As it turns out, the Great White Way isn’t so great for females.
A new study compiled from Internet Broadway Database reveals troubling statistics for women when it comes to leadership roles on Broadway.
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According to the study provided exclusively to TheWrap, of the productions that opened on Broadway during the 2012-2013 season, only 14 percent were directed by women.
The scenario for female writers is hardly better. Of the 28 plays that opened on Broadway in the 2012-2013 season, just three were written by women.
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On the music front, just one of the 12 musicals that opened on Broadway was scored by a woman — Cyndi Lauper, who won the Tony award for best original score for “Kinky Boots.”
The gender breakdown is a stark contrast to the audiences for Broadway shows –according to data, women are directly responsible for 70 percent of New York theater ticket purchases.
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The organization Works by Women — conceived as a catalyst for supporting theatrical works directed, written and/or designed by women — hopes to improve those numbers with its new “Triumphant” campaign.
“Our goal is 50/50 by 2020 – the hundred year anniversary of American suffrage,” said the organization’s founder, Ludovica Villar-Hauser.