A hit like Hamilton can come from nowhere while a sure bet can lose $20 million in a flash. We speak with some of the biggest producers in the game — Sonia Friedman, Jeffrey Seller, Hal Luftig — and learn that there is only one guarantee: the theater owners always win. (Part two of a three-part series.)
- SOURCES:
- Debby Buchholz, managing director of La Jolla Playhouse.
- Sonia Friedman, Broadway producer.
- Rocco Landesman, Broadway producer, former owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Hal Luftig, Broadway producer.
- Luis Miranda Jr., political strategist, founding president of the Hispanic Federation, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Viva Broadway, and The Public Theater.
- Michael Rushton, professor of arts administration at Indiana University.
- Jeffrey Seller, Broadway producer.
- Richard Winkler, Broadway producer.
- Stacy Wolf, professor of theater at Princeton University.
- RESOURCES:
- Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir, by Jeffrey Seller (2025).
- Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America, by Luis Miranda Jr. (2024).
- Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America, by Stacy Wolf (2019).
- “‘Hamilton’ Inc.: The Path to a Billion-Dollar Broadway Show,” by Michael Paulson and David Gelles (New York Times, 2016).
- “On the Performing Arts: The Anatomy of Their Economic Problems,” by W.J. Baumol and W.G. Bowen (The American Economic Review, 1965).
- EXTRAS:
- “How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- “You Can Make a Killing, but Not a Living,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
Extra: Madeleine Albright’s Warning on Immigration
She arrived in the U.S. as an 11-year-old refugee, then rose to become Secretary of State. Her views on immigration, nationalism, and borders, from this 2015 interview, are almost strangely appropriate to the present moment. …
580. The True Story of America’s Supremely Messed-Up Immigration System
How did a nation of immigrants come to hate immigration? We start at the beginning, sort through the evidence, and explain why your grandfather was lying about Ellis Island. (Part one of a three-part series.)…
579. Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?
Economists have discovered an odd phenomenon: many people who use social media (even you, maybe?) wish it didn’t exist. But that doesn’t mean they can escape. SOURCES: Leonardo Bursztyn, professor of economics at the…
Extra: What Is Sportswashing — and Does It Work? (Update)
In ancient Rome, it was bread and circuses. Today, it’s a World Cup, an Olympics, and a new Saudi-backed golf league that’s challenging the PGA Tour. Can a sporting event really repair a country’s reputation…
578. Water, Water Everywhere — But You Have to Stop and Think
What surprises lurk in our sewage? How did racist city planners end up saving Black lives? Why does Arizona grow hay for cows in Saudi Arabia? Three strange stories about the most fundamental substance we…
Is Google Getting Worse? (Update)
It used to feel like magic. Now it can feel like a set of cheap tricks. Is the problem with Google — or with us? And is Google Search finally facing a real rival, in…
Extra: Mr. Feynman Takes a Trip — But Doesn’t Fall
A wide-open conversation with three women who guided Richard Feynman through some big adventures at the Esalen Institute. (Part of our Feynman series.) SOURCES: Barbara Berg, friend of Richard Feynman. Cheryl Haley, friend of…
The Vanishing Mr. Feynman
In his final years, Richard Feynman’s curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a three-part…
The Brilliant Mr. Feynman
What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Richard Feynman out west, to explore his long and extremely fruitful second act. (Part…
How the San Francisco 49ers Stopped Being Losers (Update)
They’re heading to the Super Bowl for the second time in five years. But back in 2018, they were coming off a long losing streak — and that’s the year we sat down with 49ers…