In March of 2020 when came to a halt from the Coronavirus, Broadway lowered the curtains, ending the vibrant art that is their musicals and shows. Astoundingly however, after over a full year of silent stages Broadway has finally opened their doors to audience once again. Announced earlier this summer, Broadway planned to reopen their shows later into the year of 2021.
That fact was confirmed when New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, announced during a conference that Broadway would reopen on September 14th. Charlotte St. Martin, President of the renowned Broadway League, later commented on Broadways revival, “We remain cautiously optimistic about Broadway’s ability to resume performances this fall and are happy that fans can start buying tickets again.”
“I don’t want to take live theater for granted ever again, do you?”, asked Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Broadway star, during his welcome back speech in the reopening of the must-see production Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda was very energetic when he finally was able to perform in the show amidst a large audience again with Broadway now up and running.
Just like Hamilton, more Broadway shows are being reopened at increasingly full volume and full thrust since mid-September this year. Several beloved productions have thus far been seen on stage including the esteemed Chicago, a story of two rival murderesses locked together in jail, and The Lion King, a Disney dominator in the world of Broadway. The world of Oz has also made a return with Wicked, Where Glinda the good makes an unlikely friendship with an evil green friend. The Lehman Trilogy, a great tale of the rocketing rise and fall of a financial force, re-opened late September.
Broadway shows that have yet to be seen again by the public have also been set to open later into October and the month of November. Plans have been set as well for the early months going into the year 2022. One of the many to be opening within that timeframe being the engraved classic The Phantom of the Opera. The show itself has been reenacted since 1988 and will be again on Oct. 22. Mostly due to its generally high rating, averaging on most sites like Show-Score 4.5 stars, it is claimed to be well worth the watch.
However, with the scheduled reopening of countless shows, we must also say goodbye to the few that will not be returning to Broadway theaters. The West Side Story and Disney’s stage adaptation of Frozen, along with a few others, have been closed for various and heartfelt reasons. Unspecified or otherwise. The Broadway show Hangmen’s producers had also announced it would not return as they lacked the “economic resources” required. Presumably due to the Coronaviruses long-term interference. The shows will be missed and awaited to be seen again later up the snowy mountain.