Bringing Broadway to Pittsburgh

I absolutely love attending performances. Annually, I see about 80-90 performances of contemporary dance, theater, classical music, and everything in between. You could call it FOMO, but in my line of work, I prefer to call it research. 

Whether I’m seeing what Pittsburgh’s own performing arts organizations are producing or experiencing shows in New York and beyond, the work I see keeps me inspired and helps me think about what we want to bring to our stages. Touring Broadway is one important part of that—and part of how the Trust brings the world to Pittsburgh. 

For many Pittsburghers, seeing a touring Broadway show is more than a night out. It is a tradition shared with family and friends, passed from one generation to the next, and tied to memories of time spent Downtown. Nearly half of our subscribers have been with us for close to a decade, and more than 10% have made PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh a tradition for 20 years or more.

Touring Broadway is also a key part of the vibrant arts ecosystem that brings people Downtown throughout the year, creating energy on our streets and supporting restaurants, hotels, and other local businesses. That contributes to the Trust’s larger economic impact, which now exceeds $175 million annually and supports approximately 1,700 jobs. The arts are an important part of Downtown’s economy and its future. 

Now, we have a new opportunity to build on that impact. 

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in Harrisburg would add $2 million to Pennsylvania’s Entertainment Economic Enhancement Program to help Pennsylvania compete with other states to attract national Broadway tour launches. 

A Broadway tour launch is exactly what it sounds like: Pittsburgh could become the starting point for a national tour. A production would spend several weeks rehearsing and preparing at the Benedum Center before opening here and eventually moving on to other cities. 

Benedum Center Marquee

Although the legislation wouldn’t attract additional shows each year, it would bring more behind-the-scenes work to Pittsburgh. Local stagehands, technicians, truck drivers, and other skilled professionals could be working during weeks when the theater might otherwise be dark. Tour personnel would stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, and use local services—generating economic activity before an audience ever takes its seats. 

Pittsburgh already has the venues, skilled workforce, and audiences to be a natural home for Broadway tour launches and this legislation would help us bring more of that work here. 

Touring Broadway is one important part of a much bigger story—one that includes the artists, companies, audiences, and experiences that make Pittsburgh such a vibrant cultural city. I’m proud of the Trust’s role in that story and of the way the arts continue to bring people together, energize the Cultural District, and help shape Downtown’s future.