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Year in Review

A Look Back at 2024-25

2024-25 by the Numbers

New Victory Theater

family members and educators served
0
average ticket price
$
FREE and reduced-cost tickets provided
Partner schools

New 42 Studios

Broadway and other productions rehearsed
0
artists and production team members hosted
0
patrons attended shows at The Duke on 42nd Street
0

Arts Access

Opening new worlds and sparking fresh perspectives for young people and families

New Victory® Dance
As the city heated up, so did our stage with this summer tradition that is a celebration of movement and true NYC experience. New Victory Dance showcased the incredible artistry and diversity of New York City’s most electrifying choreographers and dance companies, who transformed personal stories into powerful performances and opened new worlds through the language of dance.
Young girls looking up at a New Victory Dance performance.
Two New Victory teaching artist on stage performing with their hands up.
Four men on stage sitting on chairs with one of the men speaking into a microphone.

New Victory Theater

Creating magical theatrical experiences began long before the curtain rose at our historic New Victory Theater. Artistic Director Mary Rose Lloyd and her team scoured the globe to find extraordinary works—including six New York or international premieres—that introduced audiences to thrilling acrobatics, dance theater, shadow puppetry, folklore and more.

And the magic extended beyond the stage! Free lobby activities encouraged kids to unleash their imaginations and develop an enduring love of the performing arts.

London, England

Three performers wearing green, blue and yellow clothes hold up a fourth performer wearing purple clothes who stretches towards the left side of the photo in front of a prop mattress, chair and circular backdrop.
The Princess and the Pea

Castelló de la Plana, Spain

A man in glasses and a striped maroon shirt stands next to a row of five cardboard boxes built to look like a street and moves a puppet of a shoebox with a pair of ankles, white socks and red shoes down a ramp in front of them.
New Shoes

New York City, New York

Anton Dudley and Faye Chiao sit on the edge of the stage singing while Faye plays accordion.
Baba Yaga and the Firebird

Las Vegas, Nevada

A man wearing a stripped shirt and grey overalls performing with a Cyr wheel.
Yuletide Factory

Leicester, England

A male-presenting dancer facing a curtain and holding a book up while projected birds fly out of the book.
Little Murmur

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Four dancers wearing black clothes lean to the right with their arms up and bent near their faces against a black background.
Nuttin’ but a Word

Brooklyn, New York

A performer wears a headpiece that casts a shadow of a face against a projection of trees and the sun.
Song of the North

Chicago, Illinois

Two performers, one wearing a blue shirt and black vest and the other wearing a red shirt, overalls, red glasses and a blue hat, make silly faces on stage and appear on a large screen above the stage.
The Magic City

Cape Town, South Africa

A group of performers wearing colorful clothing hold up their right hands and point toward the sky. A man in the middle performs with a microphone.
MOYA
New Victory Education

21,338 students and teachers from 141 partnering schools enjoyed the full season of breathtaking performances offered by the New Victory Theater for only $2 per ticket—a price that hasn’t changed since the theater opened in 1995 thanks to the generosity of our Donors. 70% of our partner schools were NYC public schools; over 60% are Title I schools serving students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Students also benefitted from 764 classroom arts education workshops led by teams of New Victory Teaching Artists in pre- or post-show experiences and through multi-session residencies.

For many students, New Victory Education offered their only performing arts engagement in the classroom and their first live, professional performance.

A group of kids sitting on a rug with one of the kids holding a small bean bag.
Teaching artist playing around with children in a classroom.
A young boy looking up at a New Victory performance.

Our Speak Up, Act Out residencies gave 183 students the opportunity to use art to discover their unique voices around social justice issues, while our GIVE professional learning program trained 150 teachers working with students with disabilities in how to create inclusive learning environments and vibrant arts education experiences.

Repeated arts engagement strengthens collaborative skills; nurtures self-confidence, empathy and optimism; and can lead to improvements in writing, emotional and cognitive awareness, and school engagement.

Click here to GIVE A KID A SEAT and share the magic of theater with a NYC school student!
New Victory Arts Education Resource Library
Teaching artist leads kids in a classroom workshop
What an amazing resource to share with the field—thank you.
A portrait photo of Sara Morgulis
Sara Morgulis
Executive Director of TYA/USA

Thanks to support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, we launched a FREE online platform in October 2024, giving educators around the world access to New Victory arts education materials—previously only available to local school partners behind a paywall. These performing arts-based resources for Pre-K – 12th grade educators are inspired by New Victory productions and include activities, handouts, dynamic instructional videos and more. Since our launch last fall, the library has been accessed by 30,536 users.

Click here to share this incredible resource with teachers and schools you know!

NYCHA
Bring Your Family to the New Victory

In partnership with the New York City Housing Authority, Bring Your Family made the performing arts welcoming and accessible for NYCHA residents in all five boroughs via the distribution of 1,211 tickets to New Victory shows, round-trip MetroCards to the theater and pre-show family engagement activities—all at no charge. Families were invited to attend multiple shows across the season, fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging lifelong habits of theatergoing.
My kids had an amazing time visiting and we enjoyed the show. The staff were so respectful and welcoming… this happens every time we visit and enjoy a show at New Victory Theater!
New42_800X533 (1)
J. Frederick
NYCHA resident and parent of two

Sensory-Friendly Performances

A new partnership with Seats on the Spectrum, and funding from a generous Donor, provided a more inclusive experience for neurodivergent patrons. Six Sensory-Friendly performances—three for the public and three for schools—welcomed individuals on the autism spectrum with adjusted lighting and sound, reduced audience capacity, and an inclusive and judgement-free environment where patrons could vocalize, react and move about as they wish.

ALL 2024-25 New Victory performances offered free sensory fidgets, earplugs, light-sensitivity sunglasses and more at our Accessibility Table, a Cozy Zone for relaxation and designated autism-friendly seating for families who benefit from sitting near auditorium exits. By engaging deeply in this work, we envision a theater landscape that is accessible for ALL at EVERY performance.

A photo of two ushers at the Accessibility Table giving fidget toys to young patrons.
kid wearing ear defenders and doing an activity.

Artist Incubation

Empowering artists to create new works that inspire, engage and connect us all

New Victory LabWorks and LabWorks Launch

Five emerging artists received funding, support and mentorship to devise and develop new works for family audiences through New Victory LabWorks:

Three women performers wearing red and blue pants rehearsing in a New42 studio.
4 performers standing up with two hold a fish craft.
Ishita Mili (Dance): FORM explores how dance techniques police our bodies and our identities, recalling the old saying, “form dictates function.”
Salwa Meghjee (Musical Theater): Word Play illuminates the ways our struggles intertwine and how language leads to the understanding needed for healing.
Utkarsh Rajawat (Multidisciplinary): Resistance Game is a tabletop role-playing game that invites audiences to make change in real time against institutionalized systems.
Zina Tsang (Musical Theater): The Mushroomers, designed for babies and toddlers, follows a daytime mushroom and a nighttime mushroom with different routines who learn to see the world through each other’s eyes.
Divya Mangwani (Theater): This LabWorks alumna returned to further develop her piece, The Ice Cream Dream, as the 2024-25 LabWorks Launch Project. Incorporating classical Indian choreography, puppetry design and music by LabWorks alumna Faye Chiao, she evolved the story of three unlikely friends—a snake, a mouse and a human—as they journey to bring their worlds closer together.

Treasured LabWorks alumnus Julian Crouch was honored with the 2025 New Victory Arts Award at the New 42 Gala on June 2, 2025, in celebration of his visionary work as a designer and director. LabWorks enabled Julian to develop his hauntingly beautiful Birdheart, which has since toured the world, and New Victory audiences have delighted in his unforgettable creations in Aging Magician, Wolves in the Walls and Shockheaded Peter. Julian’s impact is far-reaching, and his work has included Broadway and opera productions such as The Addams Family, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Satyagraha.

New 42® Studios

New 42 Studios is home to 14 rehearsal studios and a 199-seat black box theater, The Duke on 42nd Street. Each year, New 42 Studios hosts dozens of award-winning Broadway, Off-Broadway and touring shows.

In 2024-25, we welcomed rehearsals for…

49
Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and touring companies
53
Workshops and readings
8
Regional theater productions
24
Dance, film and other productions

… including the Tony-nominated productions of Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes Her, Floyd Collins, Gypsy, John Proctor Is the Villain and more!

The Duke on 42nd Street was home for four months to family-favorite The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the six-week Off-Broadway production of Kowalski, which reimagined the electrifying 1947 meeting between Marlon Brando and Tennessee Williams. Following its successful run at The Duke on 42nd Street, Kowalski is now headed to Broadway!

A man wearing a beige shirt and jeans, singing into a standing microphone.
Dead Outlaw in rehearsal
Photo: Austin Ruffer
Trumpet player, base player and pianist flank singer at standing microphone
Boop! The Musical in rehearsal
Photo: Avery Brunkus
The cast of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray in rehearsal
Photo: Rebecca J. Michelson

Community Transformation

Championing 42nd Street as a thriving hub for artists, audiences and the next generation of creative professionals

New 42 Youth Corps
Empowering young people to dream, plan and build careers in the arts and beyond, our Youth Corps provided 63 high school and college students with 22,000 hours of employment, paid life skills and job training, college matriculation and graduation support, and mentorship.
Through their work as ushers and front-of-house staff in all New 42 performance spaces—coupled with career panels and professional development workshops on résumé writing and interview skills, financial literacy, conflict resolution, time management and more—Youth Corps members gained confidence, self-reliance and skills to set them up for lifelong success.

Where our Youth Corps members are from:

31%
Bronx
20%
Brooklyn
4%
Long Island
20%
Manhattan
25%
Queens
I learned a lot about how to be a leader. With patrons, you set the tone for how the experience is going to be. If you give them a positive attitude, they will also have a positive attitude and enjoy the show!
A youth corps member helping a family in the theater.
Jaden R.
Youth Corps member
New Victory Family Benefit

The New Victory Family Benefit on April 27, 2025 was a joyful, high-flying, sold-out success! This unforgettable event featured a breathtaking performance of MOYA, a stilt walker-led parade down 42nd Street, and family fun and games at Dave & Buster’s. Every memorable moment helped support New Victory arts education and engagement programs, bringing extraordinary performing arts to even more kids and families across New York City.

Change Is Coming to 42nd Street

As the stewards of 42nd Street, New 42 joined Times Square Alliance in advocating for the approval of a $57 million New York City-funded project to beautify and boost safety and infrastructure on our block.

The four-year project, beginning in summer 2026, will widen the sidewalks for improved pedestrian enjoyment, add bollards and planters along the curb to improve safety and neighborhood charm, and replace an aging water and sewer system.

Paying homage to the block’s rich artistic history as home to nearly a dozen Broadway theaters, New 42 has proposed the installation of eight plaques along 7th and 8th Avenues at historic sites. We look forward to keeping you updated on our progress!

New42 receiving a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award
In April, New 42 received a prestigious Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award, presented by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, in recognition of our work in 2023 to restore the New Victory’s beloved dome.
Broadway up close tours of the New Victory Theater.

New Victory Theater Up Close

Want to go behind the scenes at the city’s oldest operating theater? We have partnered with Broadway Up Close for New Victory Theater Up Close to bring the 120-year history of our theater to life through guided tours.

Donate now to spark awe and wonder in audiences of all ages!

2024-25 Financials

July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 (Unaudited figures)

Revenue
Expenses
Revenue
Expenses

Supporters

“Thank you for believing in the transformative power of the arts—and for helping us share that magic with so many children. I hope you’ll continue to stand with me in championing this vital work for years to come.”

—Fiona Howe Rudin, New 42 Board Chairman 2012 – 2025

Achelis & Bodman Foundation

Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn | The Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn Foundation

Jody and John Arnhold

Emily and Len Blavatnik | Blavatnik Family Foundation

Bloomberg Philanthropies

The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Ford Foundation

Kelly and William Galanis

GFP Real Estate & Benenson Capital Partners, LLC

Gray Foundation

The Hearst Foundation, Inc.

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

Howard Gilman Foundation

Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros Foundation

Kitty Patterson Kempner and Tom Kempner

Vinnie and Rohit Kumar

Ji Park Kwak and Dr. Edward Kwak

Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

Leon Levy Foundation

Sarah Long and David Solomon

Lynne Waxman Foundation

MacMillan Family Foundation

Tai and Tom Mendoza

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

The New York Community Trust

New York State Council on the Arts

Laura and Kevin O’Donohue

Fiona and Eric Rudin

Sherman Fairchild Foundation

The Shubert Foundation

Gerri and Andy Sommers

Diane and Marc Spilker

Henry Tisch

The Tow Foundation

Ann Unterberg

Esme Usdan | Lemberg Foundation, Inc.

Richard Wells

Anonymous

The New Victory Theater is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Board of Directors

Officers

Fiona Howe Rudin, Chairman 2012 – 2025

Henry Tisch, Chairman 2025

Russell Granet, President & CEO

Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn, Co-Vice Chair

Yemi Benedict-Vatel, Co-Vice Chair

Stefanie Katz Rothman, Secretary

Andrew Sommers, Treasurer

Directors

Lynne Biggar

Leigh Bishop

Lili Fable

Kelly Galanis

Tiffany Gardner

Neil Gupta

Sharon Coplan

Bill Irwin

Amy Jacobs

Vinnie Kumar

Ji Park Kwak

Greg Lippmann

John Lithgow

Sarah Long

Sammy Lopez

Isaac Mizrahi

Laura O’Donohue

Kate Peck

Eliot Rubenzahl

Michael Sancilio

Marc A. Spilker

Ann Unterberg

Nicole Weiss

Christina Zagarino

Lucinda Zilkha

Founding Chairman

Marian S. Heiskell*

Founding President & CEO

Cora Cahan

Ex-Officio

Andrew Kimball,

President & CEO, NYC Economic Development Corporation

Directors Emeriti

Clare R. Gregorian*

Ming Cho Lee*

Charles A. Platt*

Mary Ann Tighe

Theodore R. Wagner

Carl Weisbrod

*deceased

Photo: Jenny Anderson

The staff of New 42 salute and thank Fiona Howe Rudin for her gracious and authentic leadership, her caring and steady stewardship through the best and most challenging of times, and her unwavering support for all of us and the work we do.

New 42 photos by Alexis Buatti-Ramos and Brittany Nievinski