Broadway Open in January??- Page 2

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 4:11pm

Broadway61004 said: "Phantom of London said: "What we can agree on is that Broadway won’t open in January in the dead of winter, if anything it would be the November before or March/April after, but not January.

We can also agree on that when Broadway does open it will be very gradual, only maybe a handful of shows open to test the market and watch the grosses to see if it is worth opening a few more shows. You won’t have 25shows open at once."

I actually don't agree with that at all. January seems like the perfect time, given that tourist crowds are the smallest then, but enough locals will be thrilled enough to come back to the theatre that it would still make it profitable. Rather than overwhelm the system with huge tourist crowds and all the Broadway-deprived locals at the same time."

I agree. It would kind of be like a test period and a good time to do it.

 

[kaykordeath]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 4:14pm

Phantom of London said: "What we can agree on is that Broadway won’t open in January in the dead of winter, if anything it would be the November before or March/April after, but not January."
 

I don't agree. I think as soon as it is safe and financially feasible, shows will reopen.


"We can also agree on that when Broadway does open it will be very gradual, only maybe a handful of shows open to test the market and watch the grosses to see if it is worth opening a few more shows. You won’t have 25shows open at once."

This I agree with. Each show/production will have different needs and different plans.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 4:32pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I hope we get a BC/EFA benefit for the reopening with the biggest broadway stars imaginable all onstage “welcoming” Broadway back."

Live-stream it, of course, for increased accessibility. Some people will still be hesitant to go to large-scale events, and for others, it won't even be affordable. 

In addition to over-the-top names in attendance, I see representatives from each of the shows reopening/planning to reopen in the spotlight. I would expect a series of show-stopping performances and inspirational speeches for about 2-3 hours tops. Just imagine Lin-Manuel Miranda's words about the perseverance of this art form going viral almost instantly. Who knows? Maybe an event like this will be the birth of a theatre quote as recognizable as "break a leg" or "the show must go on."

 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 4:34pm

stoptheworld38 said: "I’ve made several comments regarding this over the past several weeks and truth be told I am getting really sick of saying it (that is not directed at any specific person by the way) so I’m not gonna repeat myself in detail but the truth is NO ONE KNOWS. Will Broadway reopen in the fall? Probably not. But is that out of the question? No. Unlikely, probably yes. Not impossible. January reopening? Probably significantly more likely than September. Definite? Also no. What kinds of safety precautions will need to be taken? We also don’t know that. It doesn’t matter if you’re a theatre professional or a healthcare worker or just a random person on the street, at this point no one knows what’s gonna happen in September, or January, or any other time until we’re a lot closer to said time. It’s not even June yet. We have the whole summer ahead of us before the date the shutdown is currently extended through. If people are serious about distancing and staying in and taking precautions, the sooner theatres can reopen - maybe even as soon as the fall. Yes, it’s harder as the weather gets warmer and stuff but the more we do it now, the sooner we get theatre back. Making assumptions now just doesn’t make sense.

To sum it up, I fully support people saying that September is the EARLIEST POSSIBLE reopening, and that the shutdown will most likely once again be extended. And to say that a January reopening is more realistic. To say that people should be prepared for the shutdown to last past the fall, and be prepared for safety precautions once theatres do reopen. But it’s not realistic now to make anything sound definite when it’s not. To say things now like “Broadway will definitely not reopen in September” or “Broadway will remain closed til 2021”, etc. The only definite thing we know now is that Broadway isn’t reopening before September at the soonest. Past that no one knows."

THANK YOU! The truth is no one really does know. This a fluid and ever changing situation, and I have actually had to take a break from the boards a while early on just because I could not stand all of the unfounded speculation being thrown around as hard and set facts.

[BizBuzz]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 5:21pm

This isn’t delusional.

It may not happen but it’s not delusional. A target date has to be in place for the industry to work towards and start making plans to move a few pieces. Will it be the full bells and whistles return, probably not. Could it be, yes. 
 

 

 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 5:54pm

BizBuzz said: "This isn’t delusional.

It may not happen but it’s not delusional. A target date has to be in place for the industry to work towards and start making plans to move a few pieces. Will it be the full bells and whistles return, probably not. Could it be, yes."

Sorry, but it IS delusional. There is no scenario in which it would be viable, and more to the point, no producer in their right mind would pull the trigger on Labor Day for a January start date. If you took a vote of League members tomorrow morning, I would expect zero of them to concur with Ms. St. Martin. Perhaps March, on a very limited basis such as I have described (the Plaza Suite scenario) but even that is a stretch. Definitely no show that needs tourists.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 6:41pm

uncageg said: "Broadway61004 said: "Phantom of London said: "What we can agree on is that Broadway won’t open in January in the dead of winter, if anything it would be the November before or March/April after, but not January.

We can also agree on that when Broadway does open it will be very gradual, only maybe a handful of shows open to test the market and watch the grosses to see if it is worth opening a few more shows. You won’t have 25shows open at once."

I actually don't agree with that at all. January seems like the perfect time, given that tourist crowds are the smallest then, but enough locals will be thrilled enough to come back to the theatre that it would still make it profitable. Rather than overwhelm the system with huge tourist crowds and all the Broadway-deprived locals at the same time."

I agree. It would kind of be like a test period and a good time to do it.

"

It's usually bitter cold in January and cold and flu season is around that time, which seems to be a gateway for the virus to be more active, is it not? 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 6:47pm

The Labor Day date is not intended as a reopening date. It’s not even a tentative one. It’s not a date to “work toward.” It is for the purposes of facilitating refunds. It was explicitly referred to as such by the Broadway League.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 6:56pm

darreyl102 said: "uncageg said: "Broadway61004 said: "Phantom of London said: "What we can agree on is that Broadway won’t open in January in the dead of winter, if anything it would be the November before or March/April after, but not January.

We can also agree on that when Broadway does open it will be very gradual, only maybe a handful of shows open to test the market and watch the grosses to see if it is worth opening a few more shows. You won’t have 25shows open at once."

I actually don't agree with that at all. January seems like the perfect time, given that tourist crowds are the smallest then, but enough locals will be thrilled enough to come back to the theatre that it would still make it profitable. Rather than overwhelm the system with huge tourist crowds and all the Broadway-deprived locals at the same time."

I agree. It would kind of be like a test period and a good time to do it.

"

It's usually bitter cold in January and cold and flu season is around that time, which seems to be a gateway for the virus to be more active, is it not?"

 

Possibly, but it is now May, in the 60's and 70's and people are still getting sick. I think this was suggested as it is one of the slower times of the year.

 

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 7:46pm

darreyl102 said: "uncageg said: "Broadway61004 said: "Phantom of London said: "What we can agree on is that Broadway won’t open in January in the dead of winter, if anything it would be the November before or March/April after, but not January.

We can also agree on that when Broadway does open it will be very gradual, only maybe a handful of shows open to test the market and watch the grosses to see if it is worth opening a few more shows. You won’t have 25shows open at once."

I actually don't agree with that at all. January seems like the perfect time, given that tourist crowds are the smallest then, but enough locals will be thrilled enough to come back to the theatre that it would still make it profitable. Rather than overwhelm the system with huge tourist crowds and all the Broadway-deprived locals at the same time."

I agree. It would kind of be like a test period and a good time to do it.

"

It's usually bitter cold in January and cold and flu season is around that time, which seems to be a gateway for the virus to be more active, is it not?"

It certainly is and the Broadway League will certainly need to watch closely how that cold is affecting health in the tri-state area (especially if a second strain of this does in fact come around this winter). But my point was that January is always a relatively dead time on Broadway attendance wise, so this would give Broadway sort of a test run with smaller crowds before the tourists flood the city next spring and summer (to a lesser extent than usual, I'm sure, but still). And with shows in January, it would most likely be attended by New Yorkers who frankly are doing a much better job of being cautious than random tourist from Missouri (no offense intended, Missouri, but that's just the reality right now).

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 8:12pm

It wouldn’t be financially viable for a show to reopen in January, producers still have to pay bills, they might need to increase their advertising costs, also production costs could go up with heat checks/mask checks, handing out free masks. Not everyone from the Tri-state will feel comfortable attending, knowing there is a risk they might get sick.

You can bet your bottom dollar the Broadway League has run through every scenario and crunched the necessary data for a route back to market. Maybe the big shows would be content if they just broke even to get up and running.

 

Seeing CNN it won’t be long before there is another deadly wave.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 8:13pm

Broadway61004 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "And don’t forget pretty much 100% of these shows will need to be recast in some form or another. I can’t imagine every single person who was in a show on 3/12/20 will be available or even wanting to do it again almost a year later. Not to mention new people backstage including lighting/sound etc who will have to learn a brand new show."

A lot of that stuff can be done beforehand, though. Let's just say for the sake of argument that by January we can in fact have large enough gatherings that theatres can reopen at full capacity. That almost assuredly means that smaller gatherings would have been acceptable by October or so at the latest. Which means auditions can resume, rehearsals with 10-15 people can resume, scene shops can reopen with social distancing in place, cleaning crews can come into the theatres, etc. My point being that whenever the "we're approved to have large theatre crowd gatherings again" switch is flipped, that doesn't mean that's the first moment theatre folks go back to work or shows start to be worked on again. That's the last step, so whenever that happens, be it January or March or next June or whatever, shows will be able to start up pretty quickly then."

Until I read your last sentence, I was going to ask who you voted for in the next election and how many doses of hydrochloroquine (sic) you are taking daily.  

Getting past the snarkiness on my part, I feel that if Broadway, or any even modestly large theatres (I include @nd Stage in that equation), make any attempt to open before vaccinations are easily available, they will just be throwing good money after bad, to use a cliche, unless the thing just does away, which seems entirely unlikely, based on my readings.  

Being conservative by nature (but not politically), I am betting that Broadway will not be open any earlier than summer 2021.  That optimistically assumes that vaccines are readily available by March (Fauci's original most optimistic view), that people on Broadway who need to begin hiring and rehearsals can get vaccinated early, and that it will require a minimum of a couple of months to prepare for audiences.

If, in fact, knowledgeable people who opine that the vaccine may be ready for inclusion in this year's flu shots (placing a lot of bets on the Oxford process proving successful or the pharmaceutical firm that seems to be ahead -- can't remember which one), then I guess Spring would be a possibility, but that seems overoptimistic to me.

If the WHO person who keeps saying there may never be a vaccine (and the way to fight it will be to treat it) is correct, I shudder t think of the impact on theatre, which -- as much as we all love it -- is ultimately discretionary.  Only time will tell, but winter 2021 seems delusional to me.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 8:40pm

A vaccine?  I think I'm correct in stating that "they" have been trying to develop a vaccine for HIV/AIDS since the 1980's.  And since the 1950's for the common cold.  There was no vaccine for the Global Pandemic that killed both my grandfather and my uncle in January 1919.  Because of ongoing health issues and my age (73), I am a prime target for this virus.  Vaccine or not, it will be a long time before I put my life at risk to travel cross-country to see a Broadway show......if at all.

 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 8:58pm

Highland Guy said: "A vaccine? I think I'm correct in stating that "they" have been trying to develop a vaccine for HIV/AIDS since the 1980's. And since the 1950's for the common cold. There was no vaccine for the Global Pandemic that killed both my grandfather and my uncle in January 1919. Because of ongoing health issues and my age (73), I am a prime target for this virus. Vaccine or not, it will be alongtime before I put my life at risk to travel cross-country to see a Broadway show......if at all.

"

Although speculation on when a vaccine might be available varies as wildly as when Broadway might re-open, my understanding is there's more optimism for a vaccine for COVID-19 than something like HIV/AIDS because of the type of virus it is. And yes they didn't have a vaccine for the Spanish Flu but that was also a hundred years ago so not really a fair comparison. That being said, I'm sure many like you will use a lot of personal discretion when making decisions even after Broadway reopens

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 9:05pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "I'm sure many like you will use a lot of personal discretion when making decisions even after Broadway reopens"

 

I would hope that everyone will use a lot of "personal discretion".

 

[djoko84]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 9:26pm

Anybody who thinks it is a good idea for Broadway to rush to reopen and use January as a "test" period to put people's lives at risk is [fill in the blank here].

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 9:44pm

It might have already been said, but, Sports rule in the 'entertainment' world [my words, no backing] so before ANY Arts events with a sit down audience can again be open [galleries and museums are an exception], let football etc etc pave the way to show how to manage thousands of people under the one roof.

Sports can make all the mistakes so that Broadway and all theatres can look and learn and THEN think about re-opening, and not before.

Sporting events are similar to a theatre--they have crews behind the scene/dressing/locker rooms/food/merchandise/performers and an audience---test those stadiums first.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 10:06pm

Comparing a vaccine for HIV to Covid19 is absurd. One is spread through respiratory droplets and is extremely contagious, and the other is not.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 10:15pm

Sutton Ross said: "Comparing a vaccine for HIV to Covid19 is absurd. One is spread through respiratory dropletsand is extremely contagious, and the other is not."

^^^^^^^^^^

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 10:17pm

January is really not that far away, especially in terms of the virus. I really don’t think we’ll be able to experience any live entertainment then or any time soon. At least not until a vaccine is out.

[briankershawjr]

Posted: 5/25/20 at 11:37pm

Since Hollywood is reportedly trying to do movies or find a way to do movies in this crazy time does anyone thing maybe doing movie musicals more might help feel the void of Broadway, this includes plays...
Before I’m asked source CBS Sunday Morning reported this..

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/26/20 at 12:11am

djoko84 said: "Anybody who thinks it is a good idea for Broadway to rush to reopen and use January as a "test" period to put people's lives at risk is [fill in the blank here]."

Nobody is suggesting they "rush" to open. We are commenting based on what was said in the interview. If you read it then you may understand why some are suggesting January.

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/26/20 at 12:27am

I have hope we’ll get at least an “alternate” football season, similar to what they’re suggesting for baseball.

I’m fine with no audience at the games but come Fall, I need my football. I can’t even imagine a full year with no theater AND no football.

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 5/26/20 at 12:28am

May I call dibs on the February thread?

 

The one thing I'm interested in is how creatives will take the rehearsal phase to be able to update their shows. Changing something "minor" is a pain because you need to rehearsal everyone, maybe re-tech and whatnot, but since they're already doing it... it will be interesting to see.

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/26/20 at 12:39am

Jordan Catalano said: "I have hope we’ll get at least an “alternate” football season, similar to what they’re suggesting for baseball.

I’m fine with no audience at the games but come Fall, I need my football. I can’t even imagine a full year with no theater AND no football."

Sportswise, for me, it is Tennis and golf! At least golf will be back next month and "The Match" yesterday was a nice teaser.