Will broadway or west end open first

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:06am

Interestingly enough. A couple months ago I thought for certain the west end would be back Sooner than broadway with shows. Now since Macintoshs (I know I dont know how much I care to believe coming from him) comments that unless changes are made he couldnt see them reopening until summer 2021.
While broadway will hopefully be back by March April. Im curious which will return first. Consider both areas have looked to handle and reopen differently

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:08am

West End. No real discussion about it.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:29am

The Mousetrap is still set to re-open in less than three months, so atm it's definitely the West End.

 

Updated On: 8/1/20 at 12:29 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:30am

There’s also concerts at the Adelphi still scheduled for next month.

[candydog2]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 10:39am

Socially-distanced indoor performances were supposed to be allowed to go ahead from today, but yesterday the UK government postponed this until mid-August at the earliest, so who knows?

I do believe there will be some indoor shows opening in London by the end of the year, but don't expect a full reopening until early 2021. Even the ones that are currently scheduled (Mousetrap, Prince of Egypt) are subject to change if infections rise again in the Autumn, which experts say is likely. 

I get the feeling that the wheels of reopening are more in motion in London than in New York though.

[JennH]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 11:36am

Whether one agrees or not about whether they should, West End. 

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:21pm

West End will certainly open first.

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:37pm

West End because they have greater theatre leaders with seemingly stronger voices. We haven’t seen similar leadership step up for Broadway being really vocal. Unless I’ve missed something.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 12:56pm

You didn't miss a thing, those cowards have been stunningly silent. The West End has stepped up and protected their workers, I have so much respect for the way they handled it. 

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 2:20pm

I feel as though West End is going to open much more sporadically than Broadway.  So The Mousetrap, for instance, is currently scheduled to reopen this fall, but it's quite likely some of the bigger musicals may not be back until next summer.  Whereas with Broadway, it certainly seems like it's much more likely to be everything reopening at once (meaning the ones that are going to resume performances--not necessarily every theatre being filled with a show right off the bat).  So I would say West End will begin to reopen first, but we may see Broadway reopened before all of the West End shows are, since it will be a much more gradual process of resuming theatre there.

Updated On: 8/1/20 at 02:20 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 3:07pm

Broadway61004 said: "I feel as though West End is going to open much more sporadically than Broadway. So The Mousetrap, for instance, is currently scheduled to reopen this fall, but it's quite likely some of the bigger musicals may not be back until next summer. Whereas with Broadway, it certainly seems like it's much more likely to be everything reopening at once (meaning the ones that are going to resume performances--not necessarily every theatre being filled with a show right off the bat). So I would say West End will begin to reopen first, but we may see Broadway reopened before all of the West End shows are, since it will be a much more gradual process of resuming theatre there."

Broadway will also likely have a sporadic reopening spread across several dates in 2021. It was reported by The New York Times once the shutdown extended past New Year's Day.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/1/20 at 4:03pm

As always, no one knows, and likely won't until it actually happens. West End could end up being the biggest debacle in history and when and how Broadway reopens depends on when it becomes safe to open, not anything theatre "leaders" do or don't do. What the "leaders" of UK theatre are doing is silly and window dressing (as it relates to reopening, not helping people in the business). All of that said, the situations are not parallel. The UK does not have governments and people with a death wish. (It's well to remember that we were on the verge of opening restaurants with limited indoor seating when the floodgates opened down elsewhere.) The desire to move on is understandable, but what I have said remains what we need right now: patience.