Essay
This bill establishes the Minnesota Live Musical Theater Production Grant Pilot Program, which appropriates $1 million in fiscal year 2025 to the Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development. The program provides grants of up to $250,000 or 25% of the in-state production budget to producers of live musical theater productions that create jobs in Minnesota. Eligible productions include pre-Broadway live musical theater, including preview performances and Minnesota premieres prior to opening on Broadway, as well as launches of national tours from eligible venues in Minnesota with at least 1,000 seats. The grants can cover various production costs, such as salaries, set construction, and advertising, and the program aims to support the development and production of live musical theater in the state.
(1) holds a temporary theater lease agreement or representation that the venue has confirmed space prior to applying; and (2) must hire no fewer local union stagehands, wardrobe, and hair and make-up workers as there are nonlocal workers hired by the production company. The production must hire no fewer live local union orchestra players, hired by local music contractors, than there are nonlocal musicians for in-state performances. (b) Upon completion of the production, within 90 days, applicants shall submit verified documentation of eligible production costs. (c) The commissioner's determination must be based on proper documentation of eligible production costs submitted for payments. Five percent of the funds appropriated for the program in any year may be expended for administration, including costs for independent audits and financial reviews of projects. Subd. 3. Qualifying costs of production. Production costs for live musical theater may include in-state costs for: (1) development and production of a theater concept in preparation for preview and premiere performances in Minnesota prior to opening on Broadway; (2) salaries of talent, management, and labor; (3) set construction and operations, wardrobe construction and purchase, hair and make-up accessories, and related services; (4) photography, sound synchronization, lighting, and related services; (5) arrangers, orchestrators, music preparation, and live musical performance of the production; (6) rental of facilities and equipment; (7) other in-state costs incurred during postproduction; (8) sound, video capture and projection, and special effects; (9) advertising and promotion of the production; and (10) other direct costs of producing a live theater premier in accordance with generally accepted theater industry practice.