We saw the lights go out on Broadway. Who knew Billy Joel would only be 3 years off in his prediction? It has happened before; the marquees have turned off previously, on September 11th and for a couple of days afterwards, but soon the lights came back on and the houses filled once again.
This is not the case now. As of December 1st, Broadway had been shut down for 264 days, starting March 12th, and this count will only continue to grow. Yet, there is a promise of a better Broadway. The shutdown allows the hustle and bustle of Broadway to stop, and the creation of a new Broadway to begin.
However, for now, the fans themselves have been counting down the days until May, when Broadway is scheduled to reopen. In all likelihood, they will have to wait longer.
And then there are the actors to think of: the people who have been standing on that stage and giving it their all 8 times a week, along with those who were preparing to, including those in Flying Over Sunset- a show scheduled to begin previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center on March 12th itself.
And what about those behind the curtain? Their lives have been uprooted too: the stage managers, lighting designers, make-up artists, and more, too many people to count who cannot work anymore, who aren’t making the money they need, and perhaps on a level of equal importance, are not forging the personal connections that are so prominent in theatrical work. Dramaturgist Lynn Spector- who has worked on many shows including Moulin Rouge! and Beetlejuice- knows this all too well. As a dramaturgist, she is the “therapist for a show…” She is someone who can give playwrights the tools they need to make their show better and more accurate and she is the ear for them to vent to. She suggests ways to solve problems that come up and she helps shows “live their best life.”
As a dramaturg, connection is required. “I’m working in an industry where, not just the work itself is so communal and social, but the trappings around it are all very social and communal.” She continued describing her separation in the early parts of quarantine. “March to June: I don’t think I saw anyone other than going to the grocery store.”
Economically, this has been disastrous. In ticket sales alone, Broadway theaters made almost 2 billion dollars in each of the last two seasons, and now that Broadway will be closed for more than a season, (and who knows how much more), all of that money is lost. This doesn’t even begin to include the amount lost throughout the city due to Broadway’s shutdown including in tourism and the lack of money spent among those no longer working in the industry. So there is an absence. A strength missing, and not just economically. One cannot simply focus on the economic consequences of the shutdown. We must also grieve the loss of the power of Broadway itself, the emotional impact and the lasting change it has created which is all gone, at least for now.
Speaking with Lynn Spector ended up with the opposite tone as many would expect one in the industry to have. One would figure, talking to someone whose livelihood was lost due to the pandemic, that the tone would be somber and full of grief. But this was not the case. Instead, Spector sounded full of hope: “Especially towards the beginning...there was a lot of talk ‘Shakespeare wrote King Lear during the shutdown of The Globe, what great writer is going to come out of this pandemic?’ I think a lot of writers saw an opportunity to have time to just...write. Which was great because, as a dramaturg, they were starting to reach out to me.” So, while the shutdown has been a drastic blow to both the social and economic lives of an enormous group of artists, one can see how there is also possibility.
There has also been time to adapt to our constantly developing society. There has been time to educate oneself and see the world of Broadway from a different perspective, particularly time to reflect on the extreme systemic racism that exists. One of the groups that have been working towards this is the Joy-Jackson Initiative, self described as providing “tools and resources for the American Theater industry to identify, reflect on, and improve their role in creating the safest, most welcoming spaces for members of the BIPOC community in the arts.” Spector herself worked with the initiative, educating herself on the racism that is a deep part of theater, particular musical theater, and, most importantly, how the Broadway community can move to dismantle the systematic racism that has existed throughout its history. “Storytelling is still storytelling,” Spector explained. “As we’re separated and as we don’t have our conventional ways of telling stories, figuring out how to tell a story becomes as important, if not more important when we are trying to reinvent storytelling.” With the current pause, there is time to reinvent stories and make positive changes to Broadway. Though the Broadway community is grieving, it has been gifted the time to be better and grow, and it must not take this for granted.
Though Broadway’s pause can be filled with this hope and a brighter future, it still requires the aid of those in power. It is not safe to open our theaters, and safety must take priority, but our art and culture, and particularly Broadway which has been most affected, must have assistance, especially financially, from those who have the ability to do so. Those in power throughout the city must acknowledge something Spector was dedicated to enforce: “Art is a human need.” Every little thing about humanity requires expression, and art is necessary in expression. Spector further explained: “Everyone has art in their life. Everyone.”
There is a quote from Debbie Allen- the actress, dancer, producer, songwriter, all around one of the most well known, most well rounded artists of our time: “Civilizations are remembered for their art and for their war. And we have a big enough footprint with our war. We need to do something else." Yes, we need to do something else. Art is essential and always will be. Art is how we grow and develop and find strength in each other as humans- it is how we connect to our humanity and each other. And yet, for more than 260 days, and many, many more to come. We have been deprived of an art- a major art form that connects those all around the country, and even the world. There are positives that have come out of it. Nevertheless, in order for Broadway to achieve the possibility of improvement, it must be supported and assisted. Politicians in New York City must use it to make sure those who give us the gift of this essential art can continue giving us this gift. And if they are to do so, if those in power decide to take a stand and give strength to those who give us the art we thrive in, Broadway’s future will be as bright as the Ghost Light that stands on every stage.
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