The Broadway Shutdown: Implications on New York City’s Economy

Adelaide Daniel

Broadway has a long-established reign of being an American cultural icon. Not only has it served as the center of entertainment in New York City, it has continued to contribute to much of New York City’s economy. With the impending threat of COVID-19 in March of 2020, it came as no surprise when New York City announced that all Broadway theaters would shut down. The Broadway League, which represents both producers and owners of Broadway theatres, first announced a shutdown through the end of May 2020, followed by another announcement that theaters would not reopen until November 2020, then decided to push the shutdown through January 2021. As positive coronavirus cases have risen in the northeast of the United States since the beginning of autumn 2020, the Broadway League announced that its shutdown will continue through May 30, 2021. The announcements of the shutdown’s extension have come as a devastation to theatregoers and employees of Broadway theaters, alike.

In 2019, Broadway recorded 97,000 people employed by Broadway theaters—including actors, directors, light and sound technicians, costumers, set designers, and front-of-house staff. Since the beginning of the shutdown, employees have been struggling to keep the arts alive through various online workshops and special performances, while also fighting for the extension of New York City’s unemployment benefits that ended on July 31, 2020. Though many of Broadway’s workers have remained fully employed, the shutdown has caused some shows, including Disney’s live musical production of ‘Frozen,’ to close, citing concerns of COVID-19. Since Broadway is one of New York’s most prominent tourist destinations, this is a devastating blow to New York’s economy.

Last year, Broadway contributed $1.8 billion to New York’s economy, while attracting 15 million visitors from several different countries. With the growing popularity of shows such as ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ in addition to long-standing, admired shows such as ‘Wicked,’ ‘Chicago,’ and ‘Lion King,’ Broadway was set to have a strong season-opener in 2020. Unfortunately, since March, several new productions and revivals have announced they will not have funding to open after the shutdown is over.

To reopen and adhere to guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Broadway will have to adapt the construction and layouts of its theaters to ensure that audience members are able to be seated six feet apart from one another. This is no simple or inexpensive task, as some Broadway theatres are from the early twentieth century and have already been renovated for acoustics and sight obstructions. Producers and theater-owners have assessed the needs required for Broadway’s reopening in the near future and have determined that audience sizes would need to be drastically reduced for theatre to be enjoyed safely.

Ultimately, Broadway’s shutdown will continue because of the inability to travel internationally and to adhere to New York City’s guidelines for social distancing. Until safety measures can be met, 97,000 of New York’s employees will remain unemployed, with access to live theatre in New York City being lost for the foreseeable future.