Now that Omicron is in decline, Broadway optimism is rising. After a bumpy winter season, with hiatus and show closures due to the highly contagious COVID variant, there are signs of recovery in the New York theater industry, with producers growing increasingly optimistic about the promise of a spring that makes the box office bloom. “Right now, I think the more noise Broadway can make, the better,” claims James Nederlander, of the production company that owns nine theaters on Broadway, and creator of the musical starring Billy Crystal, “Mr. Saturday night”.
Like other theatrical venues, the New York mecca is rightly betting on big stars and established titles for the return of the public to theaters. This is the case of the ostentatious revival of “Funny Girl”; the critically acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Strange Loop”, along with stars like the marriage of Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker in “Plaza Suite; Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga in “Macbeth”; or Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Chris in “american buffalo”, the play by David Mamet directed by Neil Pepe presented at the Circle in the Square Theatre.
“It’s a dream cast, made up of talented actors and wonderful people, who waited two years, and who sustained with patience, love and devotion, the possibility of being able to finally make it,” he explains. Diego Kolankowskythe Argentine producer tony winner which is written after “american buffalo”.
“I felt comfortable with this dialogue because I started the project two years ago. I had all the time to work on it because, with the closure of Broadway and the pandemic, our opening was delayed. This work really changed the theater and it is one that I always wanted to do”, endorses Laurence Fishburnewho conquered Broadway with this work in which he is accompanied by two stars awarded with the Oscar and the Golden Globe.
Return
March and April are usually the time of reactivation for Broadway, which in the past also posted low sales in January and February. But in 2022, Broadway grosses and attendance grew again, reaching 92% capacity the week ending February 27, with total sales of $23 million from 19 shows. Sign of a square that prioritized large productions: less and better.
“This return full of exquisite productions, and with a first line of actors and producers at the forefront, is proof of the victory of art over tragedy”, celebrates Kolankowskyalso associated with another success: “beetlejuice”, musical version of the film directed by Tim Burton in 1988, with Michael Keaton in the leading role.
The musical that brought down the curtain when the broadway closing extended beyond its original date, it is precisely one of the hits of this reopening. “Beetlejuice” will open at the Marquis Theater beginning April 8, directed by Alex Timbers to an original score by Eddie Perfect and a book by Scott Brown and Anthony King.
And it tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a teenager obsessed with “being dead” who lands in a house haunted by a recently deceased couple, of course Beetlejuice: a charming demon with a will to live. A visual and compelling work that has already received eight nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards, including a nomination for Best Musical. metaphor of a Broadway determined to exorcise his demons post-pandemic and return successfully.
The best
“In production quality and creative quality, Broadway did its best to face this historic comeback,” he supports in tune Kolankowskythe Argentine producer who has already made “Eleven on this island“, winner of the Tony for best revival, and “Spring Awakening”. And he bets on the return of the public, New Yorkers and tourists, to the shows: “The post-pandemic world does not shine yet, but it’s up to Broadway to bring that light, not only in the canopies”, marks. A light that turns on the heart of an industry that is expected to move millions again.
“We have an occupation of more than 80% of the seats. We are back”, also celebrated the president of the Broadway League, Charlotte St. Martin. Broadway officially reopened in September 2021, and it has been accelerating ever since. There are currently 19 shows on Broadway, and 16 more are scheduled to open soon. “There is a huge sense of optimism, because we have 16 shows opening in March and April,” St. Martin agreed.
Broadway swears that its 2022-23 season will be “Simply the best”, as the hit of Tina Turner is titled, whose musical “Tina” will tour the US, along with other proven box office hits: the same “beetlejuice”; “Jagged Little Pill,” with music by Alanis Morissette; Harper Lee’s classic “To Kill the Mockingbird,” remade by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin; “Bad Girls,” a hit on the small screen; and closing with “Annie” and “Hairspray”, which will be presented at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
by RN
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