The Future of Broadway and the Path to Reopening

New York University’s School of Global Public Health; Tisch School of the Arts; and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development sponsored a virtual conversation about Broadway’s unprecedented 14 month shutdown and the wider implications of its reopening. The Future of Broadway and the Path to Reopening included a panel of arts, public health, and audience development experts. The panel was moderated by Sapna Parikh, MD, MPH, assistant director of visual storytelling, NYU Office of Public Affairs.

The conversation raised considerations and offered context about Broadway's reopening on Aug. 4, taking into account the fluidity of the situation. 30 shows will be opening this summer and Radio City Music Hall will open at 100% capacity, with doors opening 90 minutes before the curtain and proof of vaccination required.

Broadway's stages have remained dark for so long in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread protests have forced a collective reckoning with longstanding racial inequality.

Jack Caravanos DrPH is a Clinical Professor of Environmental Public Health Sciences at NYU School of Global Public Health. As an expert in environmental and occupational health he has worked with the Independent Drivers Guild to increase the safety of rideshare drivers and passengers during the pandemic and developed NIH-funded safety training videos for healthcare workers. He is a board-certified industrial hygienist focused on the science of protecting and enhancing the health, safety, and environment of people at work and in their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Caravanos has been a special advisor to the Broadway League on issues of public health, air quality, and ventilation, and was part of an air quality study in a Broadway theater.

Caravanos believes that Broadway will open better than ever, more affordable and available to everyone. Theatres not offering food service will limit the crowd density, but the issue of lines for the restroom must still be resolved. Intermission free performances are also being considered. There are 14 unions negotiating the reopening of theatres and he believes that there will be no contentious battles over the safety needed for getting back to work. He predicts that unions are moving towards a vaccine mandate for their members and that regulations will be different for various venues based upon their (mostly tiny) size.

While Radio City will be checking proof of vaccination, Caravanos strongly believes that theatres will move to self-certification, where patrons would simply need to sign a paper certifying their COVID status. He noted that there may be some lingering mental effects of pandemic and audience members may be stressed by no barriers and social distancing. He believes that if there is a vaccine mandate for cast and crew, air quality inside the theatre is good, and theatres restrict the audience to vaccinated patrons, venues could reopen at 100% capacity with a maskless audience. He even questioned whether audience members would be allowed to wear a mask if they wished.

Donna Walker-Kuhne is an Adjunct Faculty, NYU Steinhardt's School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and President of Walker International Communications Group, Inc. and acknowledged as the nation’s foremost expert in Audience Development by the Arts & Business Council. She has devoted her professional career to increasing access to the arts and is a veteran of over 18 Broadway productions providing multicultural marketing and group sales.

Walker-Kuhne knows that theatres want everyone to feel safe while maintaining the integrity of the show. She feels that beginning the hard work of becoming an equitable antiracist theatre system would help to attract black audience members. She stressed that in order to combat patrons’ reluctance to return, venues must make their safety measures clear to the public and they should start now.

Laurence Maslon, an arts professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and Associate Chair of NYU's Graduate Acting program, pointed out that this closing of Broadway has been an unprecedented time; the time after 911 was just a pause. He compared extremely complicated logistics of reopening to an airport. Audiences have changed and will need to decide what they want to see as well as how much they are willing to pay for it. Do they want to be enlightened or simply entertained? Since the number of tourists will be down, he believes that the refund policy will have to be elastic in order for theatres to survive.

The one remaining problem that has yet to be solved is actors singing on stage. He suggested that theatres consider banking on the thrill of getting close to Broadway talent by having performers facilitate the administration of COVID vaccinations after a show. He also believes that the proliferation of Zoom shows and the creativity shown on Instagram live has made audiences more open to alternative venues. However, he feels strongly that since Broadway has served as the highest marker of commercial theatre, it needs to maintain its excellence in the future.