Broadway Productions Have Been Shut Down Until 2021
By George Robbins
Plays are a part of a medium that has captivated numerous and diverse audiences for hundreds of years and given them live entertainment. Over the past one hundred years or so, they have become a refined art form the likes of which many different people can enjoy. It is possible to turn many different stories into plays which then get turned into musicals which can draw in even more crowds than the plays could. Most times, art forms are just turned straight into musicals and it creates something entertaining for old and new audiences alike to behold. Many musicals are created based on novels or movies, while some are just wholly original and can be based on something no one expects, like a musical based on one of the founding fathers.
Musicals, even ones that are lesser known, have a lot of different people working on them to make them the spectacles they are. Unlike other mediums, the actors have to practice over and over to get everything right from the dancing to the lines they need to know. Not only do they have to perform live to paying crowds, but they also have to do it multiple times a day, multiple days a week and it can be tiresome work. They interact in a way that differs wildly from other forms of entertainment such as music artists and movies. The actors must perform similarly to the way music performers do while simultaneously telling a story that keeps the audience intrigued. This is why movies can be made into musicals so easily sometimes, because they have a storyline that can be followed, thus the performance side is the one that needs to be worked on.
The best way of knowing which musicals are near the pinnacle of being the best is to look at the ones that find their way to Broadway in New York City. Usually, those same plays stay on Broadway for years to follow, constantly changing in terms of cast, but never changing the act that people get to watch. This dedication to the art form is why musicals end up being so beloved to begin with. Plays don’t usually end up going straight to Broadway as there are many that start in smaller venues all over the nation and if they do well enough, then they end up on Broadway. Well now nothing is happening on Broadway, which is usually full of life, due to the coronavirus pandemic and this isn’t bound to change any time soon.
Most recently, there has been a surge in new virus cases across the nation due to businesses being reopened and people not doing what they are supposed to do. This has resulted in things like movie release delays and delays for the reopening of movie theaters among many other delays. These things aren’t as interactive as musicals are and this has resulted in the announcement that all Broadway productions shall be shut down until at least January of 2021. Many other in-person events such as conventions and award ceremonies have been shut down for the remainder of the year as well. There is no telling when things will be able to go on as originally intended, but we will more than likely see more things like this happen as the year continues. Hopefully, it will not continue into next year and things will somehow be able to get slightly back on track.