Carol Vogel, with Arthur Lash.

For four decades, Roundabout subscribers have marked important milestones by their season seats. Here are their stories.

One of the prime reasons I decided to become Roundabout's managing director more than 20 years ago was that I recognized the potential power of a theatre that devoted itself to its subscribers. My faith in Roundabout's subscribers—and perhaps more important—their faith in us—is one of the primary reasons we can so proudly celebrate our 40th Anniversary this year.

To mark the occasion, we solicited a kind of “Remembrance of Plays Past” from some of our most avid season ticket holders. The response was overwhelming. Whether their subscription packages brought them to a supermarket basement, a former union hall, or a plush seat in a reclaimed 42nd Street jewel, our subscribers assured us they received more than a guaranteed seat for great plays and musicals performed by the world's great theatre artists. Some met like-minded audience members who became life-long friends. Others met, returned on dates, and got married. One generation passed on its subscription and love of the Roundabout to the next. More than a few credit their Roundabout family outings with influencing their children to pursue a career in the theatre.

With so many cultural institutions competing for patrons, why has the number of Roundabout subscribers stayed so steady?

I believe it's because of Roundabout's passionate commitment to service: at the ticket window, on the subscriber phone lines, or in the theatre itself. And, as you'll read, subscribers not only benefit from an attentive staff, but they join a community that creates New York City's culture. Still there's more to it. The following voices (and you can read others at www.roundabouttheatre.org) hint at something else they receive. Like theatre itself, it's ineffable and sometimes hard to describe. But there's a joy and satisfaction in their voices that makes all of us at Roundabout feel recharged and ready to welcome the next 40 years of subscribers to the fold.

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to read Roundabout subscriber stories.