It seems like a lifetime ago when I saw my last Broadway Show, which I think was Hadestown at New York's Walter Kerr Theatre. The show is fabulous and I'm looking forward to seeing it again not to mention so many others on my list. That brings me to today's blog post topic, which could also be named Broadway Shows Plan To Reopen in Summer 2021, Maybe?
I believe The League of New York Theatres and Producers have announced 6 or 7 dates when they planned on Broadway's show reopening's since Broadway lights dimmed in March 2020. I think they know better now and I'm pretty sure that the public doesn't really believe any of these announcements, since they've never come true. The last date given the public is May 30, 2021 and a few shows are selling tickets with others simply staying more conservative saying they are choosing reopening dates of September through December 2021. Most shows are adopting a wait and see attitude.
The word on the street is that some of the smaller productions might try to reopen with larger, more difficult to mount shows evaluating how their smaller colleagues are making out first. Again, no one really knows for sure when the first shows can safely reopen right now.
In order to reopen, every show will need to prove they can limit the spread of the Covid 19 infection inside their theaters. And realistically, in my own opinion, I would think that theatre staff as well as ticketholders will need to be vaccinated. Without vaccination, it would be nearly impossible for a safe return. It would be hard to limit infection spread seeing as how theaters have lots of tight spaces with rows and rows of seats that are all attached to one another. Backstage, dressing rooms and orchestra pits are extremely tight and would be a problem for sure. Again, vaccination makes the most sense to me, leaving little or no risk that people would get sick.
Even if everyone wore masks and gloves there would be no way to social distance unless capacity was cut severely, to somewhere between 25-50%. Reducing capacity is not sustainable for Broadway as most shows need to sell around 80% of their seats to make a profit. Again, it looks like we'll need everyone to get the vaccine before shows start again. Thank goodness that the vaccinations have begun and that some medical experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci have said we may get to go to live events somewhere around September 2021, when the entire nation will have been inoculated.
Although I like to write about Broadway Theatre, most of my posts are written about the actual productions. What I like about them, the cast of actors that makeup the show as well as what the shows are about. Most of the time, I write excitedly about the shows as I always try to find the redeeming characteristics a show has. After all, I'm a ticket broker, a reseller of tickets, not a "critic".
Even though it looks like Broadway has a way to go until we get to see "live theatre" again, the vaccinations should give all of us hope that we are well on our way to putting this horrible pandemic behind us. Cheers to that my friends.
As this will be my last blog post of 2020, I'd like to take this time to wish all of my family, friends, hotel & travel industry colleagues and everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year. Please stay safe dear friends. I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely
Rich Gladstone
President
Applause-Tickets.com /Phone 212 307 7050
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