Thursday, September 16, 2021
Broadway's Reopening: New York Welcomes Audiences Again to Theaters
www.bloomberg.com: When Broadway shut down in March 2020, the cast and crew of the musical Six dispersed, some returning to homes as far away as London, others hanging out in New York City and teaching classes over Zoom. Only the show’s set stayed in place, lit by a single ghost light in the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, a block from Times Square.
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This was such an exciting article to read. The last eighteen months felt like a dark period for theater. Almost all news articles had something sad or depressing to report and it all made sense in that the pandemic hit the most integral part of live performances: the audience. With social distancing protocols, shutting down in- person shows was the only way, which is different than a lot of other professions, where work could move to different platforms more seamlessly. But now that we are in a place where social distancing is not the most integral aspect and people ca actually gathered indoors, given that they have done all that they should, I am super excited for the New York City theater community to reopen and get back on with all its magic.
This is an article that genuinely made me smile and hopeful for what's to come for our industry. I think that so many articles that I've read recently are focused on the bad with a light sprinkling of good mixed in but this felt like the opposite. This was such a positive article and the pictures showing cast and crew smiling with masks on made me so enthusiastic. I've seen videos here and there of broadway shows taking a company bow for the first time in 18 months to a house of enthusiastic patrons and the tears and smiles are so pure. One thing that really shocked me in the article was the projected visitors to NYC in the coming years. I understood that a lot of people weren't visiting NYC because of the pandemic but to think that numbers won't be back up to what they were in 2019 until 2025 is a sad reality that unfortunately makes a lot of sense.
This is such an amazing and exciting article to read through. I particularly enjoyed all of the photos that Bloomberg included in this article. It really told a photo story of hope and resilience during a period lacking so much of that. Being able to see my first show on Broadway after all of this time at the end of this summer was such an incredible experience. Not only did the show have such a powerful message, but you could feel that the entire room felt home with the reopening. The whole time I felt very safe given that masks were required to be worn throughout the entire show and vaccines were required or a negative Covid test. These rules were being strictly enforced by the ushers who walked over to people improperly wearing their masks and corrected them during the show. Most people were good about following the rules and the crowd was incredibly positive to be a part of. I am so excited to see all of the shows reopening one by one and I hope that all of these safety precautions keep Broadway open for a long long time after all of this.
There was a time where I was nervous that Broadway would never re-open again. I remember at the very start of COVID when all the productions got shut down and how terrifying it was to have an industry nearly disappear overnight. It would be so devastating seeing in the news that the re-opening dates for Broadway kept getting pushed back. What an incredible moment in history to watch Broadway come back to life again. It was interesting in this article to see all the statistics involving tourists in the city and how that affects the economy, and especially affects ticket sales for shows. It was heartwarming to hear the mayor put so much weight into Broadway’s financial impact on the city. With all of the hotels, public transportation, tourist-centric stores, restaurants and more that typically come when tourists visit the city to see a Broadway show, Broadway truly does bring in a lot of revenue for the blocks that surround it.
This was a nice read to see the different aspects that are looked at with Broadway reopening, especially with the “theater side” of TikTok blowing up with posts from the Broadway/theaters streaming of shows, namely Six. I have seen a LOT of Six content these last 24 or so hours. I am a really big fan of the economic and tourist section they did, because I think that is heavily going to affect theaters. It makes me think about how the impact of not only the pandemic but potentially low audiences will affect Broadway in the near future and in the long run. I also find the line “‘right now we’re fishing in a domestic pond, which normally represents about 80% of our market’” interesting because I would care to see if any research about what “domestic” theater goers are interested in occurs and if it will affect what shows we see more of or less of.
I really can't wait to see a Broadway show again. While Times Square is not my favorite part of the city, I like the adrenaline and the pulse of the city and the people. I almost entirely associate the movement near Broadway with the theatre, even though there are tons of other touristy attractions. It reminds me of the rush before a show--when everyone is double-checking their presets and jumping around, nervous and excited knowing that the audience is in front of the curtain. This article definitely proves that I'm not the only one who's a sucker for the theatre district. I've always thought of the arts contributing heavily to the economy of NYC, but it's cool to think about it in terms of tourists who start to spend in every other aspect: hotels, food, transportation, etc. Also, one thing I've noticed with all these 'returning to the theatre articles' is they always mention the many tears shed at the notion of coming back to the stage. And it's not even cheesy, it's just true.
“…every single person that’s involved in it has changed hugely.” That is something that I have not factored into this whole reopening of theatre equation and I think it’s one of the most important aspects. I guess all along I have been thinking that we would just open the doors and pick back up where we started with COVID protocols in order. In actuality, many things may have to change. At the end of the day, theatre is an art form where people are connecting with other person by entertaining them live and in the moment, and it’s meant to send a message. I suppose directors and coaches are doing a great deal of behind the scenes work. Not only meeting with the cast to see where they are at and how it’s best for them to move forward based on current personal needs and how they feel about their characters, but also considering the importance of the message being told in today’s world. I’d be interested in seeing how certain things may be tweaked.
I’ve seen a few videos recently from the start of Wicked, when Glinda flies down in the bubble near the top of the show. It’s a moment that generally gets some applause, as the introduction of the character, but in each video there is a standing ovation lasting almost a minute - not necessarily for the actress, but for the joy of reopening and being back. She then has the line “it’s good to see me again, isn’t it?” which invariably gets an even louder round of applause and cheers. I really enjoyed watching those mainly for the sheer happiness everyone - in the show and in the audience - exhibits to be back to live Broadway in at least some capacity. I think it stems partially from the fact that live performance really can’t be recreated digitally or at home - there are approximations, as we learned over the past year trying to film shows or create fully digital productions, but it doesn’t really compare to the real thing, which it’s just exciting to be finally doing again.
This article is not just a fluff piece talking about the recovery of theater, I really enjoyed the data that was collected. There are sections where this is an economic forecast disguised as an article and should be used by regions outside of those in New York. The economies surrounding the theater industry in New York are also discussed nicely with Covid safe ways that they have found to return to normal while serving the, hopefully high number of, returning tourists.
It is an interesting choice that the economic struggles of the performers was talked about so far down in the article. I understand this is an article written to talk about the recovery of all of Broadway but the discussion of the real economics on the performers and artists is the dirty topic we have never felt comfortable addressing.
This is one of the most exciting times in theatre history. The world is coming back to life and live entertainment is back in full force. You can feel the energy buzzing in pockets around the world ready, waiting, excited. We are ready to get back to work. Everyone from performers to technicians to directors to even audience members are ready to get back to work and do theatre. I remember when the United States started to shut down it followed Broadway. This is due to how attached broadway is to not only New York City but the entire state. One of the main ideas throughout this article is that “Broadway’s return is necessary for a full New York City economic recovery” and this is something that will show how strong the theatre industry is and how impactful it can be to our world. Art is how we process things as humans and the pandemic has given us plenty to say and we are itching to get back to it.
It is really great to see all the progress being made towards reopening. The impact that the pandemic has had on Broadway, and Broadway’s closure has had on NYC, is devastating. Seeing those numbers and the graphs and the drops across so many industries in April 202 is really jarring. I personally cannot wait for Broadway shows to come back, and I would go right now if I was in New York to see a show. I know there is still concern about the delta variant and uptick in cases, but we must move forward when it is safe to do so, and we need theater in our lives (and New York needs the money). I am glad that the city, and people in general, has realized how important theater is for the economy. We are not just people following their passion and doing what they love. We are workers who deserve to get paid for their labor. The notion that employees should get paid less if they love what they’re doing is stupid. So, pay artists and don’t treat our labor like a free gift.
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