Hurricane Sandy: From Roundabout's Todd Haimes

To Our Roundabout Community,

The past few days have not been easy for anyone in the tri-state area. Hurricane Sandy caused damage to an extent that I have never before witnessed in New York City and the metropolitan area and put to the test our resolve that "the show must go on." It's a terrible situation, and my sympathy goes out to everyone affected.

Yesterday, as I made my way from the administrative offices on 39^thStreet up to Studio 54, the American Airlines Theatre, and the Steinberg Center, I was struck by how lucky Roundabout is to be operating in a part of the city that came out of the storm relatively unscathed. I know how difficult it must be for so many theatres downtown still without power, and the hundreds of thousands of area residents and businesses still reeling from the effects of the storm.

I can't begin to describe how proud I am that Roundabout's productions were up and running again yesterday, and that we were able to make a small contribution to New York's recovery. While our theatres themselves were functional, there would be no shows without the hundreds of artists and staff members who made their way to those sites. People spent hours on buses, walked across bridges, slept on each other's floors-all to get to midtown and put on a show for an audience that had made their own supreme efforts to be there. Nothing was more heartening than the line of New Yorkers at the Studio 54 box office, enthusiastically waiting for tickets to The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Cyrano de Bergerac. It spoke volumes about the power and necessity of the arts even in the worst circumstances.

What I want to say today is thank you. Thank you to the dedicated staff members who found a way to get to our office and keep this company running. Thank you to the performers, crew members, and house staff who left their homes hours early to make sure that they were at the theatres on time. And thank you to our audience and supporters, who recognized that getting to the theatre was a solid step forward in this city's arduous return to normalcy.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cyrano de Bergerac, If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, and Bad Jews are all up and running. All of us at Roundabout wish you good health and safety and hope that we can welcome you to our theatres soon.

Todd Haimes
Artistic Director