Cal Shakes in San Francisco has no plays this year. Chicago’s Lookingglass theater has paused all production until next spring. The Williamstown, Western Massachusetts Theater Festival also has no plays this season.
These are just a few examples. The Covid-19 pandemic has put the theater industry in crisis, according to the 72 interviews the New York Times conducted with local theaters outside of New York. The forecast for next season is 20 percent fewer sets than before the pandemic. Many of the plays that are actually staged will run for shorter periods, have a smaller cast, and use simpler props and stagecraft than before.
Rising costs due to inflation, spending support money from the government and a shrinking audience that has changed its habits are cited as some of the reasons. Other theories are that the audience has switched to streaming content at home and seeking other forms of entertainment.