On Wednesday The Broadway League honored Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois State Legislature with the distinguished 2013 STAR OF TOURING BROADWAY AWARD at the annual Broadway League Awards. Their leadership brought passage of the “Live Theatre Production Tax Credit Act” to support live theatre. Enacted in 2012, the legislation has already supported the musical tryouts of Kinky Boots and Big Fish.
“I’m pleased that The Broadway League chose to honor our Governor and State Legislature. Even in these tough economic times, or rather because of them, Governor Quinn and the State of Illinois Legislators have embraced the fact that theater is uniquely positioned not only to support the residents of our great state but also to serve as a major tourism attraction and economic engine,” said Broadway In Chicago President Lou Raisin.
Several notable figures in the Broadway community endorsed Governor Quinn and the Illinois State Legislature, including:
“I have always thought of Chicago as a long-run town and the Broadway business as we all know in New York is an economic generator. As such, I am happy to see that Chicago realized the smart investment it would be for both Chicago and all of Illinois to support pre-Broadway and long-run Musicals.” – James Nederlander Sr., Nederlander
“Chicago has a wonderful theatre community with people who appreciate new work and these elected officials found a way to entice producers like myself to think of Chicago first. In this day and age when musicals are becoming harder and harder to try out, it is leaders like this who deserve our admiration and accolades.” – Daryl Roth, Producer of Kinky Boots, Daryl Roth Productions
“Governor Quinn and the State of Illinois Legislators have made Chicago a more attractive place for us to bring new productions or those productions that we believe can run longer because of their leadership.” – David Stone, Producer, Wicked
