Laura MacDonald

Laura MacDonald is an Assistant Professor at the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH), Michigan State University. Her interdisciplinary background includes degrees in American Studies (PhD, University of East Anglia), Drama (MA, University of Toronto), and International Politics (MSc, University of Edinburgh). Prior to MSU, she taught at institutions in the UK and Netherlands and held research fellowships in South Korea and China.

Her research focuses on Broadway musical theatre history, transnational musical theatre markets in Europe and East Asia, and the role of producers, audiences, and marketing in sustaining long-running productions. Key projects include a book manuscript on Still Here: Long-Running Broadway Musicals and Their Engaged Audiences and a co-edited volume, The Routledge Companion to Musical Theatre.

Her work explores themes such as globalization’s impact on musical theatre, gender and sexuality in performance, and cultural exchange through transnational collaborations. Recent publications analyze Chinese millennial audiences, European theatre markets, and Disney’s glocalization strategies in Shanghai.

• Leadership Roles: International Secretary of the American Theatre and Drama Society; leadership in Historians of the Twentieth Century United States (HOTCUS) and the British Association for American Studies (BAAS).
• Awards: British Council Researcher Links Fellowship, Arts and Humanities Research Council Fellowship.

Teaching emphasizes dramaturgy, global fan practices, and acting. She facilitates student collaboration with professional writers and composers, reflecting her commitment to bridging academic and practical theatre arts.