“Hamilton,” “Wicked” and “The Lion King,” three of Broadway’s cornerstones, are set to reopen Sept. 14.
The three productions jointly announced their return date Tuesday on the ABC program “Good Morning America.” Tickets are now on sale.
The news comes just one week after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Broadway theaters would reopen just after Labor Day at full capacity.
At that time, the governor did not specify which shows would be operating on this timeline, as individual productions may require more time to hire or rehire actors, crew and other in-house employees as well as conduct rehearsals.
The timeline also depends on the state government’s approval of each theater’s health and safety protocols.
“Aladdin,” “Six,” “Come From Away” and “Chicago” are expected to reopen in September while “Jagged Little Pill,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Ain’t Too Proud” have opening dates set in October. The new “Diana” musical and the Michael Jackson musical, “MJ,” are slated for December.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio is hoping to have New York City fully reopened starting July 1, the delayed Broadway schedule is partially due to the time theaters need to restart production and the fact that tourists account for 65% of annual live theater ticket sales in the city. Still, pent-up demand from locals could fuel sales of tickets in the interim.
Broadway has been shuttered for more than a year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, crippling the local economy. In a traditional year, the theater industry in New York funds nearly 100,000 jobs and pumps nearly $15 billion into the local economy.
Broadway is a highly lucrative entertainment industry in the city. In the week before theaters were shuttered due to the pandemic lockdown, ticket sales reached $26.7 million across plays and musical performances, according to Broadway World.
During that time, “Hamilton” raked in $2.69 million, the most of any current show on Broadway, while “West Side Story” tallied $1.59 million and “Moulin Rouge!” which had just debuted, hauled in $1.57 million in ticket sales, according to the website.
Additionally, “Aladdin” was averaging more than $1 million in the weeks before it closed, “The Lion King” averaged around $1.5 million and “Wicked” was tallying between $1.3 million and $1.5 million per week.
During the last full Broadway season — from May 28, 2018, to May 26, 2019 — shows tallied more than $1.83 billion in ticket sales, marking the highest-grossing season in history, according to an annual report published by the Broadway League.
The league has not released the numbers for the 2019-2020 season, which would have ended in May, but according to Broadway World, the industry snared only around $300 million in ticket sales in 2020 before shuttering.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
