NYU Presents 'The Future of Broadway and the Path to Reopening'

Join New York University's School of Global Public Health, Tisch School of the Arts, and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development for an exclusive virtual conversation with a panel of arts, public health, and audience development experts discussing Broadway's unprecedented shutdown and the wider implications of reopening. This panel is designed to raise considerations and offer context to help inform reporting about Broadway's reopening over the summer and beyond. The conversation will be up-to-minute and will take into account the fluidity of the situation.

The path to reopening New York City in the wake of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has prompted speculation about what our post-pandemic future will look like. With Broadway's stages remaining dark for so long in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread protests over police killings of Black people forcing a collective reckoning with longstanding racial inequality, questions about the future of Broadway and the theater remain: What can theaters do to keep their audience, cast, and crew safe? How might longstanding theater practices adapt and change after one of the most disruptive events in history? And how can the theater industry be more inclusive and attract diverse theatergoers moving forward?

This panel will take questions and address these and a range of other topics including: the historical precedent (or lack thereof) for the Broadway shutdown; the biggest public health challenges Broadway faces in its path to reopening; the necessary steps to ensure public health and safety including air quality, COVID-19 testing, and considerations for concession and restroom queues; and how Broadway can ensure it's attracting multicultural audiences through inclusive practices.

Speakers:

Jack Caravanos

Clinical Professor of Environmental Public Health Sciences, NYU School of Global Public Health

Jack Caravanos, DrPH, is an expert in environmental and occupational health and clinical professor at NYU School of Global Public Health. He is a board-certified industrial hygienist focused on the science of protecting and enhancing the health, safety, and environment of people at work and in their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Caravanos has been a special advisor to the Broadway League on issues of public health, air quality, and ventilation, and was part of an air quality study in a Broadway theater. He has also recently worked with the Independent Drivers Guild to increase the safety of rideshare drivers and passengers during the pandemic - creating safety trainings focused on infection control, personal protective equipment (PPE), and air circulation - and developed NIH-funded safety training videos for healthcare workers in emergency departments receiving infectious patients.

Donna Walker-Kuhne

Adjunct Faculty, NYU Steinhardt's School of Culture, Education, and Human Development | President of Walker International Communications Group, Inc

Acknowledged as the nation's foremost expert in Audience Development by the Arts & Business Council, Donna Walker-Kuhne has devoted her professional career to increasing access to the arts. She has raised over $20 million in earned income promoting the arts to multicultural communities. A veteran of over 18 Broadway productions providing multicultural marketing and group sales most recently for A Raisin in the Sun, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Gerswin's Porgy and Bess, Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk, STICK FLY, Time Stands Still, Driving Miss Daisy and Ragtime. Her clients also include Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Apollo Theater, WNYC Radio, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and The Louis Armstrong House Museum.

Laurence Maslon

Arts Professor, NYU Tisch School of the Arts | Associate Chair of NYU's Graduate Acting program

Laurence Maslon is an arts professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, as well as associate chair of the Graduate Acting Program. He is the writer and coproducer of the American Masters documentary, Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me, broadcast on PBS in 2019, as well as the artistic director and writer of "Yes I Can: The Sammy Davis, Jr. Songbook" at the 92Y's "Lyrics and Lyricists" series. He is also the host and producer of the radio series, Broadway to Main Street on the local NPR-affiliate station WPPB-FM. The program is winner of the 2019 ASCAP Foundation/Deems Taylor Award for Radio Broadcast. His most recent book is the companion volume to the Broadway phenomenon Come From Away, as well as an update third edition companion volume to the PBS series Broadway: The American Musical. His history of recorded music from Broadway, Broadway to Main Street: How Show Music Enchanted America, was published in 2018 by Oxford University Press. He served on the nominating committee for the Tony Awards from 2007 to 2010.

The panel will be moderated by Sapna Parikh, MD, MPH, assistant director of visual storytelling, NYU Office of Public Affairs. Parikh is also an award-winning New York City based multi-media journalist with a background in both public health and musical theater.

Please RSVP to Sarah.Binney@nyu.edu or Rachel.Harrison@nyu.edu by Tuesday, June 1. Link to attend this online event will only be provided to those who RSVP.