Name: Broadway professionals share their pandemic stories
Uploaded: 2021-11-14
Duration: 7 min 19 s
Description: Fortune talks to casts across the industry about what they’ve been through and what the future may look like.

Fortune talks to casts across the industry about what they’ve been through and what the future may look like.

Broadway professionals share their pandemic stories

Entertainment

mhm mm. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of so many in New York City around the world and on Broadway, more than 40 musicals and plays on the Great White Way were put on pause shutting down a thriving industry, during what some refer to as the Golden Age of Broadway. I think my first major concern was everyone's major concern in this industry or the vast majority of us, which was how are we going to pay our rent, how are we going to eat, what is going to happen to our jobs? Um and then pretty soon after that, it became how can I actually learn something from this moment? And so I was really concerned with making sure that I didn't uh waste the time that I was given. Um while also trying to appreciate the time that I was given. Broadway was at full capacity when we shut down and we had between 10 and 20,000 people that were working. But Broadway impacts 97,000 jobs in the city of new york because that includes the costumers and the wig makers and the cleaners that take care of the costumes in addition to the actors and the stagehands. And of course, all of the unions, that's unprecedented. That lets like everybody we know and everybody who they know Suddenly doesn't have a job. There's like, we don't know what the state of the industry is going to be. Most Broadway closures in the past were because of labor disputes before the pandemic. The longest shutdown was only 19 days. I do remember thinking like, Okay, it's a virus. But as long as we play it safe, like you know, we should, we should be okay And it really did seem like two weeks and we should probably be okay. There was really no sense of like the, like the scope of it of like how bad it was truly and how bad it would become. According to the Broadway League, tourists bought almost nine million tickets back in 2019 with Broadway being a top reason for them to visit New York City. These tourists also spent their money at restaurants and other attractions which were also suffering losing billions of dollars in revenue. Broadway has an economic impact of over $14.7 billion, which does reflect the businesses in New York that depend upon Broadway, whether it's hotels or restaurants or costumers are cleaners, are parking garages or attractions. Over 80% of the people who come to new york city for pleasure are here with the number one or the number two reason of seeing a broadway show and that's just in new york city alone. Broadway is in 200 cities and has Another almost $4 billion 20 months. Some had to make difficult decisions about their futures on Broadway. Others found new ways to make ends, meet my alternative for work was teaching. So I, me and a friend created a curriculum for AMD to the american musical and dramatic academy. I taught a little workshops here and there. I did some private coaching. I just started teaching on zoom because I'm also a choreography teacher, I teach in university, I've worked with kids all of my life and so I had to go back and you know, work with the families and babysit the kids to make sure that I was able to provide for myself. I look forward to coming to work every day. And that's something I did not know, you know, would be the result of all of this. As of October 17, there have been more than 700 performances on Broadway stages With no outbreaks or significant shutdown. The Broadway League expects about 40 shows to be opened by the end of the year. While Broadway slowly reopens some fear it may never get back to its 2019 status. But industry insiders say that even though some things might look different, the essence of the performing arts will always stay the same for those of us who fell in love with this thing that I contact, you know, that the sound of the audience's response is entering our ears in real time. And those story moments landing on an audience in real time. That art form for as great as those innovations were inasmuch as a lot of a scrape by financially using those online mediums. It wasn't the thing we got into this business to do because I'm in the dance world, I rely on the release, that feedback loop between the audience and the dancers body and that is gold. You can't replace the visceral with the virtual Not yet. Despite all the uncertainties, casts and crews across the industry are still positive about broadway future. Broadway is returning with new protocols, whether it's wearing a mask, showing proof of vaccination, getting a different services that our contact list, uh different ways of just doing business, but it still feels like broadway, you sit down the lights go down, the music is amazing and the show goes on. There are no words to describe what it feels like to have the opportunity to do it all over again. Um It's almost like, you know, jumping in a lake, a really cold lake and you just, it's that shock and that thrilled. And so to be back every day, walking down the hallway, starting the screen stock up, you know, making sure my excuse already looking out on the stage at the thrill smiles of the audience as they watch my cast mates, like that's price. You know, that's something that Mhm I could never try to put words. I think that like an important thing that came from it for me and for a lot of people was like realizing that just because the work is gone doesn't mean you're not an artist and that because there's still plenty of people that are also not working right now still. Um but that it doesn't make you less of an artist, if nothing else. I hope that once people re enter a broadway theater again, I hope they realize how essential this is. You know, we heard that word a lot in this time, you know, and it was reserved rightfully so for essential workers, people, people who needed to be lifted up as heroes in that time. But as things sort of level off, hopefully, fingers crossed, I hope that people come to the theater and you know what this is essential to. There was something about this that fulfills my basic humanity in a way that feeds my spirit, moving and talking and singing on. Mhm.