A Candid Conversation With Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin: Future for Broadway.. what will it be like?

https://deadline.com/2020/04/reopening-broadway-charlotte-st-martin-broadway-league-candid-conversation-1202910054/?fbclid=IwAR27I-Gvj_W_4ptQZvzTJ6rkzWld_ogp575bUzopXrzMCaH26PdjcbRPIyg





The obstacles to a reopening are large and many: Broadway audiences sit in tightly packed venues built when audiences expected (and required) smaller, closer seats; Broadway casts perform together, literally – no distance shots, no remotes possible – and Broadway orchestras? They don’t call their habitat’s “pits” for nothing.

And that’s just for starters. In this extended and candid conversation with Deadline, St. Martin elaborates on what exactly is being done on Broadway as theaters remain dark, what it will take, financially and otherwise, to get the shows going again, what producers know now and what they still need to learn, and why the League is not asking theatergoers – yet – about when they’d feel comfortable returning to the magnificent venues, leg room or not, that help make Broadway a theatrical beacon worldwide.

So, when will Broadway reopen?

Updated On: 4/17/20 at 02:30 PM

She is saying out loud a lot of things i have been saying both about the reopening and also about filming. I don't think September is possible, for reasons I have said before and won't repeat. I think we are basically losing a full year, and then the question is, what will emerge then. Nothing is going back to status quo ante.

HogansHero said: "She is saying out loud a lot of things i have been saying both about the reopening and also about filming. I don't think September is possible, for reasons I have said before and won't repeat. I think we are basically losing a full year, and then the question is, what will emerge then. Nothing is going back to status quo ante."

I could possibly imagine a mid to late 2021 reopening, with about 5-10 mainstays surviving and the rest of Broadway starting from scratch. Expect Phantom, Wicked, Mormon, Chicago, Hamilton, Lion King, and Aladdin to be among the last ones standing as Broadway rebuilds slowly but surely. It will be harder than ever to get tickets, especially when highly-anticipated revivals of popular shows (mostly with big stars) are announced for Broadway.

Whenever it does happen, I do believe there's a chance that prices for everything will be so discounted-flights, hotels, theatre-that we may have more tourists than we think. Sure, a vast majority may feel like it's "too soon" or might be a little more cautious, but there will be a certain amount of people who feel like that if we are at a safer place, that it would be worth the experience. Just a. thought.

BdwayLife said: "

It also indicated that several shows are using advances to pay for expenses during this time period. I find this a bit confusing, as I thought I read on another board that ticketing agencies (e.g., Ticketmaster) don’trelease funds to productions until the actual performance date?

"

Was curious about this

Sobering to hear Charlotte give a more realistic timeline for when she thinks theater may reopen. CNBC reports tonight that the W.H.O. says there's no evidence antibody tests work or show someone can't become reinfected. We'll just have to keep watching what Governor Cuomo and Mayor Deblasio have to say in the coming weeks.

Updated On: 4/17/20 at 10:46 PM

The NY Times on testing to manage coronavirus in NYC: NYT Editorial: To Manage Coronavirus in NYC, Testing.

Pending the vaccine, get testing right and Broadway is back. Demand it!

Jarethan said: "Thought I was smart getting tickets for MM for September 15...now wondering not when I will see it, rather if. In Florida from October to May. Once Bway does open, this will be the one to see more than even before...harkens back to simpler times, rousing production numbers, Hugh Jackman, with Sutton Foster the icing on the cake. I can always dream that they will tape this one for posterity/"

Re: The Music Man, I’ve become a bit of a broken record on this subject, but I’m increasingly being led to believe that there’s no way it’s happening this year, at least not on anything like the current timetable. Whenever this is ‘over’, Sutton Foster’s first commitment is to the next (possibly final) season of Younger, which was due to begin filming in March and to air later this summer (we’ll before her Broadway rehearsals were even due to begin) - so, having been a longtime contractual commitment for her ever since she was cast by TV Land in 2013, and 7 seasons in, that television show is in first position.

But even if they opted to recast (with Benanti, O’Hara, McDonald), which I doubt they’d do since she’s been with this almost since it was announced and has equal billing on every poster with Jackman, I don’t for a minute believe that Scott Rudin wants to be one of the first shows back if there’s a chance that a) tourists aren’t coming to NY, b) older theatergoers are staying home, and c) there’s any chance of a second outbreak. It’s unfortunate given all the back-and-forth with Beetlejuice and the Winter Garden, and how much has been sunk into marketing since summer 2019. But I’ve been saying that this show would be postponed for a month now, and the longer the Broadway shutdown continues, and with every new piece of news, I’m more convinced than ever that it’ll just be postponed for a full year, till fall 2021, until well after the country is fully open, Broadway has gradually begun to recover, Sutton’s other prior commitments are fulfilled, and (likely, by then) a vaccine has been created that will allow traditional theatergoers to enjoy this show with no fear.

Updated On: 4/18/20 at 05:00 AM

Theater'sBestFriend said: "Now imagine everyone with antibodies was found to be immune and had a green code not their phone saying they're immune, like in China. Imagine that was required to attend the theater.Imagine everyone who was still sick could be traced and quarantined until they got better.In other words, imagine we did what SouthKorea and Hong Kong have done. Imaginewe had a president who cared more about all the peoplethan his numbers,hisbaseand his re-election. Broadway would open by Sept 1st.”

Under this scenario, would those who have never contracted the virus - perhaps because they’d followed all safety guidelines - have less freedom to live normal lives than those who had been infected and recovered? That would seem weird, and could potentially create some perverse incentives.

"Nothing can happen until there is a vaccine."

This is simply not true. It's defeatist and wrong headed. No, Broadway cannot open right now. No, Broadway cannot reopen if nothing changes and all we have our "social distancing" measures. However, there are many, many, many ways to live with a virus. We do it all the time and have throughout history. Successful treatments can be developed. Testing and contact tracing could be ramped up significantly. New information can be found helping us prevent the spread. Or the virus can just up and disappear as SARS did.

Again. I don't mean things will just go back to normal. But a vaccine is not the only answer. And frankly, a vaccine is not in anyway guaranteed. Holding out for a vaccine is the only option and frankly it's a poor one.

Today's thorough New York Times story by Donald McNeil Jr. is a bucket of cold water even for a Covid-19 pessimist like me.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/health/coronavirus-america-future.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

Aside from the concerns about maintaining a functioning society with a vaccine far away, the idea of people heading back to Broadway shows, or local theaters, seems like a non-starter for the foreseeable future. I wish it wasn't so, but the medical risks and economic damage this virus will cause - and the halting, two-steps-forward, one-stop-back progress predicted in the article - does not make me think theater is coming back anytime soon.

I hope there's a vaccine as soon as possible, for everyone's sake, but that's probably going to be a while. The entire business model of the entertainment industry, not counting TV, is based on a gathering of large numbers of people in a small space. 'Social distancing' doesn't work as a business model in theaters, tourists simply won't come, so theaters won't open. This will also be indescribably bad for local theaters. I already got an email from the Berkeley Rep asking how much I'd pay to stream shows. I ordered a ticket to School Girls, which I had planned to see in person, and watched it online. It was a very good play, nicely performed, but watching plays and musicals on TV - especially good ones - just reinforces what I'm missing.

As for Broadway, I just don't anticipate a trip to New York City for a long while, either because of medical concerns or financial worries. And I'm much more eager to go than the average person.

Wallman2 said: "I think realistically, in the best interests of Broadway and its patrons, it would be advisable to wait and reopen when the perception is that it is completely safe.

Perception is a great word. Audiences need to believe they are safe to show up again. But they won't come back if they keep believing they are inside a death trap; whether that's accurate or not.