that are eager to return to normal, but still want to welcome audience members not yet comfortable sitting in a room with unmasked strangers. Either way, expect the trend toward less stringent Covid restrictions to continue as the world accepts Covid as an endemic problem. A mild wave of infections this winter will almost certainly accelerate this process, but even the highly infectious Omicron wave of early 2022 did not dampen the overwhelming desire among ticket-buyers to return to the theater sans mask. –Zachary Stewart