When Will Broadway Re-Open? "January," Hopes Broadway League President

In a new interview with the Daily Beast, Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin tells the publication that while "cautiously optimistic" members of the Broadway League hope to open before the end of 2020 and less optimistic members the Spring of 2021, she believes "I actually am a little more optimistic than those who say Broadway will reopen in the spring, but I tend to be an optimistic person, I tend to think it will be after the first of the year, in January, just because of the massive number of people who come to New York City around the holidays... If Broadway was open and tourism was back, we'd be testing social distancing pretty heavily and dramatically, and we have so many phases to get through before then." Read the full interview here.

Broadway, of course, currently remains suspended through Labor Day a date that's been marked as when tickets are being refunded through, but not when the Great White Way is expected to actually return to performances. BroadwayWorld's Richie Ridge recently chatted with Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin, who is looking optimistically toward the future. "Everybody is working positively towards getting [Broadway] back open," she said. "I am a fortunate person to get to experience that optimism. Certainly there is fear; certainly people are losing a fortune, but they will somehow find a way to get back."

In New York City, Broadway attendance tops those of the ten professional New York and New Jersey sports teams combined. Broadway surpassed the combined sports teams by over 4.6 million in attendance. During the 2018-2019 season, the Broadway industry contributed $14.7 billion to the economy of New York City and supported 96,900 jobs. According to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), 7.5% of New York's gross state product lies in the arts and cultural sector.

Actors' Equity first made the public case for emergency relief for arts and entertainment workers on March 11, when news reports emerged that Washington state and others would limit public gatherings. Equity quickly mobilized to partner with other arts and entertainment unions to make the case to key members of Congress for relief for arts and entertainment workers during this unprecedented crisis.

Since then, Equity members have sent tens of thousands of letters to their members of Congress seeking relief. Equity has also partnered with the Coalition of Broadway Unions (COBUG) to seek relief for members in New York State, as well as launched the Curtain Up Fund with The Actors Fund to raise money for members in need.