The best theatre article the Times has run in a long time won't be found in today's Arts section, of course, but in Business! Joseph Nocera's ruthless analysis of the economics of The Drama on and off Broadway is definitely a "must read."

His provocative conclusion: "If this is the future of Broadway, we should stop talking about 'investing' in a play, and start calling it what it is: an act of philanthropy." The very word philanthropy probably strikes theatre lovers as at once insulting and comforting. It's what we call the financing of museums and orchestras, don't we? In other words...art?