After a dark year, Broadway sees light at the end of the summer

"We will be back!" a dozen singers proclaimed in the middle of New York's Times Square, in a pop-up event commemorating the one-year anniversary of Broadway going dim. A clear sense of optimism filled the air - despite the "Closed" signs still darkening the doors of nearby theaters.

With the latest wave of COVID-19 now under control, amid a massive vaccination program and as some theaters partially reopen, New York is "definitely starting to get some more life right now," said Ryann Redmond, who performed in the musical "Frozen" before the pandemic forced Broadway's closing on March 12, 2020.

"People need it more than I think the whole world understands," Redmond said as she participated in the event alongside three or four dozen other actors and dancers.

Despite a decision by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow theaters to reopen at 33 percent capacity, with a maximum of 100 people indoors as of April 2, the hard reality is that Broadway, with its compact theaters and huge production costs, won't be joining them right away.

"We're thrilled that he's doing it," Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League association of producers and theater managers, said of the governor's plan, but "we're still looking at the fall."

Broadway theaters need to fill at least 75 percent of their seats if reopening is to make any economic sense, she said.

And despite the governor's announcement, local authorities, she added, have yet to decide when, or under what conditions, theaters can reopen.

Everyone is counting on an indication from Anthony Fauci, the White House coronavirus advisor, who said in January that theaters should be able to reopen by "early to mid-fall" with an end to the pandemic finally in sight.

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