During the global pandemic, the performing arts economy experienced a serious downturn. Broadway theaters and film theaters were shut down. This meant that not only would a variety of theatre employees face the issue of losing their work, but theaters would still have no audience. They've had to cancel shows and reimburse customers. According to the official website of Playbill, Broadway theaters have announced the cancellation of all in-person plays from March 2020 to May 2021. Customers buy theatre tickets for live experiences. There have already been some fascinating attempts at online performances. But, sadly, these pale in comparison to the live, in-person experience of the past.

 

"Not only would a variety of theatre employees face the issue of losing

their work, but theaters would still have no audience"

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In order to slowly maintain their industry and sell the associated goods, the performing arts companies opened workshops with guests of renowned artists. In April 2020, Broadway held a program called “Defying Quarantine” and invited professional actors to do online tutoring for young performers. It attracted more than 300 participants who are huge fans of the arts. However, the promotion of those programs is not known as widely as live shows, so only theatre addicts who subscribe to the newsletters would choose to participate in those virtual events. The loss of the Broadway industry is still incalculable. According to The New Yorker, “theatre is ephemeral.” But hope always exists. This year, the vulnerability of Covid infections has trended downwards due to the increasing rate of vaccine injection. On February 9th, 2021, the Columbus Association of Performing Arts announced upcoming shows of the new season of the Broadway tour. This was exciting news for theatre fans, to hear that Broadway shows will be back in September. Though we cannot predict what will happen through the year, 2021 might be a silver lining for the Broadway industry. Hopefully, the day will come that Broadway and its audiences will meet again, because “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”