We continue to follow some news items and events regarding theatre in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the US.
Peter Filichia's column on BroadwayOnline speaks volumes.
Pretty much all of New York's theatres were closed down on Tuesday, the day of the attack, and Wednesday for both matinee and evening performances. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani suggested that a reopening of New York's theatres would be helpful to morale and for the city's finances. Most Broadway performances resumed Thursday evening, dimming their marquees prior to performances. Among them Urinetown, which had been scheduled to open that evening. The opening has been postponed until September 20th. Ticket holders for September 11th and 12th performances of Broadway shows are entitled to refunds or exchanges.
Also at a number of theatres, the show was held for a moment of silence and a group singing of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America."
There was a police presence at or near most theatres and icket holders were asked to check bags and packages.
Off- and off-off-Broadway performances are more problematic, with many of the theatres located in the closed areas of Manhattan. Those between Canal and 14th Streets were allowed to reopen on 9/14, with some areas below Canal getting permission in the days following.
All Washington DC theatres resumed performances by the 14th. Only a production of Jeffrey Siegel's "Music for the Young and Young at Heart" has been cancelled because Mr. Siegel was in flight during the attack and was diverted to another airport.
A number of theatres and performers around the country have dedicated performances for disaster relief.
As reported by BroadwayOnline, Actors Equity spokesman David Lotz reports, "no one we know was injured or killed, thank God."
BroadwayOnline also reports that all League of American Theatre Owners and Producers productions were dark on September 11, except for "the national tour of Contact in Salt Lake City, UT, which did so at the request of the governor and mayor, who felt it was important to show that things were operating normally." The League is planning on installing American flags in the lobbies of all Broadway theatres.
As reported in numerous locations, the Roundabout Theatre Company's scheduled Broadway production of the Steven Sondheim/John Weidman musical, Assassins, has been indefinitely postponed. In a press release the authors write:
Assassins is a show which asks audiences to think critically about various aspects of the American experience. In light of Tuesday's murderous assault on our nation and on the most fundamental things in which we all believe, we, the Roundabout, and director Joe Mantello believe this is not an appropriate time to present a show which makes such a demand.
Lincoln Center Theatre is pushing back its three announced productions a number of weeks for various reasons including "loss of rehearsal time."
Michael Riedel in the NY Post has an article entitled, "Broadway Braces," about an emergency meeting of theatre owners and producers regarding the effects of the attack on theatre.
TDF reports no loss of life at its World Trade Center TKTS location.
Most of the theatre websites have returned to a semblance of normalcy with only a few nods to the catastrophe -- notes in the news areas and, for example, the replacement of the usual American Express banners on Playbill's pages with a Salvation Army banner.
The Abingdon Theatre Company delayed the presentation of its new Christopher Brian Wolk Playwriting Award from 9/15 to 9/17. It will be presented to playwright Christopher Bailey.
The Philadelphia Fringe Festival cancelled performances on the day of the attack. Most shows resumed the following day.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis's production of Gypsy began raising funds for the Red Cross disaster relief fund.
The musical Reefer Madness was scheduled to begin previews at the Variety Arts Theatre in New York on the 15th but has delayed its first performance until the 18th.
The national tour of The Full Monty held its opening night in Chicago the day after. (On the day of the event Chicago had evacuated its downtown area.)
The crew of Proof provided equipment to relief workers.
The production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Alan Ayckbourn musical, By Jeeves, was for a short time postponed. It was scheduled to begin performances at the Helen Hayes in October 27 but according to the production several investors had withdrawn as a result of the terrorist assault. Then Sir Andrew galloped in to the rescue with the needed funds, and so the show will go on!
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS donated $50,000 to Engine Company 54/Battalion 9 -- a.k.a. "Broadway's Firehouse" -- which lost almost half of its company in the collapse of the Towers. Also, the annual Broadway Flea Market was rescheduled to September 30th with some of the proceeds now being directed to the Twin Towers Fund (as will the proceeds from other upcoming events).
The 9/14 performance of Blast! was cancelled due to the fact that many of the cast could not get into Manhattan. Audience members were given tickets to other shows.
On the 14th, London's West End theatre marquees were dimmed for five minutes.
On the 17th, four shows, already struggling and hit hard by the decline in patronage resulting from fears after the attack, announced closings: The Rocky Horror Show, Stones in His Pockets, A Thousand Clowns, and If You Ever Leave Me... I'm Going With You! Also set to close is the off-Broadway Bat Boy, which, like The Rocky Horror Show, is rumored to be planning to reopen in calmer times. The Syringa Tree is officially taking a hiatus.
Off-off-Broadway, The Lowest Show on Earth, scheduled to open September 25, was cancelled completely.
On September 18 leaders of the theatrical unions met to try to figure out what to do about the ill-health of Broadway post-terrorism. An agreement was reached with the theatrical unions to accept a 25% across-the-board pay cut, with those who receive royalties waiving them, on five ailing shows: Chicago, The Full Monty, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, and Rent. In addition, the one-week closing notice rule was changed to a 48-hour notice temporarily. Kiss Me, Kate was slated to take advantage of the rule change, but a last minute offer by the cast and crew (led by a musician and carpenter) will keep them open. The offer: a 25% pay cut, plus an additional 25% of pay to be used to purchase tickets to the show to be given away.
Valerie Harper of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife offered her salary back.
Peter Filichia reports in BroadwayOnline about actor Jeffrey Landman who was late for work because he stopped on the way to pick up a copy of the cast album of tick, tick... BOOM! which was due to release that day, September 11. He stepped out of the subway and saw a plane hit his building...
Our good friends Martin Denton and the rest of the team at nytheatre.com (a.k.a The New York Theatre Experience, Inc.) were evacuated from their offices several blocks away from the Twin Towers. But they're safe and have returned to work. They have created a new NYTHEATRE Responds to a Crisis page, listing special benefits, special events, and reschedulings.
BroadwayOnline's summary of events.
Playbill Online's "Theatre Week in Review."
Michael Riedel reports on Broadway's dire financial situation.
Originally published at Suite101.com Theatre, 9/25/01
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