The Great Regional Hope: Examining Relationships Between Major Regional Theaters and Broadway

For major regional theaters with a long institutional history, a successful track record in transferring productions, and now with multimillion-dollar campuses in their own respective cities, what are the incentives to send shows to Broadway? As these theaters are well-established institutions, they no longer need a transfer to garner national attention they way they did thirty years ago. Are these transfers driven purely by financial motivation or are other factors involved? How do these theaters decide which show has commercial potential, and when do commercial producers become involved? Simply put, from a major regional theater’s perspective, is it still advantageous to send a show to Broadway?