Are The Lights Really Out Broadway?

If you have read my previous blog posts you know that I have been trying very hard to not read, or listen to news about COVID-19 over these past few months. I figure there isn’t anything I can do except what I am already doing by staying in, so why become more anxious? I’ve been fairly calm and peaceful throughout this whole pandemic. “What will be, will be” I tell myself, and I know that no matter what, we will all be ok. A few nights ago however, I saw an article on LinkedIn that made me deeply sad. Read for yourself if you wish.

Broadway World

The grim reality of Broadway being closed has finally hit me. The entire theater district including the hotel I work in will suffer, and there is so much uncertainty of what the outcome will be. The hotels, bars and restaurants of the Theater District work in conjunction to bring the ultimate New York experience to tourists from all over the world and now with Broadway dark, this will certainly mean very little business for the surrounding establishments. It’s all starting to become clear to me how hard this rebound might actually be. I posted the article on LinkedIn, along with a comment trying to show my positivity and bravery stating, “while there is no doubt these are challenging times, we will get through this,” and asked the Broadway community to stay strong, This was my way of glossing over the fact that this is not good. Broadway is officially closed until June at this time. The reality however, is that with the new health precautions that will be put in place to protect people against COVID-19, Broadway houses will not be able to afford to operate, and therefore will most likely not open until September, or possibly not until 2021. Broadway shows in general take about 2 years to recoup their initial investment. Shows like “Hamilton” and “Wicked” will most likely come out of this OK as they have had the amazing fortune of phenomenal fame resulting in abundant ticket sales, but what about all the others? So many of these shows did not even see an opening night before they were forced into darkness.

There’s a song by Billy Joel “Miami2017”. I’m sure you have heard it, but did you know what the song is about? It was written in 1976 and is the final song on Joel’s “Turnstiles” album. It is essentially foretelling the eventual downfall of New York City (in the future year of 2017) as it crumbles into the sea while the survivor, the narrator, having fled to Florida, is now telling others of how it used to be. I believe it refers to the foretelling of financial ruin that is to befall on the Big Apple. A bit dramatic yes, but the lyrics have always been sad to me, and as I read the article about Broadway being closed I couldn’t help but hear them in my head:

“Seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades
They all bought Cadilacs
And left there long ago”

“I’ve seen the lights go out Broadway
I saw the mighty skyline fall
The boats were waiting at the battery
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all”

“You know those lights were bright on Broadway
That was so many years ago
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico
There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive”

These lyrics, and the rest of the song are explained in a blog post on The Paris Review from January of 2017. Take a look.
The Paris Review

In the 15 years I have lived in New York City, I have seen the lights go out on Broadway a few times. There was the stagehand union strike in November of 2007 which closed Broadway for 19 days, Hurricane Sandy in October of 2012 turning almost the entire city dark, but Broadway for a few days, and the most recent that I can recall is last summer during the city wide power outage which cancelled all shows for one night only. This is no doubt, the most daunting of Broadway closures in the entire history of the theater, and when I read that article on LinkedIn I cried.

I was not in the city the night Cuomo started closing down New York by banning gatherings of 500 or more. I had left work at about 3:00pm with this strange feeling that an uncertain future lay ahead of us. My brother had gone into his Broadway theater to finish up some last minute work before heading home to wait out the pandemic. He said with the Theater District quiet and dark an eeriness lay over Manhattan. We all know that this will pass eventually, and Broadway will rebound, but it is going to take a terrible toll on the music industry, especially in New York City. Music and the arts are often the first to be hit hard in times like these, and I worry this will make them fall even further behind in their attempt to stay relevant in our present society. So many of my friends and family members will be affected by this closure, not just of Broadway but all music and theater venues. They will feel this not just for a year, or 5 years or even 10 years, but possibly forever. I have been trying to stay very positive and keep things in perspective that what we are going through is not the end of the world, but imagine being a performer who finally, FINALLY after years of working so hard and suffering for their art made it to Broadway and then it was closed down, that show possibly never to reopen. Their chance of realizing their dreams may very easily have passed before it even arrived. Imagine being a musician in their mid-40’s having studied music their entire lives, employed by Broadway shows for the last 20 years and now what? What do they do? When these shows close it means thousands of actors, musicians, stage hands, lighting designers, set designers, costume designers, makeup artists, and ticket handlers are suddenly out of work. Yes, I realize so many industries are facing the same storm and many of us are out of work, but the reality is most of us will eventually go back to work or find another job if we are not brought back to our current ones. We will find another hotel to work in, or restaurant to run, but for the singer who has dreamt their entire life of being on Broadway they may have lost that dream, and by the time it comes back, they may very well have been ultimately forced to change the direction of their life.

During The Great Recession of 2008, I didn’t book a show for 2 years. I had been working consistently before that singing on tour and abroad, but when 2008 happened and so many shows closed, work became so difficult to come by, and the competition growing each day. I eventually booked a cruise ship job singing on the high seas, but we all know how that industry is faring during these times. The show will go on, it’s just a matter of time, but what will it look like once it does? How much money will have bled from the industry? How many politicians will believe they are not as worthy of a cause to save? How many young dreamers will now be forced to put aside their dreams because the industry is suffering? There’s worse things in life, but to an artist this is one of the worst things that can happen. Sure, most of us will continue to work, and we will be ok, but many people may not return to the stage, and to me, that is a very sad thought.