The return to Broawdway – It’s business, baby!

On March 12, 2020, the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic shut down every show on Broadway.

It was a shock that is still reverberating in some creative communities but show business folks are tougher than nails. They bounce back bigger and better, and there is clearly a financial motivation is rebuilding.

In the year before the pandemic, a record 14.8 million people attended a Broadway show which is more people than the combined attendance for New York area sports teams including the Mets, Yankees, Rangers, Islanders, Knicks, Liberty, Giants, Jets, Devils, and Nets, according to the Broadway League. Wait for it … that attendance translated into an industry gross of $1.83 billion.

It’s a myth that only white people attend Broadway shows. Along with the overall growth in attendance, the number of admissions by non-Caucasian theatergoers reached a record high of 3.8 million. Additionally, Broadway welcomed 3.4 million admissions by those under age 25, the third season in a row that attendance from younger audiences topped 3 million.

Now as the fall season rolls in, in truth, there is a lot to celebrate despite the uncertainties swirling around new virus variants and breakthrough infections. Now, the question for Broadway investors and New York City is how will they be able to bounce back and sustain their business in a city where the tourism dollar is still fluctuating?

It’s a sobering fact that the closure of Broadway hit the African, African-American, and Afro-Latinos very hard. But that was then … a

To reclaim the mantra that fuels the entertainment industry — the show must go on— in September the doors have reopened for the iconic (and not to be missed) LION KING, HAMILTON, WICKED, CHICAGO, HADESTOWN, WAITRESS, and the new plays LACKAWANNA BLUES and PASS OVER. There are eight more productions scheduled to open or re-open this month alone, a dozen in October and six more in November. Can you hear a theater community screaming out (in perfect pitch) — hallelujah?

Like the song, from the 1966 hit musical CABARET exclaimed, “Money makes the world go ’round” and launching a Broadway show is not for the risk-averse. Musicals can cost upwards of $10 million and plays cost about half that amount. And there’s no guarantee of a return for your investment. A sobering fact, the latest figures reveal just one out of every five shows recoup their investment. Despite the high risk, producers are lining up to bring their passion projects to the stage.

17 new productions will open on Broadway between now and the end of the year, including “Six,” “Diana The Musical,” “The Music Man,” and “Freestyle Love Supreme,” the improv hip-hop show produced by Furman and Steingart, and co-created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tommy Kail, and Anthony Veneziale.

There is a question that’s looming as large as the proverbial elephant in the room, and this is on the issue of safety. Will the performers and audience be safe? According to reports across the industry, there are new safety protocols in place, including vaccine mandates and wearing a mask in the theater.

A look into CHICAGO

The Tony Award-winning, record-breaking hit musical CHICAGO (New York’s Ambassador Theatre is now in its 25th year, making Chicago Broadway’s longest-running American musical.

Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media, and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.

The cast of Chicago features Ana Villafañe as Roxie Hart, Bianca Marroquín as Velma Kelly, Tony Award-winner Paulo Szot as Billy Flynn, Tony Award-winner Lillias White as Matron “Mama” Morton, Raymond Bokhour as Amos Hart, and Ryan Lowe as Mary Sunshine. With a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb, Chicago is now the #1 longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, Chicago is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

ChicagotheMusical.com

A look in THE LION KING

THE LION KING (Minskoff Theatre), one of the greatest musicals of all times, employs hundreds of African, African-American, and Afro-Latinos is approaching its 24 landmark years on Broadway with 25 global productions that have been seen by nearly 110 million people. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions (under the direction of Thomas Schumacher). The show made theatrical history with six productions worldwide running 15 or more years and four others running 20 or more years.

Performed over its lifetime in nine different languages (English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese), by the end of 2021, there will be ten productions of The Lion King around the world, including Broadway, London, Paris, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, on tour across North America, Japan, and the U.K. & Ireland, with a separate production touring internationally. Having played over 100 cities in 21 countries on every continent except Antarctica, The Lion King’s worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show, or other entertainment titles in box office history.

For more information worldwide, visit LionKing.com.

A look into HAMILTON

The “Ham4Ham Lottery” is back for HAMILTON which is, again, playing on Broadway at The Richard Rogers Theater.

“Hamilton,” the filmed version of the hit musical, that hit Disney+ last year, won the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).

During an acceptance speech, star Renée Elise Goldsberry described the filmed version of Hamilton as reflecting the “synergy between the mediums of television and theater,” also paying a tribute to Broadway, which is reopening after pandemic shutdowns.

A look into DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA

Nineteen months after the band’s last performance together, DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’s returned to the live stage at the St. James Theatre on Broadway (246 West 44th Street).

The acclaimed production, which will receive a Special Tony Award at the upcoming Tony Awards ceremony on September 26, features David Byrne with returning band members Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan, Angie Swan, and Bobby Wooten III.

The acclaimed Spike Lee film of David Byrne’s American Utopia also won two Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend – Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special (Rob Sinclair, Lighting Designer / Brian Spett, Lighting Director) and Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special (Paul Hsu, Re-Recording Mixer / Michael Lonsdale, Production Mixer / Pete Keppler, Music Mixer) – and is also up for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the main Emmy Awards ceremony this Sunday.

Academy Award®-winning director Spike Lee’s acclaimed filmed version of David Byrne’s American Utopia made its world premiere opening the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Here is what Tendayi Kuumba and Angie Swan from DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA had to share about the return of Broadway.

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL:
What did your first performance back on Broadway feel like, after not performing live for a big audience for more than a year?
TENDAYI KUUMBA
My first performance felt bitter-sweet. On one hand, I’m elated to be back on a stage in front of a live audience. Feeling my body and voice recalibrate from a crazy year of rest, reset, and self-healing was overwhelming and satisfying. However, I can’t help but feel conflicted in my joy with the turmoil that is still very present in my community and in our country right now. While I’m blessed to have work and be in such an impactful show, I’m reminded how many colleagues of mine have lost jobs but are still innovating art in every arena. I’ve been creating and performing throughout the pandemic in virtual worlds and close safe spaces of folks that have inspired me, I don’t want to lose that. I’m continuing a lineage of performers that channel all of that outside world into performance & give others a moment of joy amidst the chaos and grief we’ve all experienced this past year. That feels like a big task but also necessary in many ways. Being back on Broadway fulfills my childhood dreams as a young Black woman dancing/singing her heart out, but saying the names of Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor within this specific show is what fulfills my adulthood missions as an artist committed to social change and awareness no matter the platform.
ANGIE SWAN:
For me, performing again in front of a LIVE audience that size was like a grand reawakening. It was, however, bizarre to see everyone masked… that’ll take some getting used to, but I hope it won’t be for long. I can still see the audience somewhat smiling with their eyes. We do a song in the show (by Janelle Monáe) called “Hell You Talmbout”… where we ask the audience to repeat the names of Black victims unjustly killed by police. With masks on, it’s hard to tell whether or not they’re engaging. But I notice people wiping their eyes (tears) throughout the show, so I know there are emotions being felt.

LAS: What does the idea of an “American Utopia” mean to you?
TK: American Utopia to me is an ethical world with true healing and reckoning. An America that is accountable and equitable. An asylum for all those seeking refuge while continuing to build safe communities for the existing population that is often stuck between living and surviving. American Utopia to me is like the land before time, a space that is built off the best of ourselves and challenges us to be better. Not just through a lens as a country but and beings that inhabitant this land and have a responsibility to learn from our history and reshape/reimagine it rather than repeat it.
AS:
The idea of American Utopia to me would be if there was a TRUE equality/equity that existed for all Americans…in society, in schools, neighborhoods, on/off stage, and in audiences. We have a very long way to go to reach that point, but if actions begin to equate words, we can arrive closer to that point.
LAS: What do you want audiences to take away from this?
TK: I want audiences to know that change is healthy for the soul. That before we look to anyone for answers we must look at ourselves. That when you are experiencing us or anyone performing, ask yourself not just what you liked or not about the show but what are you taking from it back to your community? What is one thing you can do to add to the Utopia? What moved you and why? Lastly, how can you shift your perspective and elevate your community to be as diverse, healing, and joyful as our cast and performance?
AS:
want people to start to engage more with others that aren’t like them. I want people to begin to act on the empathy they say they feel. It doesn’t have to just be performative. Use their powers and privilege to make substantial, tangible change. Let’s become each other’s accomplices, not just allies.

@WhosTendayi on Instagram, @TendayiMusic on Facebook
@AngieSwanMusic on Facebook, @TheAngieSwan on Twitter and Instagram

www.americanutopiabroadway.com.

The Broadway community will get to salute its own on Sept. 26 when the Tony Awards air on CBS and Paramount+ from The Winter Garden Theatre.