Howard Sherman

Biography

Howard Sherman is a New York based arts administrator, writer and advocate. He is director of the Baruch Performing Arts Center, founder of the Arts Integrity Initiative and author of Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century. Howard has been The Stage’s US columnist since 2012. Read his latest column every other Friday.

Recent Articles

Reminiscing over the theatre we saw in our youth is more than just nostalgia

OpinionDec 19, 2024

Countless research has reported how the entertainment experiences of our teens leave lifelong imprints on our brains. Catching people in their youth can help theatre ensure its future

Blue Man Group is closing in NYC after 33 years. I finally went to see it

OpinionDec 12, 2024

Seeing Blue Man Group just before it closes was a reminder that even long-running theatre that we take for granted may still have something to offer

Will audiences dine out on Swept Away’s conspicuous consumption?

OpinionDec 5, 2024

In the age of social media, it’s essential for a show to define itself before it opens. But might reductive summaries put off potential audiences?

Did Tammy Faye lose its sense of proportion on the way to Broadway?

OpinionNov 28, 2024

Despite the draw of Elton John being the name behind the Tammy Faye musical, a lukewarm audience reception and flat critical response sealed its fate on Broadway. Were expectations simply too high?

Robots and AI are taking centre stage in New York right now – actually, theatre is where they originated

OpinionNov 21, 2024

Artificial humans are having a bit of a moment in New York theatre, appearing in plays such as Maybe Happy Ending and We Are Your Robots

US shows are resonating very differently after Trump’s election win

OpinionNov 14, 2024

Political and historical shows such as Suffs, Ragtime and Tammy Faye are being felt differently by New York audiences following the re-election of Donald Trump, writes Howard Sherman

Finding new audiences for opera? It may well require new types of opera

OpinionNov 7, 2024

Operatic stories from 100 years ago are not the way to engage today’s crowds, but modern works that speak more to present-day life could lure them in, writes Howard Sherman

Will the US election results mean a fight for the integrity of our theatres?

OpinionOct 31, 2024

If the reactionary policies such as book and play-text bans are supported by a new president, even liberal New York’s stages may be under threat of censorship

Verbatim theatre has the power to free words from the restrictions of real life

OpinionOct 24, 2024

Howard Sherman discusses verbatim theatre and its ability to be surprisingly flexible in bringing real events on to the stage with varying styles imposed