Broadway Stays Positive After News that Theaters Will Remain Closed Through 2020

Photo credit: Neilson Barnard - Getty Images
Photo credit: Neilson Barnard - Getty Images

From House Beautiful

Since the shuttering of New York's beloved Theater District in mid March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Broadway fans have been hoping for a re-opening in fall or early winter. Sadly those hopes were not realized when, on Monday, the Broadway League announced that the theaters will remain closed through the rest of the year and possible into early 2021.

Theater owners and producers will refund or exchange tickets previously purchased for shows through January 3. In a statement, the League said it could not specify exactly when shows will reopen. “Returning productions are currently projected to resume performances over a series of rolling dates in early 2021."

Some are even announcing dates further in the future: Roundabout Company recently said its highly-anticipated production of Birthday Candles, starring Debra Messing, would be pushed back until fall 2021. The Broadway League said in their statement that tickets for fall 2021 performances will go on sale in the coming weeks.

Among the Broadway community, reaction to the extended closure was supportive, if sorrowful. Some, like Jeremy Jordon, who has starred in Newsies and Waitress, tweeted that they were not surprised at the League's decision, and were determined to come back better than ever.

"It’s obviously difficult to realize that the road in front of us is longer than the road behind us. At the same time, nobody wants to sacrifice safety in the name of expediency," Molly Barnett, co-founder of Grapevine Public Relations, which has worked with Dear Evan Hanson and Jessica Vosk, of Wicked, tells T&C. "The good news is that the theater community has been wildly resourceful at using digital mediums to reach audiences during this period, and many of our clients are staying busy by devoting themselves to these new creative outlets."

Tony nominee Chad Kimball, of Lennon, Memphis, and Into the Woods, took to his roof to sing, appropriately, from Fiddler on the Roof, looking for happier days ahead.

Megan Hilty, another Tony nominee who has starred in Wicked and 9 to 5: The Musical, also said this break serves as a time to reflect and improve Broadway's diversity.

Photo credit: Byron Smith - Getty Images
Photo credit: Byron Smith - Getty Images

Others echoed that they are committed to producing new virtual content to keep fans engaged in the meantime. "We are staying surprisingly busy. There are shows being written, shows planning on coming back, and tons of theatrical content to promote right now. That said, it’s quite a long haul to 2021. Until then, we are working from home, staying safe, and trying to keep the (business) lights on — until the lights return to Broadway," Rick Martinez, president of DKC/O&M, says. The agency has worked with Broadway’s most noteworthy shows including the recent productions of West Side Story, Diana, The Lehman Trilogy, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

While there's no comparison to the simple pleasure of dinner and a show, for now, there is still a wealth of musicals, shows, and performances online. And when the Great White Way finally reopens, many feel confident the city will come rushing in. "Broadway is such a vital part of our culture, and I can’t wait for the energy that first night back in the theater," Barnett says.

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