The Broadway League has made its decision, and the closure of Broadway theaters will now run through at least May 31, 2021.
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All Broadway theaters closed on March 12 of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread throughout the United States. That original announcement ran through April 12. Then, on April 8, that date was extended to June 7. The next change came on May 13 where the date was extended to Sept. 8. Up until Friday, it was believed the theaters would be closed until Jan. 3, 2021, but that has once again changed.
The latest announcement will now take the closure through May 31, 2021.
“With nearly 97,000 workers who rely on Broadway for their livelihood and an annual economic impact of $14.8 billion to the city, our membership is committed to re-opening as soon as conditions permit us to do so. We are working tirelessly with multiple partners on sustaining the industry once we raise our curtains again,” Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement.
None of this has happened without some casualties, however, most notably being the permanent closure of Frozen.
Currently, visitors to New York City from multiple locations need to quarantine for 14 days before they can go out and do anything. This is definitely keeping tourists from visiting, and they are the majority of the business for Broadway shows. Until that can be sorted out, it seems unlikely the productions will reopen.
Will Broadway return in June 2021? We’ll just have to wait and see.
IMAGE SOURCE: Shutterstock – Broadway – NYC Russ
