Musical theater can bring people together, create a joyful shared experience, inspire the imagination, explore poignant ideas, and sometimes just offer a much needed escape. It’s always been hard to develop musicals because of their interdisciplinary size and scope, but recent challenges have made it even more daunting. It costs twice as much to develop a musical in 2025 as it did a decade ago. And there are fewer non-profit programs that aid the process. Original stories are seen as riskier: untested products requiring just as much development effort and expense. The result? Nearly 75% of Broadway musicals are based on familiar content: popular movies, revivals, and jukebox musicals.

The Bridge is here to champion original works by artists poised to be the next big names in musical theater. Think of us as project managers for original musicals. We mitigate the risk with smart and strategic development planning in conversation with artists and stakeholders -- all in the name of getting a show to production.

WHAT ARE WE UP TO, EXACTLY?
The Bridge is a year-long incubator for original musicals that collaborates with artists, producers, and theaters to create and execute a tailored plan for development. Resources include workshops, concerts, retreats, table reads, dramaturgical support, and more, based on what each show needs. We plan strategically, economically, and holistically with an eye toward production (because at the end of the day, we all have the same goal of finding long-term, sustainable success for musicals that will move audiences).

WE'RE ASKING SOME LARGER QUESTIONS TOO.
Does developing a new musical need to take a decade? Does it need to cost as much as it does? What if we bring stakeholders to the table earlier and work together toward a shared goal? The Bridge is building a community of theater professionals bringing new musicals to the stage and asking these same questions. Together, we're looking toward the future and innovating how we can collaborate to better serve artists and new works.

LAUNCHING YEAR 1
Our inaugural season kicked off in fall 2025! We're so psyched to be supporting the new musical, The King of Harlem, by David Gomez and John-Michael Lyles. And we'll be launching a songwriter salon series for writers to have a casual, monthly meet-up to share new work and receive feedback. More details to come soon.

We're also planning events throughout the year. We'll host meet-ups and panel discussions to give theater professionals space to continue conversations about development. And we'll share outings to shows and presentations of new work to give our supporters the chance to step into the process and get closer to new shows and the brightest artists.

JOIN US
The Bridge is inviting all musical theater advocates to support our work and join our community. Thanks to some generous supporters, we are already off to a great start, but there's more to do. This Give Butter campaign is instrumental in positioning us to accomplish a productive first season and set us up to successfully support another show for season 2. The Bridge is a fiscally sponsored project of Producer Hub and donations are fully tax-deductible.

FOUNDING FRIENDS - $50-$999
Benefits include:
- Introductions to exciting original works and innovative artists
- Quarterly newsletter with information about Bridge shows and affiliated artists

FOUNDING SPONSORS - $1,000-$4,999
Benefits include the above plus:
- Invitations to exclusive outings and events
- Professional networking with theater-makers at the forefront of musical theater
- Invitations to industry presentations of Bridge shows
- Opportunities for future involvement with Bridge shows

FOUNDING CHAMPIONS - $5,000+
The Bridge is seeking musical theater champions to join us with a leadership gift. We're looking for arts advocates who believe in the value of providing artists with extended support and want to directly enable groundbreaking new shows to find a sustainable future. Benefits include all of the above, plus an open and ongoing conversation with The Bridge about the theater landscape. Whether you're already a producer or investor, you're curious about becoming a producer or investor, or you're an arts supporter with a big heart, we're excited to get to know you and share the next generation of musical theater with you.

For gifts over $1,000, please reach out for information on how to make your donation directly to Producer Hub. For other ways to give, more information, and partnership inquiries, please contact molly@bridgemusicals.com.

Thank you so much for your support -- we can't wait to build The Bridge with you!

Visit bridgemusicals.com for more information.

Introducing The Bridge Incubator

We're a new program for musical development ... join us!