Deadline: The Tony Award-winning hit Hadestown, directed by Rachel Chavkin, is, relatively speaking of course, in sturdy shape for the eventual resumption of performances when Broadway deems it safe and appropriate to re-open theaters. The Anaïs Mitchell musical that puts a contemporary, folk-rock spin on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice won eight Tonys last year and became one of the unqualified commercial hits of the season, regularly selling out the Walter Kerr Theatre with weekly grosses in excess of $1 million.
3 comments:
I am glad that Rachel Chavkin drew attention to how newer and smaller shows are going to suffer after this, rather than talk about how Hadestown may be in danger. It is true that Hadestown is not safe, no one is, but it is certainly in a better position than most other shows. I think the final question asked in this interview is super interesting. I hadn’t really considered whether people would be too cautious after all of this is over. Honestly, I don’t think that will happen, at least not after this first round. After our first round of social distancing ends, I think everyone will be beyond excited to enjoy life, and then infections will spike again, we’ll have to quarantine again, and after that second round, that is when I think theaters will be in trouble. I am hopeful that warm weather and caution will prevent a second spike, but there is no way to know, except to monitor what is happening in the countries weeks and months ahead of us like China, Italy, and South Korea.
I'm glad that Rachel noting that she is in a somewhat privileged position as an actress in an established Broadway musical, although she definitely still has cause to be concerned for herself and her career in the midst of this global crisis. It is likely going to take the theater industry as a whole a while before it fully recovers, which includes the infrastructure that supports Broadway. Like the article mentions, the Broadway "ecosystem" is going to take a huge hit from this crisis even if individual shows will likely be functional after things return to normal. Because it is looking like this might persist through the summer, a lot of the higher traffic that NYC gets during vacation won't be there for smaller shows. Another thing I can't help but think about is that even if we come out of quarantine in the next couple of months, people will likely be hesitant to return to such a highly infected environment as New York City for a while after. On the other hand, I don't think worrying about what the world will do after this is over is the top priority right now because we aren't exactly at the point of decline yet, and therefore have no idea what the rest of 2020 will hold.
I really like reading about the spread of ecosystem that Rachel talks about when it comes to how impactful this is. Broadway being shutdown does affect the wider New York City community, and not only the other theatres that are following in step with what Broadway does, but also the restaurants and businesses that thrive on theatre attendees for business. Obviously with the current shelter in place mandate in New York City, this is a little less immediately pressing, however once things begin to open up more slowly (because I see a potential for restaurants and stores to begin to open before theatres are due to proximity of people), the effects of this will definitely be seen more and more. I also appreciated the conversation about what will happen to smaller and lesser known works, because those are what are taking an immediate hit right now in terms of gaining traction. Getting back in theatres and supporting new works after this is over is going to be more crucial than ever.
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