Broadway to Close? — Page 10

BenElliott said: "I'm not sure that cancelling Broadway will make all that much of a difference. You're more likely to catch it from the subway or the bus on the way to work. The only thing that closing Broadway would do is put a lot of artists out of a job.

All stage doors need to stop ASAP though. They have to keep the actors safe."

Seriously? Read what you wrote one more time.

Yes, let's keep the theaters open because the subways are more dangerous.

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I’ve got to get some sleep before an early rising and longish work day, but I’m reminded of one of my favorite poems:

Shoulders

A man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.

No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world's most sensitive cargo
but he's not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.

His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy's dream
deep inside him.

We're not going to be able
to live in this world
if we're not willing to do what he's doing
with one another.

The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.

- Naomi Shihab Nye

Miles: they’ve completely closed my grandmother’s home to visitors. Said it’s too risky, because of the asymptomatic period. And they’re not wrong. Especially considering a number of people on this thread think her son should just keep going to work to put on their shows, despite the risk of these crowded buildings, despite the risk of transit, just so they can keep consuming them.

Not being able to visit our family members is awful. When Broadway closes, I’ll have three family members out of work for the duration. Two of whom are the sole earners for their households. I STILL think it’s the right choice. We have to think big picture here.

Scarlet Leigh said: "iwuldwf said: "Scarlet Leigh said: "NOT TO MENTION that this would cause a TOTAL distribution to the season for awards."

Some of these posts... what's not clicking? We're seeing this thing lead tocomplete countrywide shut downselsewhere and folks on here are talking about avoiding preventative measures because ofdisruptions to awards season. I know it's a theater message board, but yikes."

This was more a question of curiosity as there is zero precedent for something of this scale to happen for what is the biggest marketing night of the year. Beyond a few weeks disruption of work, not getting the promotion on the biggest night of the season could kill any show that is able to survive temporarily suspending performances. A lot of shows that open this late in the season do so banking on nominations award season offers them. A show like Flying Over Sunset comes to mind at once in this case. So little is known of it but the buzz has been strong. But it's an original property that is not selling super well. A show like this NEEDS nomination hype and a televised performance to sell. This is something that can severely hurt shows beyond a few weeks downtime."

What's your point? The issue is much bigger than an award that could boost sales. You know, safety as a priority; not a Tony.

Some people are so privileged they are clueless as to what is coming their way.

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blaxx said: "BenElliott said: "I'm not sure that cancelling Broadway will make all that much of a difference. You're more likely to catch it from the subway or the bus on the way to work. The only thing that closing Broadway would do is put a lot of artists out of a job.

All stage doors need to stop ASAP though. They have to keep the actors safe."

Seriously? Read what you wrote one more time.

Yes, let's keep the theaters open because the subways are more dangerous."

Yes that's what I wrote. Let people make the decision if they want to go or not. Let's not put hundreds of people out of work.

"Yes that's what I wrote. Let people make the decision if they want to go or not. Let's not put hundreds of people out of work."

I agree. Let people make the decision and not the government. Nobody is forcing you to go to a Broadway show so if you are concerned for your health then don't go. Theaters have been letting people cancel their tickets due to the virus so it is not like people are losing money. I think freedom is a wonderful thing and you should be allowed to make this decision. If the show's producers decide individually to shut their show down due to concern for the actors, that is totally different.

kaykordeath said: "yankeefan7 said: ""I agree. Let people make the decision and not the government. Nobody is forcing you to go to a Broadway show so if you are concerned for your health then don't go. "



Do the ushers and box office staff and concessionaires get to make that decision on their own? The pit orchestra and running crew? If they are concerned for their health, and they stay home, what are you going to find when you show up at the theater?"

I know people that work in box office, ushering, and concessions and I think they'd like to pay their rent this month.

"Do the ushers and box office staff and concessionaires get to make that decision on their own? The pit orchestra and running crew? If they are concerned for their health, and they stay home, what are you going to find when you show up at the theater?"

I said further down in my other post if the show's producers want the show shut down due to concern for actors or anybody else working the show, that is fine. Let them make the call not the government. If the ushers and box office staff all call out because of health concerns, that might change the mind of people who run the show and they will shut it down. My wife is a nurse and she has to go to work whether she has concerns about her health. Heck, she told me this morning the hospital wants to be told if they have any travel plans and where they are going. They will also be subject to being tested and possibly quarantined when they return.

I genuinely sympathize with and understand the anxiety of not having income. But, frankly, a restaurant staying open without customers will not be able to remain open or pay its employees, either.

The laissez faire “let the individual decide” approach is meaningless in the face of a virus that is often asymptomatic, has a lengthy incubation, and which currently is not being adequately tested for. The individual doesn’t know, and, as evidenced by the distressingly plentiful number of posts in this thread, probably doesn’t even care.

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As others have said, it's ridiculous to compare this to essential services like the Subway. Obviously it's not as important to keep the theatres open as it is to keep the Subway open - even if they pose roughly the same amount of threat.

Having said that, I agree that the economic hit that would come of this seems really, really nasty. Many will say it's not as bad as the disease. I think that's debatable, but I don't want to get into it again. Either way though, the economic disaster we're potentially facing is not something to scoff at.

Also, given that this is a Broadway message board, I don't think it's unreasonable to discuss all of the ramifications of this situation on the theatre industry, including awards seasons. Should we prioritize awards over people's health? No. But it's worth discussing how things will play out in this scenario in all its angles, as it relates to the theatre community.

SouthernCakes said: "I work in a restaurant. If I stay at home I have no income.
So yes I need to be out and about. I need money. No one is offering to pay my rent for April. So yeah I need to take the subway. I need to take a bus."

This is when we start filing unemployment claims. Believe me, I get it because I'm in the same boat, but my job has been cancelling events left and right, almost all of us are shiftless for March. I've been on unemployment since early February, and sadly will staying on it longer than anticipated because of this mess.

BenElliott said: "I would imagine that the Tony awards would be pushed to a further date and they would extend the cutoff deadline.

About the subway comparison. I think what people mean is that you're more likely to get the virus while on the subway to the show than you are at the show.

If Broadway does need to close, hopefully all the shows are insured and are able to pay their employees for the time that they'll be shut down.

Whether or not they shut down, this is going to be financially catastrophic."

I think we can agree that it won't be AS drastic if they don't, but if they do....yeah it will be bad. Any newer shows won't survive a prolonged dark period.