VIDEO: Watch Broadway Reunite in Times Square 1 Year After the Shutdown

The theater community just reunited in Times Square exactly one year to the day since Broadway shut-down for "We Will Be Back," a special live pop-up experience and commemoration of Broadway's "lost year." The event aims to provide a sense of hope as the industry and city move forward from the challenges brought on by the past year, by shining a spotlight on the arts workers who suffered during the theatre's darkest hours as well as celebrating the sense of community and diversity within the arts environment that mirrors that of New York City itself.

Broadway stars Chita Rivera, Matthew Broderick, André De Shields, Brian Stokes Mitchell, BD Wong, Joel Grey, Derrick Baskin, Nikki M. James, Kelvin Moon Loh, Joél Pérez, Peppermint, Lillias White, Tamara Tunie, Sierra Boggess, Sahr Ngaujah, Doug Wright, Jerry Mitchell, Robyn Hurder, Michael McElroy and the Broadway Inspirational Voices, and more will be on hand for the event featuring song, dance, costumes, musicians and more in Times Square, the heart of New York City.

While the arts community has many months ahead before uniting in theatres once again, "We Will Be Back" provides the opportunity to safely and ceremoniously come together on Broadway, live and in-person, for this special one-time-only performance representing a myriad of arts and culture workers, unions, and individuals that comprise the Broadway community.

This Covid-mindful gathering is sponsored by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Kaleidoscope Entertainment, NYCNext, and the Times Square Alliance, and is directed/produced by Holly-Anne Devlin/Kaleidoscope Entertainment, and Executive Produced by Blake Ross. Organizing artists include Michael McElroy, Tom Kitt, Seth Rudetsky, James Wesley, Brian Blythe, Carson Elrod, and Tara Rubin. Choreography is by Kellen Stancil with musical direction by Jacob Yates and Allen René Louis, sound design by Walter Trarbach, fashion direction by Sam Ratelle, and graphic design by Blake Manns. "We Will Be Back" includes contributions from the variety of institutions and organizations that make Broadway what it is and are shaping the Broadway of tomorrow, including: Broadway Inspirational Voices, Musicians United for Social Equality (MUSE), Judi Wilfore (leading front of house, ushers, company managers and concessions efforts), Be An Arts Hero, Black Theatre United, The Costume Industry Coalition, Broadway For Racial Justice, The Dramatists Guild, Black Theatre Coalition, Local 802, The Casting Society of America, The New York Drama Critics Circle, Open Jar Studios, Stars in the House, Dominick Costa (Merchant's Hospitality), and RRR Creative.

Check out photos from the big day!

"We Will Be Back" includes contributions from the variety of institutions and organizations that make Broadway what it is, including: Broadway Inspirational Voices, RRR Creative, Dominick Costa (Merchant's Hospitality), Judi Wilfore (leading front of house, ushers, company managers and concessions efforts), Be An Arts Hero, Black Theatre United, The Costume Industry Coalition, Broadway For Racial Justice, The Dramatists Guild, Black Theatre Coalition, Local 802, The Casting Society of America, The New York Drama Critics Circle, Local 764, ATPAM, Open Jar Studios, Stars in the House, New York Drama Critics and The Marriott Marquis. Special thanks to Times Square champions, Senator Brad Hoylman, Erik Bottcher, District Leader Marisa Redanty, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

The event organizers are collectively responsible for producing dozens of events all over the city during the pandemic including pop ups in the five boroughs and October's Times Square Event featuring Bernadette Peters and 50 fellow artists singing on the red steps over TKTS in Times Square's Father Duffy Square.