Robert Cohen - Theatre, Brief Version-McGraw-Hill Education (2016)

290 Chapter 10 Global Theatre Today
Many American regional theatres fill their houses with family audiences in December with productions of a
Christmas play—nearly always an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol. This production, with
South Coast Repertory veteran Hal Landon front and center as Scrooge, is from the final scene of South Coast’s
twenty-ninth annual production of the play, adapted by Jerry Patch, in 2008. © A Christmas Carol, 2008. Photo by Henry
DiRocco/South Coast Repertory
outstanding work in both off- and off-off Broadway
theatres and often prove to be more accurate indicators
of national theatre trends than are the more glamorous
Tonys.
Non-Broadway New York theatre generates passionate
and vigorous theatrical creativity. Leaner and less costly
than their Broadway competitors, off and off-off productions
attract audiences of their own, many of whom would
never think of going to Times Square to see a play. And with
their lower ticket prices (particularly in the off-off), and subscription
seasons (particularly in the off), many companies
have lured successive generations of audiences to new and
exciting works before they reach the Broadway masses.
REGIONAL AMERICAN THEATRE
Very little professional theatre was produced on a regular
basis outside of New York City until 1950, when the