The Broadway Women's Fund, Broadway's first impact investment fund, has announced their inaugural “Women to Watch” list.
The list directly addresses Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin’s call to action in her 2019 Tony Awards acceptance speech where she rightfully proclaimed that there are women and people of color ready to work on Broadway and “this is not pipeline issue.”
And yet, many who want to move towards gender parity have said they do not know the names of the artists who “are ready.” The Broadway Women’s Fund now offers that list of names.
These 50 women were selected by the leadership and advisory board, which includes Chavkin, Lynn Ahrens, Chita Rivera, Alia Jones Harvey, Theresa Rebeck, Rachel Sussman, and others. To see the full team of leaders, click here.
The Broadway Women’s Fund was launched earlier this year by Valerie Novakoff to promote women in leadership positions specifically on Broadway by investing in women-led productions. According to Novakoff, the Fund “will prove that including women in leadership on Broadway isn't only the right thing to do, it's simply good business.”
The Fund will invest in Broadway shows written, directed, or produced by women. “Until now, non-profit companies have been doing the heavy lifting when it comes to promoting gender parity on Broadway,” says Novakoff. “The Broadway Women's Fund is inspired by the finance industry's increasingly popular gender lens investing model, and we believe that in such a commercial industry as Broadway, the real change will come when we can point to the fact that including women in leadership actually benefits the bottom line.”
The Fund’s first investments will appear in the 2020–2021 Broadway season.
Novakoff and team will continue to promote gender parity through its investments and initiatives like the Women to Watch list. Novakoff says, “It is our hope that it will inspire the industry to think outside of the usual suspects when making their next hiring decisions.”
50 Women to Watch on Broadway
For details about each of the women below, see the expanded list here.
Clare Barron, playwright
Jen Bender, producer
Lileana Blain-Cruz, director
Jhanaë Bonnick, stage manager
Maggie Burrows, director
Sammi Cannold, director
Katherine Carter, director
Jiyoun Chang, lighting designer
Anika Chapin, dramaturg
Melissa Crespo, director/playwright/producer
Chanel DaSilva, choreographer
Michelle Dorrance, choreographer
Emily Feldman, playwright/book writer
Selina Fillinger, playwright
Madeleine Foster Bersin, producer
Katie Gamelli, agent
Tilly Grimes, costume designer
Jenna Grossano, producer
Ellie Heyman, director
Elisheba Ittoop, sound designer
Britta Johnson, composer-lyricist/book writer
Danielle Karliner Naish, general manager
Lauren Lovette, choreographer
Kate Lumpkin, casting director
Taibi Magar, director
Caroline Maroney, producer
Kate Marvin, sound designer
Anne McPherson, stage manager
Kendra Moore, company manager
Kristy Norter, music coordinator
Olivia O'Connor, dramaturg
Helen Park, composer-lyricist/orchestrator
Taylor Reynolds, director
Meredith Ries, scenic designer
Jalaina Ross, general manager
Erica Rotstein, producer
Sandy Rustin, playwright/book writer
Ellenore Scott, choreographer
Jackie Sibblies Drury, playwright
Rona Siddiqui, composer-lyricist/orchestrator
Madeline Smith, music director/arranger/conductor
Celine Song, playwright
Danya Taymor, director
Awoye Timpo, director
Annie Tippe, director
Chloe Treat, director-choreographer
Whitney White, director
Julianne Wick Davis, composer-lyricist
Emma Wilk, sound designer
Tamilla Woodard, director
