He led the institution to a renaissance, championing contemporary performance, establishing the Next Wave Festival, and providing a vital venue for dance, theater, music, and collaborations that bridged disciplines.
The long list of artists who came to perform on BAM's stages under Lichtenstein's purview reads like a Who's Who of 20th-century performance, and includes Laurie Anderson, Pina Bausch, Peter Brook, Merce Cunningham, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Jerzy Grotowski, Mark Morris, Steve Reich, Twyla Tharp, and Robert Wilson.
The surrounding neighborhood had become seriously economically depressed, and the theater, then considered a backwoods cousin to its glittering Manhattan counterparts, booked mostly lectures and touring musicians in one-night engagements, or too often stood empty.
Drawing on his love and knowledge of modern dance, he booked Merce Cunningham for an eight-performance run, the first major season of its kind.
Many became inextricably associated with the institution, as did the pieces they presented, for instance Peter Brook's The Mahabharata and Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach.
In 1997, The New York Times said, "the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival has become the foremost showcase for contemporary experimental performance in the United States.
"[11] The Next Wave programming, offered in the fall, was anchored by an equally strong spring season, with bookings of New York artists as well as major international companies that reflect BAM's global relationships.