The authors succeed admirably in puncturing the current mythology of the performing arts which has tended to obscure the underlying realities. Perhaps American idealism has inflated the non-profit arena of the performing arts with an ethical overlay- in contrast to the Puritan motivation of profit-making of the commercial sector, this idealism entertains notions of selfless non-profit activity. The authors set this perspective of wishfulness straight against the sobering reflection of the economics of reality.

The purpose of the study has been broad - to discover the present state of the American professional theatre. The stage of today has been compared with the stage of the past and projected toward the stage of the future. The factors most essential to an understanding of the forces affecting the American theatre have been explored. Economic trends have been charted, underlying forces traced, the theatre's problems indicated. However, because the available data are poor, conclusions must be tentative. Notwithstanding these limitations, interesting and hopefully valid conclusions on the plight of

Presented in graphic form are some findings of the study, Performing arts: the economic dilemma; a study of problems common to theater, opera, music and dance, published in 1966, and the implications of these findings for the development of the arts.

Over the past 20 years, this country has witnessed a steadily increasing desire among our citizens to share in the accomplishments of the mind and spirit.

The central purpose of this study is to explain the financial problems of the performing groups and to explore the implications of these problems for the future of the arts in the . Our data encompass a variety of sub-topics. The main focus of our research was the cost and revenue structures of the performing groups; thus the bulk of our efforts was devoted to the accumulation of records of costs, ticket sales, revenues and contributions from other sources.

The authors examine the strained economic circumstances which beset performing companies and whether they are attributable mainly to fortuitous historical circumstances, to mismanagement, or whether the relation is fundamental in the economic order. They conclude that the lag between increase in costs and prices leads to an ever growing reliance on outside sources of support. They anticipate that private funding sources will reach their limit and new sources will have to be found.

Americans by the millions are turning to aesthetics and the arts, not only as new areas of interest but also as favored symbols of status. This trend will have two major effects: art markets will be directly stimulated, and business firms of all types will exploit the awareness of aesthetics to improve public relations and promote sales

The legitimate theatre in the is a very small industry. Variety's statistician, Hobe Morrison, estimates that the theatre grossed $52,498,600 in 1950-51, Broadway accounting for $28,840,700 of the total. But if the theatre is small, some of its problems are very special; one of these, the degree of financial risk in the theatre, is the problem of my dissertation.