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To Open, or Not to Open, That is the Question

Since the closing of Broadway abruptly on the 12th of March 2020, the theatre world has found itself in shambles. The Broadway industry in New York alone contributes around 14.7 billion dollars to the  New York economy a year according to statistics from the 2018-2019 season.  Broadway tours contribute even more, and can make larger margins than the shows in New York City. With those shows closed as well, there is no current substantial income for the shows. Without this income paying actors and staff is difficult. Most shows complied with the Broadway League negotiations from the first week of the shutdown and paid staff in full for the first few weeks, later only being able to pay contract minimums, cutting many actors salaries and eventually having to roll back on benefits, including taking away pensions and 401ks leaving them with only health insurance.

 What makes reopening Broadway  difficult is that Broadway cannot be half occupied.  The leading expert says, for shows to make  money the audience has to be full, social distancing is not possible. The actors themselves would never be able to social distance, so rapid testing before each show would have to be done to allow reopening. In order to open the audience would have to wear masks and have their temperatures taken as they enter.  Theaters would have to be frequently cleaned to ensure safety for a full audience. In addition, without tours shows might still not break even, meaning that for Broadway to be open again without going bankrupt the show has to open and remain open. If Broadway closes back down again after it opens the shows will lose much more money than they earn. In England, theaters are slated to reopen on August 1st, but at a 30 to 40 percent capacity, which would not be possible economically for any of the shows according to the head of the Theatres Trust in Britain. Having Broadway not reopen till 2021 sounds scary, but it is what has to happen to ensure that  shows do not go bankrupt and Broadway is not  forced into a  permanent shutdown due to monetary reasons. Broadway has never shut down for this long, and it is near impossible to measure the losses that will occur from this year, but here’s to hoping the 14.7 billion dollar a year industry will be booming again soon. 

 

Citation-

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/theater/coronavirus-broadway-unions.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2019/02/03/musicals-make-more-money-on-the-road-than-on-broadway/#5abbf0e38a11

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/theater/when-broadway-reopening-coronavirus.html

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/12/815061982/broadway-shutters-its-stages-amid-coronavirus-threat

https://deadline.com/2020/04/reopening-broadway-charlotte-st-martin-broadway-league-candid-conversation-1202910054/

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53442172

Posted by Sarah Pollock

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12 Comments

  1. This is such a difficult situation, and a debate that truly has no winners. As you said, when reopening eventually happens, it will be incredibly complicated. Theaters (especially Broadway houses) are in no way built for social distancing for actors or patrons. Even the idea of frequent rapid testing raises questions- what do you do if someone tests positive? Shut down the show for a night and sanitize? Shut down for two weeks so everyone involved can quarantine? The logistics of such a policy would take a lot of time to work out, on the parts of the theaters as well as AEA.

    Setting aside the complications associated with reopening or another shutdown thereafter, even with the support of the theatre community there is a sincere likelihood that many shows (even long-running productions like Chicago or Aladdin) will not survive nearly a year without revenue. This will not only affects actors, but also the dozens or even hundreds of people that work behind the scenes on every Broadway or West End show. If such a situation actually comes to fruition, the industry and community will likely need years to truly bounce back.

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  3. Although it is impossible to unequivocally determine that there is no winner, any debate is an opportunity to find a compromise in solving the issue.

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