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Hannah Grannemann on Audience Experience

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Nostalgia and Familiarity Oversimplifies What Audiences Want

December 29, 2025 by Hannah Grannemann Leave a Comment

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I have no illusions that a New York Times feature in the Theater section will be able to tell the full story of the incredibly far-reaching theater sector, but I bristled more than usual at a recent New York Times article that profiles Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Gulfshore Playhouse as regional theaters that are “defying the odds”. The article sets out to prove that success comes from leaning into familiar, upbeat programming and seeing strong attendance and financial results. Given the … [Read more...] about Nostalgia and Familiarity Oversimplifies What Audiences Want

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About Hannah

Associate Professor of Arts Administration at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). More about Hannah can be found at hannahgrannemann.com. Her forthcoming book on nonprofit fundraising will be published by the Columbia Business School Publishing imprint of Columbia University … [more] about About Hannah Grannemann

About Row X

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Row X is where audience experience meets artistic practice and business strategy of arts organizations. The goal of the blog is to explore the sweet spot where these three interests overlap. Audience experience is often seen as the purview of the marketing department until the point that the … [more] about About Row X

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