Roundup: Inside the First Performance in a Broadway Theatre as Part of NY PopsUp - Photos, Clips and More!

The first Broadway theatre reopened its doors yesterday for a special performance as part of NY PopsUp. The St. James Theater welcomed Nathan Lane and Savion Glover who performed for a group of staff members from The Actors Fund and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

NY PopsUp is a festival of random performances that was announced in February to help revitalize the performing arts industry in the city. It has since hosted performances from Shoshana Bean, Gavin Creel, Amy Schumer, Jon Batiste, and more.

Lane talked about his love for theater during a monologue he gave at the performance.

"I love theater. I can't explain it," he said, according to Variety. "It's just when I have tickets to a show it lifts my whole day. It's like a date with someone who might be wonderful, or might be boring, or might change my life forever."

"These are baby steps toward a real reopening. It's a way of signaling to everyone that we're coming back," he told The New York Times after the event, going on to say that he felt safe performing in the theatre. "I felt as safe as anyone who has been vaccinated and tested 123 times. I've been swabbed. I've been hosed down. There were a lot of precautions and protocols, so yes, I felt safe."

Glover agreed, saying "I was a little nervous, but I was elated, and happy, and there was nostalgia, and I was sentimental - it was everything. And I felt very safe. I want to be rubbing elbows and hugging - we're looking for that eventually - but there's no more safe place than right in the middle of that stage."

Read more on Variety, The New York Times, and CNN, all of which were on hand at the event.

Below, check out photos and videos from the event!

Photo Credit: Nina Westervelt for NY PopsUp