Economic forecast

Judith Lisi
President/CEO, David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa | Entertainment

Company: Lisi says the 27-year-old Straz Center is expected to have a strong year. But as always, success depends on the strength of the shows. As the largest performing arts complex south of Washington, D.C., attracting big shows isn't a challenge, Lisi says. “I book two to three years ahead, so I'm out of room.”

Though she was concerned the recession would be challenging, “people still came,” Lisi says. The theater's other main source of income, donations, fared OK as well. “People might have given less, but they kept donations flowing.”