Lincoln Center Theater was re-established in 1985 under the leadership of Chairman John V. Lindsay, Director Gregory Mosher and Executive Producer Bernard Gersten. Since that time, the organization has produced dozens of plays and musicals, seen by millions of audience members at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, and other venues.

"...the arts not for the privileged few, but for the many"

John D. Rockefeller 3rd

The organization observes Lincoln Center founder John D. Rockefeller 3rd's mandate that "the arts not for the privileged few, but for the many." Guided by the motto, "Good Plays, Popular Prices," Lincoln Center Theater makes every effort to keep admission prices low and its doors open to all. The average price of a ticket for a Lincoln Center Theater performance is around $32 and an innovative Membership program allows 40,000 participants to see any production at the Theater for just $40 or $50 per play from the best seats available.

Lincoln Center Theater also distributes thousands of free tickets each year to culturally under-served populations throughout the five boroughs and regularly offers special performances for the hearing impaired. Other ongoing activities include the Playwrights Program, a new-play workshop and reading series; the Directors Lab, a developmental symposium for new and emerging artists; Open Stages, an arts-in-education program operated in cooperation with New York City public schools; Lincoln Center Theater Review, a literary journal available in the Theater's lobbies and distributed free-of-charge to schools and libraries, and the Platform Series of free conversations with LCT artists.

In Fall 2008, LCT began a new programming initiative -- LCT3 -- devoted to producting the work of emerging playwrights, directors and designers. Through mounting fully staged, modestly budgeted productions, LCT3 will bring a new generation of artists and audiences to LCT.

Today, under the leadership of Chairman John B. Beinecke, Artistic Director Andre Bishop and Executive Producer Bernard Gersten, Lincoln Center Theater has been named "the pre-eminent theater in the country" (New York Times). Indeed, through tours, telecasts, films, publications, recordings and this website, the organization reaches audiences across the nation and around the world.