Snow? the show must go on...

#1

Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:26pm

hey guys
i was wondering...I'm scheduled to see WSS tomorrow night (Monday)
what are the odds they will cancel due to the weather?..I know the show must go on, but does anyone have any memories when a performance was canceled?
they are calling for about a foot in the city,,,,

#2

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:28pm

No, it won't be cancelled.

I was just in the city and it's already turning into rain.

#3

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:28pm

Drunk - that snow that turned into "rain" is the first cluster.

It will start back up again after Midnight with very heavy snow.

So no, that's incorrect.

#4

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:31pm

I'm here along Queens/Long island border and it does not seem that bad out..even though all schools are closing on LI lol
the trip into Manhattan will be a BITCH, I wouldn't mind a cancellation but that's for totally selfish reasons...

#5

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:32pm

When was the last time a show was cancelled due to weather?

When I went to see Spamalot, it was POURING rain, and I mean POURING. They ended up starting about 45 minutes late because people were crowding up the lobby buying tshirts to change into from their soaked clothes. Not to mention everybody was late...
(I remember the cheers when the announcer came on and announced the delay of curtain time)

#6

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:40pm

Can someone please explain that to my family? My relatives always think bad weather will cause a show to cancel. My mom's friend had tickets to Jersey Boys on a day where it was supposed to snow and she was worried about the show being cancelled.

Another time, I took my mom to see Gypsy on her birthday which happened to be the same day of Hurricane Hannah (which actually wasn't that bad near us anyway), but my mom was so worried about the show getting cancelled. She even called up MetroNorth to see if the trains were still running, LOL.

Sorry... /end rant.

#7

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:42pm

Unless the city declares a state of emergency where only emergency vehicles can be on the roads, etc, Broadway will not shut down in case of inclement weather. At most you will get a delay in curtain time.

#8

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:46pm

Thats the best time to go! No one is in the theatre!

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I'll have them clawing at eachother, like drag queens at a wig sale"

#9

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:48pm

If anyone can get into the city tomorrow, it would be a very easy day to win lotto.

---

I'm a professional. Whenever something goes wrong on stage, I know how to handle it so no one ever remembers. I flash my %#$&. "Jayne just sat there while Gina flailed around the stage like an idiot."

#10

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:50pm

on a side note....."9/11" happened on a Tuesday.....were all shows canceled that evening? did any stay open? was there any controversy about this...?

#11

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:53pm

Umm... 9/11 ???

Broadway closed for like two weeks.

#12

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/1/09 at 10:54pm

No, there were no performances that evening. The city was declared in a state of emergency, but Guiliani did urge Broadway, and everything else, to be up and running again as soon as possible to let the world know that New York was not down and out and that the spirit of the city could withstand such a devastating blow.

#13

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 12:31am

TheCharleston -- Broadway was back and running on Thursday September 13, 2001... 2 days after the events of 9/11.

I attended that evening's performance of THE PRODUCERS and at the curtain call the entire audience stood and sang "God Bless America".

Broadway shows did NOT close for 2 weeks. Giuliani demanded that everything in NYC go back to normal as quickly as possible.



September 15, 2001

Lights on, Broadway Dispels the Dark
By JESSE McKINLEY

Come in the audience waved American flags. Some cried during comedies. Some just stayed away.

But for all of that, and a day's worth of bomb scares in Times Square, Broadway was fully alight again on Thursday night after two days of darkness after Tuesday's attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Jed Bernstein, the president of the League of American Theaters and Producers, Broadway's main trade group, said yesterday that 60 to 70 percent of those with tickets for performances went to the show last night, a figure he said would probably grow in coming days.

"Our instinct is that that's going to increase to a normal level as transportation into the city improves," Mr. Bernstein said.

He also ackowledged that the real challenge was going to be selling tickets for future shows. "The question is when are people who don't own tickets going to start buying them," he said. "And no one knows."

That said, many who saw shows said that while the songs were the same, the mood of audience members and casts was decidedly different.

Most of the 23 shows on Broadway found artful ways to address uneasiness in the audience and backstage. Before the show at the Neil Simon Theater, home to "The Music Man," the musical's male lead, Robert Sean Leonard, thanked the audience for coming and after the curtain led the cast in "God Bless America."

On the set of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Proof," at the Walter Kerr Theater, the stagehands sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee." And at the Henry Miller Theater, where "Urinetown" was to have opened on Thursday but was delayed a week, the cast and audience shared a giant cake intended for the opening night party.

Casts and crews have also been making private gestures in tribute to victims of the attack. At the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, stagehands for "42d Street" are placing a ghost light, a bulb that burns all night while the theater is empty, onstage as they leave.

Beyond Broadway, too, other cultural institutions continued to plan and offer special events. Officials at City Center, on West 55th Street, announced yesterday that they would offer free tickets to firefighters, police officers and emergency medical service workers for the entirety of the fall season, which is to include performances by American Ballet Theater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

The New York Philharmonic, meanwhile, said that it would have a memorial benefit concert on Thursday at Avery Fisher Hall, with the proceeds going to disaster relief. Kurt Masur, the Philarmonic's conductor, will lead a cast that includes the soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and the baritone Thomas Hampson in a rendition of Brahms's "Deutsches" Requiem. Those announcements came just a day after similar benefits and special events were unveiled by the New York City Opera and Metropolitan Opera.

Nor have the tributes been limited to New York. Performances of several major touring companies have been have dedicated to victims of the attack, including those of the national tours of the musicals "Contact" and "Guys and Dolls."

The celebration of Broadway's reopening did come with certain concessions to safety. Most theater owners asked audience members to check all bags at the door, and police officers stood guard outside many theaters as well.

Producers and theater owners were also trying to adjust to the new set of challenges related to luring tourists and suburbanites back to a city seemingly under siege. To that end, the theater league is planning a series of meetings with producers, union representatives and nonprofit organizations to address the repercussions from Tuesday's attack.

Still, despite the anxiety and uncertainity as to what the coming weeks hold for Broadway, there were a few reassuring constants. Sardi's, the ancient preshow watering hole on West 44th Street, was open again on Thursday, after being closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. But business was slow, said Max Klimavicius, a managing partner.

"Most of the reservations we had didn't show up," Mr. Klimavicius said. "I still sense a lot of fear."

One thing that was back to normal, he said, was the line for the hit musical "The Producers," which stretched past his door. Indeed, yesterday afternoon at 3 P.M., some 50 customers were already lining up to buy tickets for future performances.

Those who attended the show on Thursday night saw a special performance of "God Bless America" after the show, a scene that brought the entire audience to its feet and many to tears.

Brian Moore, a 44-year-old investor relations specialist, was there with a group of 15 friends who had bought tickets at the beginning of the year. Mr. Moore, who saw the second plane hit the Trade Center, said he never considered missing the show.

"I was determined to go," Mr. Moore said. "I was determined to laugh and determined to make my life as normal as possible. And this was a big element of that."

#14

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 4:18am

Um, was a snow storm just compared to 9/11...Yea... Awkward... I know that they both involve state of emergencies, but really?

#15

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 5:04am

Takes more than a little snow to close B'way.

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If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

#16

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 5:37am

Um, was a snow storm just compared to 9/11...Yea... Awkward... I know that they both involve state of emergencies, but really?

I thought the same thing.

On another note, I would think that the production would want to utilize every preview possible to get things right before opening night.

#17

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 5:42am

Doubtful. It can't be that bad... I mean, yeah every other school in the area is closed, but Klein hasn't closed the city's public schools. (at least as of this writing. I'm not holding out hope...)

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Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!

#18

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 5:45am

I didn't compare compare a snowstorm to 9/11. You know I didn't. So don't say it's "awkward"
I was just thinking of thinking of an event, natural or otherwise that might affect Broadway shows to close or stay open.
Let's not make it controversial, thanks hehe

#19

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 5:57am

Just reading that article made me cry all over again. I ALWAYS cry whenever I see a video or really even hear of 9/11. An extremely sad point in my life and a low point in all of our lives, I'm sure...

#20

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 6:25am

FWIW city schools ARE closed now!

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Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!

#21

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 6:30am

yeah, but the show is at 8 PM. the snow's supposed to stop by 6; I'm pretty sure there won't be a problem.

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When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

#22

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 6:32am

Oh I know. I was just updating in case anyone was getting their school info from here. :)

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Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!

#23

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 7:10am

unfortunately it looks like CUNY doesn't think it needs to close, so sadly my boyfriend won't have the day off.

#24

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 11:49am

I don't find the snow to be bad at all. No shows should be affected today.

#25

re: Snow? the show must go on...

Posted: 3/2/09 at 11:55am

And it is Monday, so there are not too many shows performing as it is anyway.