Aside from Covid, Has Broadway Ever Gone Dark?

Dying to know more about an obscure Broadway fact? Broadway historian and self-proclaimed theatre nerd Jennifer Ashley Tepper is here to help with her new series, Broadway Deep Dive. Every month, BroadwayWorld will be accepting questions from theatre fans like you. If you're lucky, your question might be selected as the topic of her next column!

Today's question is: Aside from Covid, has Broadway ever gone dark?

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The moment I received this question, I knew it was the one to tackle in this month's column. The whole theatre industry seemed to be discussing the topic in 2020, and it will be interesting to do a deep dive, now that we're more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 1918-1920 Flu Pandemic

During the 1918-1920 flu pandemic, Broadway never shut down. However, theaters across America did shut down, leaving artists stranded all over the country, far from their homes, many in mandatory quarantines. In New York City, live theatre played on. In fact, several tours rerouted from towns that had gone into lockdown, and played Broadway instead!

The Broadway of 1918 was very different than the Broadway we know today. For one, at the start of that pandemic, the New York City government issued a 4pm curfew in an effort to prevent crowding on public transport. A person could only attend a Broadway show if they could walk to it! And Broadway went on this way. The industry was not as dependent on mass transit or tourism. Broadway's business did decline during the 1918 flu outbreak, and some said that it would never recover. But within a few weeks, theatre in New York bounced back. The pandemic carried on until 1920, but Broadway saw few ongoing effects.

War and The Great Depression

The major international crises of the first half of the 20th century including World War I, The Great Depression, and World War II never shut down Broadway entirely either. While many theaters and shows struggled to stay open for financial reasons, Broadway overall stayed lit-other than dim-outs. During the height of WWII, the city ran tests, where all lights had to be turned off, including marquees, to prepare for air raids. Inside, shows continued.

Okay, so when has Broadway shut down entirely?

Strikes

Actors Equity Strikes are one example of when Broadway has completely ground to a halt. Fighting for fair wages and treatment, Actors Equity has struck in 1919 (one month), 1960 (11 days), 1964 (1 day) and 1968 (3 days).

The Strike of 1919 was actually responsible for forming Actors Equity as we know it today. Prior to 1919, actors were treated horrifically; they were forced to add extra performances without compensation, pay for their own costumes, rehearse without salary, work without warning of unemployment, travel without any promise of fare home, and more. In fact, the high volume of actors who were stranded in cities far from home during the 1918 pandemic was one episode that led to the 1919 uprising. The stars of Broadway stood hand in hand with everyone who worked in the theatre, and after a month-long shut-down and lots of drama, Broadway reopened on different terms. (The Actors Equity Strike of 1919 is one of my favorite topics I wrote about in my book series The Untold Stories of Broadway-you can read a longer version of the story in volume 3.)

Musician Strikes have also shut down Broadway. For 25 days in 1975 and 4 days in 2003, Local 802 struck, demanding fair contracts. In 2003, the musicians union fought for orchestra minimums, when the League proposed lower orchestra sizes be allowed in Broadway theaters. At the time, the Cabaret revival was playing a different contract than most Broadway shows, so it remained open during the strike. There have been several strikes where one or two shows have been in this position: the only production(s) open amid an industry-wide shutdown.

The Stagehand Strike of 2007 shut down Broadway for 18 days. IATSE, the stagehands union, had never struck before, in the history of Broadway. The terms they struck over involved load-in, overtime, and wages. One show in an odd position during the 2007 stagehand strike was Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The show had their opening night, and the next morning, the strike began. Grinch was on a different contract than the majority of Broadway, but their stagehands struck in solidarity with IATSE. Since the production was a limited engagement, the company spent about a third of their run on strike.

Newspapers strikes and transportation strikes in the city of New York have significantly affected Broadway's business, but never caused a full shut-down.

Blackouts

Unexpected blackouts have knocked Broadway out for a night-most recently in 2019. In 1961, 1965, 1977, and 2003 major blackouts affecting New York City made some Broadway shows throw in the towel for a performance or two.

In both 1961 and 2019, theaters on the east side of Broadway were not affected. The Sondheim, Belasco, Lyceum, and James Earl Jones (formerly the Cort) Theatre are sometimes jokingly pointed to as "on the wrong side of Broadway". But they claimed a win when their shows went on, while those to the west of Broadway were dark. Shows that shut down for the night, 58 years apart, found their casts launching into impromptu renditions of songs from the show underneath their marquee. In 1961, the My Fair Lady cast gathered under the Mark Hellinger (now Times Square Church) marquee and serenaded their audience with an a cappella "Get Me To The Church On Time", and in 2019, shows including Hadestown, Come From Away, and Waitress similarly entertained their audiences on the sidewalk.

Unlike community health crises, blackouts don't affect all shows equally. A byproduct of shutdown events like blackouts and strikes is that the few shows that can remain open, due to happenstance of location or otherwise, experience exponential growth in sales, as folks have fewer options for entertainment. In 1996, a blizzard shut down every show on Broadway-except the Grease revival! Which takes us to...

Hurricanes and Snowstorms

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy shut down Broadway for a few days, and in 2016, one of the largest blizzards in New York City history shut down Broadway. Those are the most recent major instances, but there have been several others where emergency weather events have necessitated a shutdown of the theatre district. Severe winter weather typically causes a dip in attendance, but an industry-wide shut down is only called when the government declares a halt on transit.

Long-running shows don't typically see major effects from a shutdown that lasts less than a week, but even a 1-performance shutdown can have a significant effect on shows that are in previews or just opening. After strikes and natural disasters that have shut down Broadway, a few shows show signs of struggle and some even close. The loss of momentum and ongoing travel issues are to blame.

Death of President John F. Kennedy

In 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, several Broadway shows canceled performances. The day that they resumed, Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was killed. With America in turmoil, Broadway felt the effects.

Air-Conditioning

One major reason Broadway used to shut down-although not entirely-is rarely spoken about in this context: air-conditioning! Before Broadway houses each had their own air conditioning systems, most would shut down completely for the summer months. It was normal to have a hit show go on hiatus in June and return in September. It was also normal to have a hit show just call it quits when the weather got too hot! A theatergoer looking for a Broadway ticket at the height of summer in the first half of the twentieth century would often find at least half of the Broadway houses empty.

Theatergoers in Broadway houses today may complain about lack of space-but think of all that needs to fit into these buildings that were not in consideration when they were first erected. Air conditioning systems have taken over offices, orchestra pits, dressing rooms, and other backstage space-and aren't you glad?

September 11th, 2001

After the tragedy of September 11th, 2001, Broadway shut down for several days. When it reopened, audiences were empty. Many hesitated to return to New York.

Those working on Broadway donated money from their salaries so that first responders, volunteers, and anyone working at Ground Zero could come see their shows for free. Mayor Rudy Giuliani urged everyone on the news to come to New York and see a Broadway show. The state government invested in far-reaching campaigns including the now-iconic "New York, New York" commercial that featured an array of Broadway's best singing in the center of Times Square.

Although Broadway only shut down for a few days, the aftermath of the terrorist attack was felt in terms of theatre attendance for an entire season. Several shows couldn't re-establish their footing and closed. This also extended to off-Broadway, which was even harder to rebuild the audience for than Broadway, especially given many downtown theatre locations.

Although there was no public health scare, the perceived lack of safety in traveling to New York and especially Times Square changed the environment on Broadway for awhile. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, 9/11 was the instance where an industry-wide shutdown resulted in the most deep-rooted ongoing effects.

All in all, Broadway has never been dark for even close to the length of time that it remained dark due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In between live theatre's shutdown announcement on March 12, 2020 and the start of Broadway's first post-lockdown production, Pass Over on August 4, 2021, there were 510 dark days for Broadway.

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