Tony Award® Season Gratitude

Situation has been in the Broadway business for 23 years.

Our agency’s anniversary falls in the vicinity of the Tony Awards each season. And every year when I have the privilege to go to the Tony Awards, I’m reminded of just how lucky I am to have founded this agency many moons ago. It’s a time of reflection for me — not just of this Broadway season, but of my career as a whole.

I’m a marketing guy. There are so many different ways my career could have taken me and so many different things I could be marketing — toothpaste, cars, software.

I did not grow up going to theatre or performing arts even though I lived within an hour of the city for most of my childhood. The first show I saw was The Lion King when I was around the age of 20 with my now wife. I was floored by the spectacle and completely moved by the production. I had no way of knowing that just a few years later, I would trip into the industry that brought The Lion King to life.

I fell into the Broadway industry by accident, because Broadway happened to be jonesing for this new thing called “the Internet.” About 2% of all tickets were sold on the Internet when I first started the agency. Now, it’s over 70% of all tickets sold for some shows. It was the classic luck equation of “right place right time.” Situation has since worked with over 150 productions on Broadway alone — it’s wild.

Since those early days, I’ve worked as a digital marketer in many industries. But I’m forever grateful for my roots in theatre – an industry totally unique and unlike any other. The theatre business — while messy — is more fun than most. There isn’t a lot of hierarchy, not a lot of overthinking given we have ridiculous timelines to launch, and it requires a boatload of curiosity, grit, and ingenuity to survive. A dream job in so many ways.

So as I settle into my seat this coming Sunday for the Tony Awards, I know I’m deeply lucky. I’m reminded every year of that. Lucky to have met so many of the incredibly talented and giving people in the room who shaped my career. Lucky to rub shoulders with some of the most creative minds in the world. Lucky to have made a living that allowed me to stay in this profession for over two decades.

Thank you Broadway for finding me.