Arizona Broadway Theatre Goes Red as Part of National Call-to-Action to Save the Live Event Industry

On Tuesday, September 1, 2020, Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT) will join over 1,500 Live Event organizations across the United States by lighting its building red to bring attention to the deep financial plight of the LIVE EVENT industry, which includes theatrical venues like ABT.

Beginning at 9pm on September 1, buildings, structures, and residences will be lit in red until 12-midnight (local time in each market) as the event rolls across North America. The goal is to raise public awareness that the Live Events industry is on RED ALERT for its very survival, and create congressional pressure to act now.

#WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART and #ExtendPUA represent a major call to action, imploring the U.S. Congress to pass the RESTART Act (S.3814) as quickly as possible, offering economic relief to the Live Events industry, which has been shuttered since March, 2020. Additionally, the movement is to support ExtendPUA.org in their efforts towards continuation and extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Act to provide relief to those without work due to COVID-19.

#BeAnArtsHero, a grassroots coalition of arts and cultural workers, reports:

"The Arts & Culture sector employs 5.1 million people and provides $877 billion value added to the U.S. economy. It adds more value to the economy than transportation, agriculture, or tourism. The Arts & Cultural sector is a cornerstone of the larger U.S. economy, making up 4.5% of GDP. Despite their out-sized cultural and economic contribution, the Arts & Cultural sector of the U.S. economy is in grave danger.

Due to Covid-19, 62% of Arts Workers report that they are fully unemployed. 94% of Arts workers report income loss; to date, the average Arts worker reports $23,500 in lost revenue this year. Due to Covid-19, 66% of Arts Workers report they are unable to access the spaces, staff, resources, or supplies needed to perform their work."

ABT shuttered its doors on March 15 following Arizona Governor Ducey's executive order limiting large gatherings in the state. Following the Governor's order, ABT was forced to lay-off close to 250 artists, technicians, designers, musicians, kitchen & service staff and administrative staff due to the all-stop shut-down. To date, ABT remains closed. Currently, staff are working on plans for a TBD January 2021 relaunch of programming. Chicago, which opened on March 13 and was halted just two days later, will be the first production to return to the ABT stage.

The targeted list of cities for the #WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART #ExtendPUA September 1 event across North America, includes: Phoenix, Washington D.C., Huntsville, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Boulder, Fayetteville, Lexington, Louisville, and Canadian neighbors including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

As Broadway and regional theatres, national tours, concert tours, festivals, opera houses, symphonies, trade shows, and other live events as well as film and television production remain closed, or open on a very limited basis, the entire industry is impacted - from designers, technicians, programmers, and stagehands to rental shops, manufacturers, and distributors of entertainment technology. The first industry to close last March, Live Event spaces (like ABT) will be the last sector to re-open.

Phoenix area media outlets are invited to record the September 1 lighting of the ABT building in red at 9pm. Representatives from ABT will be available to comment on the current state-of-play, the need for immediate financial assistance, and to discuss future plans and alternative programming coming in the months to follow.