With LA28 on the Horizon, Broadway West Bets Big on Downtown Theater Revival

Thomas Bang becomes Broadway West's Executive Director, reshaping board & leadership while rallying partners for a DTLA‑wide arts renaissance and future bright!

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, April 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Broadway West, the nonprofit working to reawaken Downtown Los Angeles’ historic Broadway Theater District as a live performance destination, is entering a new chapter. It is not just a change in titles, but a chance to grow into the kind of institution the city will need in the years leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Thomas Bang has been named Executive Director, stepping up from his previous role as Director of Strategy as the organization moves into a more development-focused phase.

For Broadway West, the timing matters. As the city builds toward the 2028 Olympics, the organization sees a rare opening to make sure that arts and culture are not an afterthought in Downtown’s future, but at the heart of it. With international attention soon to converge on Los Angeles, Broadway West is working to position the historic Broadway Theatre District as a defining cultural corridor, one that can welcome new audiences, attract meaningful investment, and showcase the creative identity of DTLA to the world.

In this new role, Thomas will oversee Broadway West’s operational strategy, financial health, and the day-to-day coordination of its relationships with developers, businesses, and municipal partners. Broadway West has also announced that he has joined the Board as Director of Development, underscoring how closely capital strategy, cultural planning, and institutional growth will need to work together as the group strives to transform Broadway into a lasting civic and artistic engine for Downtown Los Angeles.

“Los Angeles is moving toward a rare civic moment,” Thomas said. “The years ahead of the 2028 Olympics will bring capital, visibility, and a global audience unlike anything this city has seen in a generation. Broadway West intends to meet that moment with boldness. We have an opportunity to restore these historic theaters not only as landmarks, but as living cultural anchors, places where artists, communities, and audiences come together to experience the future of Los Angeles. If we do this right, Broadway will not just be ready for the world in 2028. It will help show the world who Los Angeles really is.”

Marcus Lovingood, Chairman and Artistic Director of Broadway West, sees Thomas’s appointment as a response to both urgency and possibility.

“Thomas brings the kind of leadership Broadway West needs at this moment,” Lovingood said. “He understands that a better DTLA will be built not only through development, but through arts, culture, and shared civic life. His leadership will help us advance our mission to reactivate the historic Broadway Theatre District and position Downtown Los Angeles as a vibrant center for live performance, creativity, and community.”

This moment also opens a new chapter for Jim Sarratori, AIA, who is stepping down as Executive Director after three years in the role to focus on technical leadership at the board level.

Broadway West describes the restructuring as a thoughtful governance choice, not just an internal reshuffle. By giving technical vision and operational strategy their own clear lanes, the organization is building a structure that can hold both the complexity of district-wide development and the creative mission at its core. In that sense, the shift is less about changing titles and more about preparing for what comes next: new partnerships, new capital, and the possibility that the run-up to LA28 could become a defining window for Downtown Los Angeles.

“Jim’s contribution over the last seven years cannot be overstated,” Lovingood said. “He has carried the torch that got us to this exciting threshold. By focusing primarily as a Board Member, he remains a primary guardian of our DNA while Thomas provides the executive muscle to drive the deal to close.”
Broadway West’s mission is to create and maintain a world-class epicenter of live entertainment in a revitalized historic theatre district in Downtown Los Angeles. Its long-view ambition is broader still: a 21st century DTLA in which live performing arts are not ornamental to civic life, but essential to it.

About Broadway West

Broadway West is a California public benefit nonprofit dedicated to creating and maintaining a world-class epicenter of live entertainment in a revitalized historic theatre district in Downtown Los Angeles. The organization envisions a 21st century DTLA where the transformative experience of attending live performing arts is essential to celebrating life in Los Angeles.

Partnerships and Inquiries

Broadway West is actively seeking conversations with philanthropic supporters, cultural institutions, programming collaborators, civic stakeholders and corporate sponsors interested in helping shape the future of the historic Broadway Theatre District ahead of 2028 and beyond.

Michelle Belmont
Broadway West
+1 323-872-4664
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