By Eli Rallo
The aphorism that drives the theater industry through trial and tribulation is “the show must go on.” But for once, as collateral damage of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City’s Broadway and all theaters have faced an unimaginable question – will the show go on? And if it does, how and when?
On March 11, 30 Broadway plays and musicals took a Saturday evening curtain call, and unbeknownst to unionized performers, stage managers and other employees, this would be their final performance for an undetermined number of days and ultimately, months. The coronavirus would ravage the tristate area in the weeks following – detrimental to communities, economies and businesses – including the theater industry.
Now, only ghost lights eerily illuminate the cavernous, empty theaters as, for one of the first times in history, they’ve been left devoid of light and entertainment with no promised return date.
While Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin’s statement cautiously offered an early 2021 reopening, nobody knows what tomorrow brings, let alone months from now. But with so long sans live theater in New York City, these hopes are not without fear that if and when Broadway does reopen, it will be a wildly changed industry.
The theater industry thrives off the gathering of people in spaces to transform reality, inspire audience members and ignite life-changing thoughts and conversations, in order to make a profit.
In the history of Broadway, there have been brief and periodic shutdowns, including a strike in 1919 which caused 37 shows to darken for a month, and prevented 16 from opening. This was the longest shutdown of Broadway to date, with others resulting from various strikes in 1960, 1964, 1975 and 2003, lasting between one and 25 days.
Many theatergoers and industry professionals recall the shutdown implemented by the Broadway League following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, when transportation issues prohibited industry workers from getting to theaters and a traumatized public was worried about its safety. Two days then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani strongly urged the theaters to reopen. In such a trying time in our nation’s history, Broadway served as a beacon of hope – a positive, safe, welcoming space and a pinnacle of the American resilience and the New York spirit.
Autumn 2001 was a time people desperately longed to go out and connect with others, which is the antithesis of what individuals should be practicing right now in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
And it’s not just Broadway theaters that feel the stress, as the virus and its repercussions threaten to dismantle financial standings and resulted in unemployment for so many in the community and beyond.
The director of marketing and public relations at the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan, David Applegate, talked about the future of live theater after the pandemic. “Theater will rebound eventually, but there’s no timeline on when this can or will happen. How will depend on the length of the impacts…artists will continue to create and arts organizations will find ways to connect artists with audiences.”
Algonquin canceled and postponed all performances beginning the evening of March 13 and the stage there has been dark ever since. They’ve implemented online classes and a summer camp in August with limited attendance and social distancing guidelines.
“I think now the reason that the performing arts are important to us as individuals and a community is because it is apparent that there is a void in our lives, and in the case of the artists, that’s a very tangible void in terms of their ability to make a living,” Applegate said. “It’s extremely important that we publicly recognize the importance the arts have to us, so the industry can receive as much public and private support as possible to emerge on the other side of the pandemic as a viable industry supporting livelihoods and improving the quality of life in our communities.”
Much like Algonquin, Phoenix Productions, Axelrod Performing Arts Center and the Two River Theater have also found themselves at a standstill. As with many arts groups, virtual events and in-person summer camp-style classes with social distancing and cleaning guidelines have been offered.
Red Bank’s Count Basie Center for the Arts has found new ways to adapt to the struggles of this challenging time. “Without revenue we are in dire straits,” said Izzy Sackowitz, vice president and general manager. “We are losing more than $1 million a month on potential earned revenue. Arts organizations are all reinventing and pivoting and we have been able to produce some of the largest drive-in concerts, held online benefits and fundraisers, even had a limited-edition T-shirt authorized by Bruce Springsteen. We’re grateful, of course, but it doesn’t come close to the costs associated with operating our organization. We are committed to staying open and serving our community.”
Despite the major challenge and lack of revenue, they are currently operating with heightened safety protocols for their acting, singing and arts classes in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the CDC.
“We are confident that our community values the Basie and will come together to keep us a major part of their livelihood in Monmouth and Ocean county,” said Sackowitz. “My team and I stay awake at night wondering how long we will have to endure this closure and hoping that those open and returning to some normalcy will do so safely and smartly… We’re treading water, but we can’t give up.”
The article originally appeared in the August 6 – 12, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
