Industry Pro

The announcement of the Tony Awards and the return of the BC/EFA Red Bucket campaign brought a huge sense of normalcy back to the theatre industry last week - unfortunately this week, we were also reminded how far the industry has to go in establishing the new normal with the release of Actors Equity Association’s latest Diversity and Inclusion report.

With many of the pandemic restrictions being lifted in New York City this week, that the Broadway COVID safety team will celebrate their 2,000th performance on Broadway Tuesday night highlights the new phase of normalcy that the industry has entered.

The geopolitical landscape shifted in a major way over the weekend, with Russia invading Ukraine in an unprovoked attack on their sovereignty. The resulting conflict has caused many arts organizations, including the Met Opera, to cut ties with artists and organizations that are connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Congratulations to Gulfshore Playhouse on becoming the 77th member of the League of Resident Theatre’s - a story we have under the regional section of this week’s newsletter. We also have the story of Hollywood retaining their return to work protocols to keep their sets as safe as possible, even as several states and municipalities roll back their own mandates.

Across the industry last week, two trends have begun to emerge more fully: the first being we continue to have more data on just how bleak things were for the industry over the past two years. The second is that more companies are ready to emerge from that darkness stronger than ever - with new spaces ready to open and new seasons being announced.

While the data from the early winter show that Broadway’s reopening didn’t go as planned, and the January closing announcements were an emotional blow after the Omicron surge, the slate of opening dates announced on Broadway for early to mid-April, have many in the industry starting to feel optimistic that this time a corner has truly been turned.

While we’ve thought we were looking at this turning point before, that doesn’t change the fact that the work to bring further equity to the industry remains ongoing, and as companies continue to chart their paths forward, many are working to build that equity into their recovery.

In New York, some governmental support may be renewed for the performing arts sector in the form of the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit. Meanwhile last week, members of the creative economy were in front of the House Small Business Committee to lobby for more support from a national level.

News of more closings - and planned reopenings - highlighted the Broadway news last week, and Broadway and many regions also announced an extension of mask mandates and vaccination requirements for audiences into the spring, serving as a reminder that the path to that final “new normal” will likely have a few more twists and turns before we arrive.

As the industry works to both emerge from the pandemic and deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, responses are starting to differ based on region. Some Broadway producers are prioritizing their ongoing tours, others are pulling people from the tour to keep running on Broadway. In Chicago, no food and drink are allowed in the theatre.

While the next few weeks may be rough within the industry as we continue to grapple with another surge in the virus related both to the new variant and holiday travel, we remain in a much stronger position - new treatments are available for those that do contract the virus, and the number of people receiving vaccines and boosters continues to rise.

While the production shutdowns (and recent closing announcements) are an echo of March 2020, it is important to remember that across Broadway and across the country, there were many productions that were able to continue their holiday performance schedule without interruption, thanks to the health and safety protocols that theatres have in place.

The cancellations. The story in the industry of the last week or so has been reminiscent of March 2020, though as many observers and epidemiologists have reminded theatre fans - it isn’t as bad as that. The cancelled performances are a sign that testing programs are working.

For many theatre and dance companies, now is the time for the big moneymaker - Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker in most cases, a slightly different holiday tradition in other places. We are still waiting to see what the final numbers look like as companies grapple with new variants, new restrictions, and stringent (and often costly) testing protocols for their performance company

As we once again find ourselves entering a winter of uncertainty, a few breakthrough infections and other illnesses have plagued major productions in multiple markets the past few weeks. While many continue to track the Omicron variant, a surge of Delta cases has made planning more complicated than most people hoped it would be.

Stephen Sondheim pushed the form to new heights, and in many ways gave us the modern musical that we know today. The theatre world is completely different because he was in it, and as we move forward without Sondheim, it will never be the same again.

Across the globe, COVID case counts are rising once again, but the potential impact on tourism - the next major move toward the full recovery of the entertainment industry - is yet to be seen. In the United States, most international travel restrictions have been lifted, and Broadway’s current numbers are strong and on the rise.

The holidays are starting to look more “normal” for Broadway and NYC - with restrictions on international tourists lifted, the return of the Broadway holiday schedule, and an uptick in grosses post-Halloween, things are starting to feel much more normal in New York - and regions beyond.

After a week of announcements here at BroadwayWorld (more on those below), it has also been a week of mostly good news throughout the theatre industry - tourism numbers continue to climb in major regional hubs and theatres continue to announce fuller season schedules for the coming year.

With new data released this week from the Broadway League, a clearer picture of Broadway’s reopening is emerging - and the signs are encouraging for venues across the globe. So far, Broadway has played to audiences at 85% of capacity.

As audiences start to return, what was once a subtle trend in the industry - towards ticket buying closer to the date of performance - has dramatically shifted since theatres have reopened. Where the advance ticket sale window was previously 6-8 weeks, that has now become within two weeks of performance, which for marketers means that the promotional cycle has also shifted - bigger pushes for longer.

The theme of the past few weeks has shifted to labor strife and labor agreements, over ongoing concerns about COVID-19 and its variants - a welcome sign as the theatre industry gets back to work that much of the talk of changes is beginning to translate into action.

Coming back from a year and a half shutdown was never going to be easy. The challenges brought not only by the pandemic but by individual artists standing up against the myriad of injustices that were normalized within the industry meant that as theatre artists got back to work, there were going to need to be serious changes to “business as usual”.

New data this week that indicates many of the technological advances that occurred during the pandemic for audience interaction are here to stay - and have been adopted by older patrons in addition to younger patrons. A promising sign for a more efficient, digital first industry.

Regardless of how one might be emotionally feeling about the Tony Awards, one thing is certain - it marked an important moment in the return of the theatre. While there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the industry, taking the evening to honor performers from the previous theatre season was an important step to take to move forward.