Three hundred and eighty-seven days after Broadway went dark, a dim light began to shine on Saturday.
There were only two artists – one at a time – on an empty Broadway stage. But together they created decades of theatrical tradition, invoking the songs, shows and stars that once filled the big houses in and around Times Square.
The 36-minute event, in front of a masked audience of 150 people spread across a 1,700-seat auditorium, was the first experiment since the coronavirus pandemic caused all 41 Broadway houses to close on March 12, 2020, and industry leaders hope that this will be a promising step on what will surely be a slow and bumpy road for an eventual reopening.
Dancer Savion Glover and actor Nathan Lane, both Tony Award winners, represented a universe of unemployed artists and fans hungry for shows while executing a pair of pieces created for the occasion.
Mr. Glover, a renowned tap dancer, performed an improvised number of music and dance in which he seemed to invoke spectra from previous productions. He went up on stage, removed the ghost light that traditionally is left on to keep spirits away from an unoccupied theater, and began to sing lyrical passages, accompanied only by the sound of his shiny white tap shoes. “God, I hope you can,” he began, citing the anxious theme of “A Chorus Line”.
And from there, he left, citing “The Tap Dance Kid”, “Dreamgirls”, “42nd Street” and other programs that he said influenced him, often celebrating the desire to dance, while also recognizing the challenges of the entertainment industry . (“There is no business like show business”, he sang, before adding: “Everything about this is eh.”) He also made a direct reference to black life in the United States, interpolating the phrase “America in the neck” in a music from “West Side Story”.
“I was a little nervous, but I was elated and happy, and there was nostalgia, and I was sentimental – that was all,” he said in an interview later. “And I felt very safe. I want to be rubbing my elbows and hugging – we are looking for it eventually – but there is no safer place than right in the middle of this stage. “
Mr. Lane, one of Broadway’s biggest stars, presented a comic monologue by Paul Rudnick, in which he played a die-hard theater fan (with an alphabetical collection of Playbill) who dreams (or was it real?) With a parade of Broadway stars, led by Hugh Jackman, Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald, arriving at their rent-controlled apartment and competing for their attention while clumsily defeating each other. (“Have you heard of a little show called ‘Evita’?” Ms. LuPone, original Eva Perón from Broadway, asks Mr. Jackman, to which he replies, “I loved the movie with Madonna”, and at that point the Ms. LuPone takes a meat knife.)
In an interview after the event, Lane said: “These are baby steps towards a real reopening. It is a way of signaling to everyone that we are returning. “
And did he feel safe? “I felt as safe as anyone who has been vaccinated and tested 123 times,” he said. “I was rubbed. I was washed down. There were many precautions and protocols, so yes, I felt safe. “
The event’s security measures included limited audiences, mandatory masks and socially distant seats. In addition, all participants were required to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test or complete vaccination regimen and complete a digital questionnaire attesting to the absence of Covid-19 symptoms or recent exposure; the arrival times of the participants were staggered; there was no break, food or drink; and although the restrooms were open, participants were encouraged to use a restroom before arriving to reduce possible congestion.
St. James, a city landmark built in 1927, was chosen in part because it is large – one of the largest theaters on Broadway – and empty. The theater also has a modern ventilation system, which was installed when the building was expanded in 2017, and its air filters were updated during the pandemic in an effort to reduce the spread of airborne viruses.
The theater owner, Jordan Roth, wept in the lobby before the event, moved by the moment. “It is the first step home – the first of many,” he said. “This is not, ‘Broadway is back!’ This is ‘Broadway is coming back!’ And we know you can because of that. “
The event, although free, was invite-only, and the invitations were mainly for workers at two social service organizations in the theater industry, the Actors Fund and Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. Among them was a Broadway Cares volunteer, Michael Fatica, who is an actor; he was on the set of “Frozen”, which was the last show for St. James, and which announced that it will not reopen on Broadway. “They were fantastic,” he said afterwards. “And it is incredible that people are acting. But it is so far from commercial theater, and tens of thousands of actors are still out of work. “
The event was also a chance to bring theater officials back. Tony David, a porter, was there wearing his black suit, tie and hat with the logo of the Jujamcyn theater organization, as well as latex gloves and a face shield over a mask. “It’s good to be back and do something,” he said. “Hopefully, this is the beginning.”
The event was chaired by Jerry Zaks, four-time Tony winner, who over the years has acted and directed at St. James. “This was the longest period that I have not been inside a theater in 50 years,” he said. “I don’t want to look dizzy, but I’m excited and I feel like a child. There is a pulse – it is weak, but there is, and it bodes well for the coming months. “
The presentation was sponsored by NY Pops Up, which is a partnership between the state government, producers Scott Rudin and Jane Rosenthal and artist Zack Winokur. Empire State Development, which finances the state’s economic development initiatives, has set aside $ 5.5 million of its marketing budget to pay for 300 presentations through August; the goal, the state says, is to lift New Yorkers’ spirits and boost the entertainment industry.
Organizers said they would talk Monday morning about the lessons learned at Saturday’s event, and that they plan to see nine more programs at Broadway homes in the next 10 weeks. But most producers hope that large-scale plays and musicals will not return to Broadway until the fall; Commercial theater producers have said they do not believe it is financially viable to reopen with reduced capacity, and the state hopes to increase occupancy limits and reduce restrictions over time.
“I don’t have a crystal ball – none of us do, but we have shows scheduled to reopen in September, October and November,” said Charlotte St. Martin, the president of the Broadway League. Ms. St. Martin, who attended Saturday’s event, said that Pops Up presentations could be useful steps towards reopening.
“This will give the health department an opportunity to see how cinemas work and, hopefully, to know what it will take to be declared OK to open 100 percent,” she said. “And it’s also a great opportunity to remind us all of what makes New York so special.”