Broadway is Closing Due to the Coronavirus

The show must go on. This has been the motto of Broadway since the day the first show opened. But now, the bright lights of the marquee’s are going dark as all Broadway shows have been closed until further notice. Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently decided that all gatherings of 500 people or greater have been banned in New York State in an attempt to flatten out the curve of the Coronavirus. But what does this mean for the thousands of actors, musicians, stagehands, ushers, and other people who will be out of work for at least a month? How will this affect the future of these shows? 

Important note: I'm not in any way saying that this wasn’t the right choice for Cuomo to make. We absolutely need to prioritize actors, theater employee’s, and theater-goers' health.

There are so many ways that this will immediately affect theater employees. First of all, it has been estimated that Broadway will lose over $100 million from ticket sales. With this much money lost, there is no way Broadway will be able to pay all its employees while shows are suspended. The Actors Equity Association, a labor union that represents actors, is calling on congress and other local governments to “ensure that everyone who works in the arts and entertainment sector has access to paid leave, health care and unemployment benefits.”

As said in an article by Rolling Stones, many restaurants near Broadway theaters may struggle as well. These restaurants rely on the thousands of audience members that come every night to grab a bite before the show. Without the daily crowds from Broadway as well as the fewer number of tourists, these restaurants are going to have a very hard time in the next few weeks. 

The closure of Broadway on such a short notice means that some shows will be missing their opening and closing dates.

Six The Musical was supposed to open on March twelfth, it was just hours before the curtain was supposed to rise that the show was canceled. Over the month-long period Broadway is suspected to be closed over a dozen shows were supposed to open or begin previews.

Musicals like Six that already have a strong following in the US will have no problem opening late but some shows that are less known in the US like The Minutes may not be able to open at all. The article “Broadway Theater Shutdown: Ripple Effects Felt Across the World” by Cady Drell, explains that shows without a large fan base in the US rely a lot on tourists to fill their seats every night but, for months even after we are able to take control over the Coronavirus world travel is likely to not be very common. 

With the Tony Awards in early June, and the nomination deadline being in late April, musicals with delayed openings are hoping that they’ll be able to make the cut. If these shows are even able to open before the Tony deadline, will they have enough time to make a big impression?

Personally, as a fan of Six The Musical I had hoped to see them at least nominated for some Tony’s if not winning, but now we have to hope that all these musicals will even get a chance.

Right now is a hard time for everyone. All we can do is hope that these measures will help to contain the Coronavirus and that life as we know it will be able to resume soon.