When Will You Go Back?

BWAY Baby2 said: "BWAY is taking their sweet time cancelling the performances for the next few months- we all know they are going to do this- but when? Seems like they are very slow about making the announcement and I am not sure why. So many other theater and museum announcements have been made- but no BWAY. When do you think that announcement will be made- April 12 is right around the corner."

Tomorrow.

BdwayLife said: "WldKingdomHM said: "Why are you screaming ? Stay safe and healthy take a Broadway break. They will announce it when they can. People are dying and you are worried about Broadway"

This is a theatre-based chat board.My lord. If I read another response like this... You’d think that this were a board dedicated to oceanographers, or a particular athletic sport, or brides to be. People are going to ask about, or relay their experiences and/oremotions around, theatre.

Amen. Everyone knows the coronavirus is more serious than when Broadway is going to re-open but this is a BROADWAY MESSAGE BOARD so it's certainly fair game and not wrong to talk about

To answer the question, I posted this in another thread but I wonder if the delay in making an announcement is trying to come up with a reasonable date for return. I don't think they want to say "indefinitely" especially since they sell tickets months in advance and don't want people to start returning those.

Updated On: 3/26/20 at 04:05 PM

I don't think producers are being entirely transparent. This is likely to last into the summer and they should stop selling tickets and cancel indefinitely. They're not going to be open by April 12th.

100% agree. I understand it's going to be devastating to Broadway to possibly not have summer tourist dollars, but they need to announce very soon so everyone can plan accordingly.

Fosse76 said: "The reality is that Broadway shows were closed only because the governor forced them to close. If they could resume performances tomorrow they would (regardless as to whether or not anything has improved).

Uh, no. If they were allowed to resume performances tomorrow they would still not open. imagine that mess, it would be much worse.

The reason I asked- is I called Ticketmaster to get a refund for health- my partner has a severe kidney condition and I do not want to take the chance to come to NY to see Lehman Trilogy on May 13 at 1PM- so I asked for a refund because of health concerns- and I have the urologists documentation if they need that. They told me NO- that unless the show was cancelled- the tickets cannot be refunded for any reason. Well, I paid $757 for two third row center seats- and am awaiting the announcement so I can get my refund. I am sure there are others in my situation as well.

BWAY Baby2 said: "The reason I asked- is I called Ticketmaster to get a refund for health- my partner has a severe kidney condition and I do not want to take the chance to come to NY to see Lehman Trilogy on May 13 at 1PM- so I asked for a refund because of health concerns- and I have the urologists documentation if they need that. They told me NO- that unless the show was cancelled- the tickets cannot be refunded for any reason. Well, I paid $757 for two third row center seats- and am awaiting the announcement so I can get my refund. I am sure there are others in my situation as well."



We hear ya and that sucks...it's such a BIG ??? in 4 weeks possibly sooner I feel we'll have an idea...That's a lot of $$$

Fosse76 said: "The reality is that Broadway shows were closed only because the governor forced them to close. If they could resume performances tomorrow they would (regardless as to whether or not anything has improved). There is no doubt in my mind that the League is (delusionally) hopeful they can resume on April 12th even though reality sings a different song."

I doubt the Equity would agree to have the performers go on.

Most likely, there are discussions going on in the background with the League, Equity, other unions, producers, the state/city, etc on a number of issues that as many people as possible need to be on the same page for. Things like income for actors/stagehands/musicians/etc, how to divide up stimulus money, the projected future of the virus etc. all need to be taken into consideration. Productions in previews at the time of the shutdown need to set a new opening night (which requires coordination to try not to have two open the same night)- or if to open at all. Other productions need to figure out how quickly (and in some cases, if) they can open again.

Not to get political but Trump's desire to have the country reopened by 4/12 may be a factor. Once some states/cities open, the virus will hav a chance to start spreading again, making "stay at home" orders in other places less effective, and therefore less defendable Also, while Trump may not be able to force states/cities to lift shutdown orders, he CAN make it difficult for them to remain in place. For example, he could limit funding supplied by the executive branch (FEMA, etc) after April 12 (or whenever). At a certain point, there wouldn't be much of a choice for NY to lift the shutdown. Its conceivable everyone's waiting to see what the feds decide to do.

All that said, we are coming up on two weeks until the planned re-open date. Things are going to have happening soon if re-opening is going to happen (cleaning the theaters, perhaps some run-throughs, etc). People holding tickets for soon after the planned reopening need to be able to make plans. I'm supposed to have a Broadway weekend May 1-3. I know it's unlikely my plans will go forward, but would rather not be running around at the last minute to cancel the train tickets and hotel (and don't want to cancel only to learn the shows are going on). People with tickets for the week after Easter have a tighter time frame. Decisions need to be made, but we should remember there are a number of groups involved, and its preferable (a) to have a consensus and (b) come up with a date which is realistic, but does not push the date farther back then necessary.

I don’t see how Broadway can open before June 15 at the absolute earliest and best-case scenario.

My guess is July 4 weekend.