Broadway League

Background

Founded in 1930, the Broadway League is a business league that includes theater owners, operators, producers, general managers, and presenters. ¹ It also represents the interests of theatrical suppliers, restaurateurs, shipping companies, booking agents, travel agents, ticket agents, designers, and hotel managers. ³

As of December 2025, the Broadway League has over 700 member firms across 200 cities in the United States and Canada. It creates programs to increase interest in the theater industry and advocates on behalf of its member groups. ¹

2025 Contract Negotiations

At the end of August 2025, the contracts covering unions representing actors, musicians, and stage managers on Broadway, Actors’ Equity and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 802, were set to expire with The Broadway League. In response, the unions were organizing to have members agree to go on strike if wages, pension, and healthcare benefits were not set to increase. The Broadway League told the New York Times that the unions “mischaracterized” an unwillingness to provide benefits such as for health care by leaving out the different ways producers fund benefits programs to request for increased funding. ²

In October 2025, The Broadway League announced that it successfully renegotiated its contract with Actors’ Equity and AFM Local 802 through September 2028, averting any strikes or interruptions in productions. ⁴

Black to Broadway

Formerly named “Let’s Do Broadway,” Black to Broadway is a program of The Broadway League that was founded in 2019 to advocate Black issues in the theater industry. ⁵ It has hosted events featuring Black writers, directors, performers, and theater producers to discuss their contributions to the theater industry. It advocates for the inclusion of Black individuals in theater productions and seeks to attract Black audiences. ⁶

Black to Broadway hosts an annual free Juneteenth outdoor concert that hosts Black performers and “allies” and presents a Legacy Award to a Black artist for their contributions to Broadway. The annual Juneteenth concerts have been sponsored by The Musical Trust Fund, Film Funds, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway.com, Hell’s Kitchen, MAC Cosmetics, Audience Rewards, and Sweet Hospitality Group. ⁷

Tony Awards

In 1967, the American Theatre Wing (Wing) invited the Broadway League to co-present the Tony Awards, an annual musical-theater award program named after actress and producer Antoinette Perry following World War II. In 1987, the Wing and the Broadway League formally created Tony Awards Productions that has organized the Tony Awards since. ⁸

Sponsors

The Broadway League lists J.P. Morgan and the New York Times as partner organizations. ⁹ The Broadway League offers corporate partnerships as an opportunity for partners to advertise their brand, and in 2023, it reported receiving $514,500 from corporate sponsorships. ^{10 11}

Leadership

Jason Laks was named the president of the Broadway League in December 2024 after having worked as general counsel and executive vice president of labor relations beginning in December 2021. From 2014 to 2017, Laks worked as the director of labor relations for the Broadway League before working as senior vice president of labor relations for NBCUniversal Media from 2017 to 2021. ¹²

Financials

In 2023, The Broadway League reported $13.3 million in total revenue, including $168,300 in government grants, making up 1.2 percent of its total revenue. It also reported receiving $8.6 million in membership dues, $1.4 million in conference revenue, $1.0 million in ticketing fees, and $885,663 in marketing and event revenue. ¹¹ Additionally, The Broadway League reported $11.0 million in total expenditures, including $5.9 million in salary and compensation for its employees. ¹³