“What Comes Next?”: What Broadway Professionals are up to during the COVID-19 Pandemic

 BY TARA WANDS

When Broadway shut its theatres down in March, no one could have foreseen that this was the beginning of the longest shutdown of Broadway in history. With the Broadway shutdown extended through the end of May 2021, many professionals found themselves with a lot less income and a lot more free time. 

 The search for a source of income during the pandemic has been a struggle for many Broadway employees. CBS News did a piece on how Broadway artists both backstage and onstage are struggling to make ends meet. Some are finding work as acting coaches, and others are struggling to keep their more flexible jobs they had before the pandemic as everything else is also shut down. Some, like Michelle Mercedes (you can find her Instagram linked here) are utilizing the extra time to pursue greater education in graduate schools while others, like set designer Derek McLane, who is mentioned in an article on Broadway Direct, are using their extra free time to hone skills such as painting. Other theatre artists are banding together to support one another in these trying times. Jon Taylor, an NYC-based photographer, had offered free headshots to any artist who was currently unemployed at the time. In a time when many are simply trying to hold on until Broadway opens up again; it is inspiring to see the support reaching out to help these struggling artists. 

Speaking of support, the Broadway community has continued to harness their skills from The Great White Way to directly contribute to fighting COVID-19. The aforementioned Broadway Direct article describes Broadway employees ranging from wardrobe supervisors to assistant stage managers assisting in the making of masks and other medical equipment. The Broadway organization Open Jar has established the Broadway Relief Project to create personal protective equipment for the ever-essential medical workers. 

Shows that had been shut down are turning to social media to perform, often with current events at the center of their message. Take this post from the Broadway sensation Hamilton that encouraged Americans to exercise their right to vote for example. One show that had been closed for over a decade, Legally Blonde, held a virtual reunion including a rewritten version of the opening number encouraging good hand hygiene during the pandemic in the midst of the actress who originated the role of Elle Woods, Laura Bell Bundy, testing positive for COVID-19. Returning to Hamilton, the official Instagram page for the show advertised a virtual fundraising event, “Ham4Change,” in which the original Broadway cast participated in a ticketed livestream that benefitted organizations whose focus is to end systematic racism. These two shows are not the only ones refusing to be silenced; the official Instagram accounts for Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, and more have been posting content since the shutdown, advocating for proper health practices and for social justice. It goes to show that, despite the physical space of Broadway being shut down, its influence is still strong and is still being utilized over eight months since the shutdown was first announced. 

Theatre has survived through a lot since its supposed conception way back in Ancient Greece. If there is anything that has stuck with me the most through my recent theatre history class, it is that theatre and those who are passionate about it are tenacious in the face of adversity. From plagues to complete bans of the art, theatre has outlasted every setback it has encountered, and I believe this situation will prove to be no different. Broadway professionals may not be able to work in the ways they had hoped or planned, but they continue to strive to improve both themselves and the world around them, and when Broadway does reopen, we will come back to a Broadway that is even more passionate about its craft than ever before.