For many young New Yorkers, the New Victory Theater, located in the heart of Times Square, was their first introduction to the power of live theater. There, families have reveled in storytelling at its best with productions presented by some of the top children’s theater companies and performers from around the world. What makes the New Vic especially unique is its dedication to work that is engaging and age-appropriate without being simplistic or cliché, and its community engagement: Last fall, the theater received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for its Usher Corps program. We asked Mary Rose Lloyd, the theater’s longtime artistic director, to reflect on the last two decades at the New Vic and look ahead to this season—which features many fan-favorite companies and productions—and beyond.
[Editor’s note: For a sneak peek at the season ahead, check out scenes from four upcoming shows in the slideshow below.]
How has theater grown and changed over the past 20 years?
When I started in 1996, no one was doing what the New 42nd Street’s board…had put in motion—which is bringing art-form-bursting, remarkable performing arts from all over the world to the kids and families of New York. Over the years I’ve seen storied ‘grown-up’ institutions in the city begin to make room in their seasons for work for young audiences, as they now see the importance of culture in the lives of young people. It’s been our happy challenge to continue to up the ante and stay ahead of the curve—to keep inspiring young audiences and their families (and the other cultural institutions) to embrace good work and fend off saccharine, uninteresting arts for our youth.
What do you look for in a production? What makes a show a good fit for the New Victory?
If a show passes the “gut” test, meaning I can feel that it is something fresh, surprising, and exciting…then, we shift into the science of booking an engagement. Our production team has to evaluate the technical specifications, our communications team has to make sure we can promote the company in their best light, our education team begins drilling down to discover content for the materials we make for the teachers who bring their students to us, etc., etc., etc. Everyone here plays a role in getting a show from the twinkle in my eye to opening night.
What performances are you most excited for this season?
That’s like asking me to pick a favorite child—impossible! Especially since this season is composed of companies who have all performed at the New Victory over the last 20 years and have all had a hand in building our reputation to what it is today.
What is New Victory doing really well right now?
I’m most enjoying being part of a team that’s reimagining our lobby spaces. From the beginning, our mantra has always been: ‘What more can we do?’ So, we are currently looking at how to remaster our public spaces to make them even more user-friendly and functional, as well as highly creative and unique to us.
What are some of the challenges you’re facing?
Because we’ve set the bar so high, we really do have to stay energized and alert to our audience’s feedback and the new trends in the field so that we can continue to grow and stay relevant. Over the last 20 years, so much has changed as far as what entertainment is available to young people, and it’s important to keep live performance vibrant and accessible to this audience. Not just for business’ sake, but because the experience of sitting in a theater with 499 fellow human beings and having a joint human experience—one that is every time unique to who’s in the room and who’s on stage—is vital to maintaining at least a part of our humanity.
What are your hopes for the future of the New Victory? Where do you see it going in the next 20 years?
I’m very excited to see how we can further nurture artists to make great work for kids. LabWorks, [our artist residency program], is relatively new, and since the New Victory is not a producer of work (we only present) I want to make sure we are doing everything within our purview to provide an artistic home—as much as we can—for the artists who want to be residents with us. It is our desire to help support the new work created in LabWorks and to help facilitate its ultimate touring if appropriate, thus having a hand in the birth of the next generation of theater artists who take flight with extraordinary shows for young audiences.
What is one thing that New Victory does that no other theater does?
I’d say at least one thing is that we fully embrace youth culture. We are not only a theater that kids, their classmates and families can attend, but we employ high school and college kids as ushers for our front of house team and as apprentices in most of our administrative offices. They are part of our Usher Corps program and we offer enrichment and learning opportunities alongside giving them real life job experience.
To learn more about the New Victory Theater, visit newvictory.org!
