Where were you when the world stopped last year? Well, like most people Broadway performers were living out their daily lives just like all of us. The only thing that was different was when things starting to pick up, there was no pickup for them. There livelihoods depending on people gathering together and from what we know of COVID-19, people gathering is what spreads the virus most of all. So when talks of Broadway reopening came around it was no surprise that it was pushed back numerous times. Broadway closed its doors March 12th, It was first slated to open June 7th then when the date approached they pushed back to the fall and then until January, then they were told they would be able to open in May and in May they made the final statement and publicly putting tickets on sale individually by show and their unique opening date. In the meantime Broadway performers were really struggling, having lost their jobs to the unforeseeable feature.
Some took up other jobs like starting Podcasts like Jessica Vosk and Jennifer Simard, starting a theatre institute like Ginna Claire Mason and Mary Kate Morrissey, some even started separate businesses aside from acting like Robbie Fairchild. September inched closer andthe first shows to open were Springsteen on Broadway June 26th and Pass Over on August 4th. Most notably were the opening of the two hit musicals Hadestown and Waitress on September 2nd which marked the official return of broadway. The theaters were able to open 100% capacity with proof of being fully vaccinated and with also a very strict mask mandate. Now, having been to serval shows I can personally testify to a very strict mask rules. If someone had their mask below their nose there was someone in matter of seconds coming over and telling them to wear it properly. I even saw a argument break out of someone refusing to wear a mask properly and them explaining that if they weren’t able to follow the rules then they would be asked to leave. This goes to prove how serious broadway is in the reopening of their shows.
I was able to talk to my younger sister Marissa who had attended the opening of Waitress on September 2nd and she said “the energy was electric, being in that room was something special and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I felt privileged and lucky to have been there, and to witness it.” The musical Waitress especially hit differently because they were opening without the love and support from original cast member Nick Cordero who tragically lost his life to COVID-19. “The entire cast went on stage after the last bows and danced to Nicks song “Live Your Life” with his wife Amanda Kloots” Marissa said. His wife Amanda played that song on Instagram Live every single night when he was in the hospital and viewers would watch, sing, dance all at the same time to lift spirits and to try and bring awareness to the harm COVID was bringing into the lives of normal people. “It felt like Nick was in that room, it was very full circle singing and dancing to those lyrics with everyone knowing he’s not in pain anymore and that we can all be together in this moment celebrating him” Marissa said. I was able to go to see many shows since the reopening like Waitress, Moulin Rouge, and Wicked. These are all fan favorites and have had sold out audiences back to back. This goes to show how the industry is not dead, broadway is not dead. Audiences who were able to be apart of the handful of re-openings on September 14th were met with speeches from Lin Manuel Miranda at Hamilton and Kristen Chenoweth at Wicked. They explained how grateful they were and how everyone felt being able to reopen these beloved shows for everyone once again without performance’s in over five hundred days.
I also was able to ask my family friend Sarah who has worked on broadway and in the industry her thoughts on the reopening of broadway “Seeing everyone together again is something I will never forget, it was history. Having to go into lockdown and hiding was super hard and having personally been effected by this disease being able to be with everyone again (safely) is something I will never take granted for again. It also makes you reflect on all that was lost, many of my close friends worked on Frozen on Broadway who tragically announced they were not going to be reopening after the pandemic. It came as a shock to all of us so it made me super grateful for the position I am now and grateful to have a job at all in this industry I have always wanted to work in.”
Frozen was along with the other shows like Mean Girls, West Side Story and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Beetlejuice was also namely one of the other mega-hit musicals who announced they would not be returning and would be taken over by classic The Music Man who stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, but after a huge fan response of heartbroken fans and petitions upon petitions of people literally begging the show to come back they recently announced they would be returning to broadway in a new theater. This is the power that the fans have in this industry and how powerful the fans are in this new era. “Seeing the fans response to the closing of Beetlejuice was something so personal to me having dear friends involved in the show, it just goes to show how powerful theater can be for people. I know lots of grieving people connected to the show since it is, at it’s core a story about a grieving young girl missing her mother. This was something new and inventive for broadway and it was important having a story like that being told on such a big platform like broadway. I am really glad and happy its going to get another opportunity to be on broadway again.” Sarah said.
This was the longest closing of theatre since Broadway opened. Though they have had other shutdowns due to other things like labor movements, or on tragic events such as 9/11 but nothing as significant as this closure. “It put things into a perspective you can say, it made me realize who I was with and without all the glitz and glamour of show business.” Sarah said. Broadway is such a pivotal part of New York City and to be even more specific, Times Square as a whole is a huge, if not one of the biggest moving parts of New York City and without Broadway it was not succeeding and “It just didn’t feel right going there and seeing all those buildings and marquees dark, it just was not the same New York I love.” Marissa said.
On Sunday September 26th the most important night in Broadway happened which is the Tony Awards. The show celebrated the return of live theater and showcased all the well-known broadway stars we love and know. Though it looked a little differently having the awards shown in a different special then the musical acts; The first 2 hours were hosted by Tony winner Audra McDonald and honored and presented the productions of the 2019-2020 season of Broadway. Winners included Aaron Tveit for his work in Moulin Rouge who was the only actor nominated in his category Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical awarded to Adrienne Warren for Tina Turner the Musical, other winners included Best Scenic Design of a Musical which went to Derek McLane for Moulin Rouge which was just one of the ten awards they were awarded with that night. Tonys night marked a significant moment in this time where we were all able to come together and celebrate the industry, the work put into these plays and musicals and the journey of what is to come next.
Most shows are slated to open by the end of 2021, Dear Evan Hansen having the latest return as of right now being December 11th. New shows are planning to open as well like MJ, Flying Over Sunset and the highly anticipated Funny Girl revival. This marking the return to live theatre and its hopefulness in knowing the audiences will come out that they will be there and support by buying tickets. “I want to go into this industry and seeing the way they handled everything so wonderfully even with no sense of direction or not knowing one thing made me even more sure, just knowing I can put my faith and trust with these people because they have a hopefulness for this crazy world of live theatre just like I do” Marissa said. All in all the Broadway return is a historical landmark that we will be able to look back at on for years to come and being here apart of that makes us all apart of that history.