Thursday, September 16, 2021
How Broadway Found a Path to Reopening After Its Longest Shutdown in History
www.dancemagazine.com: Did the dozen chairs that take such a beating in Come From Away need to be reinforced again? Would any rats that might have grown accustomed to having the run of empty buildings disrupt a haunting ballad in Hadestown by scampering across the stage? Who would be in the audience, and would they have to prove they'd been vaccinated against the virus that had darkened Broadway since March 12, 2020?
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The quote from Blankenbuehler in the article that says "Any responsible artist is coming back to this as a different artist." really stuck me. I think the pressure for many artists is that we are both the same and different at the same time. I think the overall tone of the pandemic was “going back to normal”, however this quote made me think in a different perspective. “Back to normal” is not how we should be. I think art changes with the times, and if art does not change in a time like this, could it really still be called art? Further, theatre has more or less stayed the same throughout the years, and I have to wonder if the model most theatremakers are sticking with still works for the modern world? If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the world can change so drastically and people will still find a way to move forward. I think that it is time for theatre to move forward as well. Though it is difficult, I believe that we should also come back as a different theatre, rather than what was before.
Broadway reopening is so exciting. It’s closing affected so many lives. Losing access to the arts during this pandemic took away so many people’s access to those two hours of life where you are simply somewhere else. To me, theater is an escape from the real world. Being able to create an atmosphere and environment that takes the audience to a completely different location or era is one of the many things I love about theater. Similarly to Lilian’s comment above, Blakenbuehler’s quote about artists coming back as different artists struck me as well. We have been so set on coming back to normal. This year has been an absolute shit show (pardon my French). It’s important to take note of all that has happened in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Stop Asian Hate movement, etc. We are not and will never be living in the normal we lived in prior to March 2020. There is so much change that has happened and so much more that needs to happen. We can not come back as the same artists we were.
I was going to comment that there might be more important priorities than those first two questions that opened the article, but I think that the audience question they focused on was interesting. Also I find it interesting that this article comments that it was musicals that began to sell tickets, and given the rise of TikTok and people getting interested in shows through songs that get used for memes, I think that’s something interesting to note. This is also the first time that I’ve seen the Tony’s mentioned in regards to Broadway opening up and I think that it will be an interesting one to watch, should you have the right streaming service to watch the whole thing. I did think that this article could have been longer because I am not really certain that it discussed the whole path to reopening, so the title is perhaps a lie, which is slightly disappointing cause I really like reading the different perspective writers have and what they focus on regarding Broadway, and theaters in general, reopening.
I agree with what Andy Blankenbuehler (what a name) said here: "Any responsible artist is coming back to this as a different artist." I know my approach to making and consuming art is vastly different from my habits before the pandemic began (and I must say, I am better for it), and I can see that other artists around me have changed as well. And it's not just artists! Even as a person, I am greatly changed; any responsible person should be. I hope theaters and institutions are the same way. I hope they come back, full stop, but I also hope they come back more creative, more caring, more than what they were before. This past year and a half has been nothing if not a massive catalyst for change, and I should like to see everyone act on it, especially the institutions and individuals I will be working closely with in my life.
What really hit me in this article was the tension between production and performance unions to bring a show back to broadway. This is a microcosm of what makes the arts industry so treacherous for everyone involved. The idea that the “starving artist” will do anything to have an impact is what makes production teams so eager to forsake workers rights and comfort for the sake of getting a show out there. It’s hard to reconcile the desperation to create and work with the idea that if an artist allows themself to be taken advantage of, the whole creative industry takes a small blow to its’ legitimacy in labor negotiations. Seeing Blankenbuehler’s response to re-entering broadway gives me hope, though. Although he is a choreographer, his ability to make sure that his cast is physically and mentally able to do their work is really reassuring. I hope this trend towards worker’s well being continues.
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