Broadway League To Announce Further Broadway Closure til May 30th- Page 3

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 1:45pm

Does anyone else think that following this extension. And now not realistically seeing anything coming up til really December 2021. Am I the only one who thinks that following next Thursday’s tony award announcements we could be seeing some more closures. And not just for the last seasons. But some long runners.
The reality is I can’t see not every single show not having to recast considering it’ll be over a year and a half and people are signing on to other projects.

[unclevictor]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 2:31pm

Broadway is doomed.
One show after another is gonna start closing.
This sucks.
This sucks.
This suuuuucks.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 2:37pm

Were House Managers for most Broadway theatres furloughed? If not, do they and the staff beneath them have to be hired back? If furloughed have the furloughs ended like what has been happening with many major businesses?

[Robbie2]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 3:15pm

a lot of industry people collecting unemployment but for how long? Are the benefits extended? How does it work? Not in the industry and thankfully working remotely until next year is the plan for our company in NYC.

[thedrybandit]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 3:32pm

Robbie2 said: "a lot of industry people collecting unemployment but for how long? Are the benefits extended? How does it work? Not in the industry and thankfully working remotely until next year is the plan for our company in NYC."

Yes, benefits were extended early on during this, and assuming someone started collecting unemployment when Broadway shut down, they'd be covered through around April/May which unfortunately means that we won't be covered until Broadway is back without another extension of some kind. Better than nothing at the moment though.

[PrelfordJase]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 3:55pm

HogansHero said: "We will not have Broadway again until covid is in the rear view mirror. We will not have Broadway with social distancing. We will not have Broadway with (mandatory) masks. We will not need theatres designed for covid. What we will need is a critical mass of audiences that will return, and for many shows that means tourists. Movie theatres can function without any of these things. So step one is for the state to announce that it is safe and step two is for the marketers to make miracles happen."

Let's be clear to separate the science part of this from the economics part.

There's no reason why Broadway couldn't safely reopen if the infection levels are under control and audiences comply with public health protocols like masking. A vaccine would help with this, but it's not inherently necessary --- we know this from the examples we see in Europe and Asia where commercial theater is operating sans vaccine. (And given the hurdles facing the successful development and widespread deployment of a vaccine, it is poor business planning for Broadway theater owners, producers, etc. to put all their eggs in that basket.)  

In that sense, Broadway shouldn't have to wait until "covid is in the rear view mirror," at least from a public health perspective. Yes, that won't happen right away, and it will take a stronger, more coherent government response to the virus than we've seen so far. But it's not impossible, and we in the industry shouldn't settle for less. 

Now from an economics perspective, HogansHero is right that Broadway will need a "critical mass of audiences" that are comfortable with returning to theaters before shows can viably resume. Marketing will be a part of that, but if NYC/NY/USA can get the former right --- the science part --- that will definitely help with the latter in a big way.

Hopefully electing a new administration will begin to take us in that direction. The industry just needs some life support in the meantime, and why the Broadway League (among others) is not more out in front campaigning harder for government aid is a mystery to me. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 4:04pm

I do worry that those that were working on Broadway will start to look elsewhere for work and decide not to return whenever Broadway reopens. Thinking some long running shows will now opt not to return. Really praying for a summer reopening.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 4:07pm

Charlotte St. Martin eludes to some of this in the interview she did with the Times today.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/theater/broadway-reopening.html

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 4:19pm

Speaking as someone who works in NY Theatre, Charlotte St Martin can shove it.

[unclevictor]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 4:48pm

It’s a shame Mockingbird is closing

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 5:01pm

PrelfordJase said: "Let's be clear to separate the science part of this from the economics part.

There's no reason why Broadway couldn't safely reopen if the infection levels are under control and audiences comply with public health protocols like masking. A vaccine would help with this, but it's not inherently necessary --- weknow this from the examples we see in Europe and Asia where commercial theater is operating sans vaccine. (And given the hurdles facing the successful development and widespread deployment of a vaccine, it is poor business planning for Broadway theater owners, producers, etc. to put all their eggs in that basket.)

In that sense, Broadway shouldn't have to wait until "covid is in the rear view mirror," at least from a public health perspective. Yes, that won't happen right away, and it will take a stronger, more coherent government response to the virus than we've seen so far. But it's not impossible, and we in the industry shouldn't settle for less.

Now from an economics perspective, HogansHero is right that Broadway will need a "critical mass of audiences" that are comfortable with returning to theaters before shows can viably resume. Marketing will be a part of that, but if NYC/NY/USA can get the former right --- the science part --- that will definitely help with the latter in a big way.

Hopefully electing a new administration will begin to take us in that direction. The industry just needs some life support in the meantime, and why the Broadway League (among others) is not more out in front campaigning harder for government aid is a mystery to me."

Several of your premises are wrong but we are not wholly in disagreement. 

Control and compliance are big IF's in your point. We have 2/3 of the country labelled persona non grata in New York. It is going to take a LOT of leadership change to fix that and we are 4 months away from even starting that process. I have been saying all along that the issue is not a vaccine per se but effective treatments. We are not that close that that either and it is unclear how long it might take for that critical mass to embrace that. Using Europe as an example is not very nourishing to your point: they are spiking and heading quickly back to heavier regulation. Where are these indoor theatres operating without density controls in Europe? Yes there are examples in Asia but (as I have also been saying here for months) Asia (or parts of it that is) is a horse of a different color, for a ton of reasons. 

I am not seeing that much difference in your expectations and mine; you don't think this is a snap-your-finger type of solution. I don't however think you can separate the science and the economics and I think yu also expect more of the industry than it can deliver: it is a government issue, not an industry one. You can't market to people who will have to quarantine for 2 weeks when they get here. What the industry can and should be doing is fighting for public support. And when I say industry I don't really see the League at the forefront: its membership is, by and large, doing just fine. (And sad to say, but they are not that worried about the people who worked for them.) So when I read your projections, what I see is an industry that is going to start to come back next fall, and hopefully will be back to its new normalcy by the spring of '22. 

I will leave you with the one word I have been preaching here since March or so: patience.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 5:05pm

sparksatmidnight said: "I assume the May 30th (supposing it actually happens on that date) is already taking rehearsals into account, since it's a date set by the Broadway League. So every production would take into consideration and start casting and rehearsals accordingly to be able to open on whatever date the Broadway League says."

I hate to burst your bubble, but this is just another latest postponement.  It is inconceivable to me that Broadway will be opening in May.  If you work backwards, this means that shows would need to be in rehearsals in (?) March and that a vaccine will have to have been widely distributed by then.

Do you see any announcements, other than proclamations from the moron in the WH?  I don’t, and I am old enough to really be upset by these delays...the longer they go on, the larger the % of my remaining theatre going life is lost.

If I had to bet real money on an open date, I would not.  If I had to bet fake money, I’d say a year from now earliest.

...and I won’t even venture a guess as to how long it will be before we have filled houses, other than the occasional  monster hit that enough people will take risks to see, I’d that is even the case.  The economics of Broadway over the next 5 years or so will be scary at best.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 5:54pm

The real damage to the industry will be a loss of the rank and file performers, stage managers, etc. etc. who simply cannot go 15+ months without jobs and living on unemployment that at best will only cover some expenses. If anyone in the industry has been considering bailing out, I would imagine this will give them the push to either leave the area or leave the industry altogether.

The top producers and theater owners and the marquee-name actors are fine and will remain fine and will be back whenever Broadway reopens. They are extremely wealthy and have other income sources- they can wait it out. Everybody else, though? Not so much.

[unclevictor]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 6:27pm

Mockingbird to announce closing.
U heard it here 1st.
Loved that show

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 6:29pm

ACL2006 said: "Every Broadway show that returns would have to go back into rehearsals before re-opening. Similar to when tours go off on hiatus for several months and start back up with new cast members. Hoping a plan is in place for Broadway to gradually reopen next summer."

Sure shows will have to go back into rehearsal.

Maybe shows will have a kind of cut price previews to warm the actors up and get them back up to speed and incentive people to come back to theatre.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 6:45pm

4. Talk about phased reopenings betrays a lack of understanding of the nature of the business. Each show is a tub on its own bottom. Each show can and will make its own decisions once the state decides it is time to allow reopening and in fact anything else would be an antitrust violation. If the environment warrants opening/reopening a show, it will reopen; nothing else is a consideration. Broadway is not like Applebees where corporate can sit in a boardroom and decide which locations should be open and which should remain closed.

5. The effect of the shutdown on people who work in the industry is devastating. The solution, however, is to demand governmental support (and of course that means electing the right government), not to unsafely reopen.

Opening up too quick and too aggressively can be nearly as damaging as the lock down, expecting an audience to flock back on the Tuesday night, the week theatre does reopen for the shows that have made it would be very dangerous. By the end of the month you will have a flurry of closure notices.

It could be possible for Disney to open the Lion King ahead of Aladdin etc? Or common producers bring one show ahead of another? Maybe shows could come Back on a reduced schedule 4 or 6 a week.

No new show is going to open in 2021 and doubtful for 2022.

I used to come over to New York once or twice a year for my fix, wish Broadway was now open as hotel prices you can live like a king in NY now. However coming over from the UK I am never going to get health insurance to cover Covid, especially with an health condition, the only way forward for me is an vaccine or catch the damn thing and build up immunity.

Agree the effect on the people working in the theatre industry and the wider industry is very devastating; Financially, Physically and Mentally. It is going to be a terrible holidays for many people 

 

 

 

[PrelfordJase]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 7:19pm

HogansHero said: "Several of your premises are wrong but we are not wholly in disagreement.

Control and compliance are big IF's in your point. We have 2/3 of the country labelled persona non gratain New York. It is going to take a LOT of leadership change to fix that and we are 4 months away from even starting that process. I have been saying all along that the issue is not a vaccine per se but effective treatments. We are not that close that that either and it is unclear how long it might take for that critical mass to embrace that. Using Europe as an example is not very nourishing to your point: they are spiking and heading quickly back to heavier regulation. Where are these indoor theatres operating without density controls in Europe? Yes there are examples in Asia but (as I have also been saying here for months) Asia (or parts of it that is) is a horse of a different color,for a ton of reasons.

I am not seeing that much difference in your expectations and mine; you don't think this is a snap-your-finger type of solution. I don't however think you can separate the science and the economics and I think yu also expect more of the industry than it can deliver: it is a government issue, not an industry one. You can't market to people who will have to quarantine for 2 weeks when they get here. What the industry can and should be doing is fighting for public support. And when I say industry I don't really see the League at the forefront: its membership is, by and large, doing just fine. (And sad to say, but they are not that worried about the people who worked for them.) So when I read your projections, what I see is an industry that is going to start to come back next fall, and hopefully will be back to its new normalcy by the spring of '22.

I will leave you with the one word I have been preaching here since March or so: patience."

Nah, my premises are fine --- you've just misread or misconstrued them.

Of course control and compliance are big ifs. My point was that vaccine-less theater should be and indeed is possible, not that we're almost or already there. To the extent you may disagree about the possibility of it, I think you're really talking about the practicality of it. While you might argue that's not a useful distinction, I draw it because if we lose sight of the former, we won't be able to work on addressing the latter. 

As for who the "we" is, I do see this as a public policy matter. I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that I am expecting too much of the industry, unless you think I'm wrong that the industry should be prepared to think outside the vaccine box and advocate for itself to policymakers. And I mentioned the League because it's the one that's been making these announcements about closures. That's given it --- and Charlotte St. Martin, who is constantly quoted in news articles --- a particularly prominent public profile that it has failed to use effectively during this crisis to speak up for the industry, which will eventually come back to bite the League's membership. 

Please note also that Europe is more than just Spain and France. Germany, for example, had some theaters start to reopen at limited capacity in June, at which point its infection rate continued to dwindle or stay flat for a number of weeks. While its infection rate is now rising, it’s also rising here in New York, where we don’t have theaters open, which suggests these increases aren’t being driven by resumption of live indoor performances.  

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 7:54pm

ClydeBarrow said: "Just got this official email from The Music Man...

"We will now begin performances at theWinter Garden TheatreonMonday, December 20th, 2021, and open onThursday, February 10th, 2022.

We wanted to reassure you that your tickets will, of course, remain valid for the new performance schedule. You will be contacted within the next ten business days with a confirmation of your new booking — plus information regarding next steps should you be unable to attend on your new date.""

If it keeps on getting delayed by the time it actually opens Sutton Foster is going to wind up playing Mrs. Paroo instead of Marian. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 9:19pm

PrelfordJase said: "You don’t work in the industry, do you? That’s the only reason I can imagine you’d be so dismissive of the livelihoods of thousands as “the epitome of non-essential.”

Yes. I do work in the industry. 

"The fact is, the danger is much lower now than it was in the spring and may even be lower still by next spring. But sure, stay at home forever."

No. The danger isn't much lower.  Just ask the hot spot communities in Queens and Brooklyn.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 9:23pm

Kad said: "The real damage to the industry will be a loss of the rank and file performers, stage managers, etc. etc. who simply cannot go 15+ months without jobs and living on unemployment that at best will only cover some expenses. If anyone in the industry has been considering bailing out, I would imagine this will give them the push to either leave the area or leave the industry altogether."

I think the loss of actors will be easier to reverse than many of the others, starting with stage managers (and house managers and the general managers and the folks who work for them, front of house, stage hands, press offices, casting offices, vendors, etc etc etc). Actors (not all but enough) will make their way back. But it is going to be brutal for an awful lot of people, in the theatre and out. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 10:00pm

PrelfordJase said: "Nah, my premises are fine --- you've just misread or misconstrued them."

I would say it is you who is either misreading or not reading. For one thing, I was very clear that I do not think it necessarily needs to be a vaccine; that's just the headline-grabber; what I said was an effective treatment, which is what I have been saying for months. You are new here. Of course perhaps you were lurking but having a sense of an ongoing discussion seems like a good idea. In any event, as I suspected you do not have an example of theatre without social distancing in Europe. As has been rehearsed here many times, Broadway with social distancing is a no-go. What you are talking about in Europe is not viable. 

You misapprehend what the League is doing: as I have also said many times, that's accounting plus a smidge of marketing. The League cannot affect the rules on mass assembly; it's not negotiable. Plus it is a fool's errand: audiences are not coming back on the terms you are advocating and audiences are Broadway's oxygen. 

Finally, you are fundamentally misapprehending the numbers in New York. They are flat and even falling once you subtract the hotspot zipcodes that are (in case you are not keeping up) being dealt with ferociously. The positivity rate excluding those zip codes is .9. Germany is unfortunately spiking badly.

I get that you want to push reopening. This virus does not negotiate. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 10:15pm

I think that if June 2021 is the target that we will see a slow re-opening of Broadway. Not every show reopens at the same time. Perhaps the smaller shows start it off: Six, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen. Then a few weeks later Hadestown, Chicago & Company. And so on...

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 10:30pm

Jarethan said: "I hate to burst your bubble, but this is just another latest postponement. It is inconceivable to me that Broadway will be opening in May. If you work backwards, this means that shows would need to be in rehearsals in (?) March and that a vaccine willhave to have been widely distributed by then.

Do you see any announcements,other than proclamations from the moron in the WH? I don’t, and I am old enough to really be upset by these delays...the longer they go on, the larger the % of my remaining theatre going life is lost.

If I had to bet real money on an open date, I would not. If I had to bet fake money, I’d say a year from now earliest.

...and I won’t even venture a guess as to how long it will be before we have filled houses, other than the occasional monster hit that enough people will take risks to see, I’d that is even the case. The economics of Broadway over the next 5years or so will be scary at best."

I made the point to write twice that the May 30th will probably not happen (at the start and at the end) and that was not at all the point I was trying to make. Perhaps you should read the context of what is being said instead of replying to random posts like they were written in a vacuum. So, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but you're not bursting any bubbles.

Updated On: 10/9/20 at 10:30 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/9/20 at 11:09pm

ACL2006 said: "I think that if June 2021 is the target that we will see a slow re-opening of Broadway. Not every showreopens at the same time. Perhaps the smaller shows start it off: Six, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen. Then a few weeks later Hadestown, Chicago & Company. And so on..."

Or, reopening could be based off seating capacities of each theatre... the Hayes and CITS open first, etc. etc. We shall see...

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 10/10/20 at 1:27pm

As someone in the industry it’s been rough! Seeing friends - including myself - leaving the city because we simply can’t afford to live there anymore. I went from making around $1300/wk to $400.

And not just the actors: think stage managers, front of house, box office, Ticketmaster employees, etc. It’s really a travesty.