Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phylicia Rashad to address ‘crisis facing the American theater industry’ on Capitol Hill

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Phylicia Rashad are pushing nonprofit theaters into the spotlight on Capitol Hill, joining forces at a congressional briefing.

The creator of Broadway’s “Hamilton” and the former “Cosby Show” star will speak at Thursday’s briefing at the Russell Senate Office Building, called “The Show Must Go On!” which aims to address the “crisis facing the American theater industry.”

The event, hosted by the Professional Non-Profit Theater Coalition, is poised to “shine a spotlight on the challenges facing the theater industry, showcase the value and importance of professional non-profit theater, and call on Congress to save American theater.”

Citing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and arts funding cuts, organizers said that “this critical artform and economic driver is struggling to survive.”

Miranda and Rashad, who now serves as dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts, will “speak to the vital role the theater plays in the life of our country.”