The Broadway League announced on 29 June 2020 that the Great White Way will stay dark until the end of the year. This extends the closure that went into effect on 12 March, caused by the mounting Coronavirus pandemic.
This hardly means, though, that Broadway will be ablaze again come the New Year. Rather it means that theatres now are offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for performances through 3 January, with returning shows “currently projected to resume performances over a series of rolling dates in early 2021”.
“Our membership is working closely with the theatrical unions and in concert with key experts and some of the greatest minds inside and outside of the industry to explore protocols for all aspects of reopening,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the League, in a statement. “We are focused on identifying and implementing necessary measures that will enable us to resume performances safely for Broadway audiences and employees.
“We are determined to bring back the people who rely on this industry for their livelihood, and to welcome back all those who love this vital part of New York City, as soon as it is safe to do so.”
At the time of the March blackout, 31 shows were on stage, including eight in previews. Another eight were in rehearsal before previews. Since then, the Disney musical Frozen, which opened in 2018, announced it was closing permanently, along with two non-musicals that had been in previews: Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen and a revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Meanwhile, four new productions have set opening dates for the first half of 2021, including two musicals: MJ the Musical, the Michael Jackson celebration, with a planned opening of 15 April, after previews starting 8 March, and the much-heralded revival of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, with an opening date of 20 May, previews starting 7 April.
Ron Cohen
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.