Standing ovations and musical metaphors: The return of Broadway

Left: Broadway marquees, photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash. Right: "Hadestown" press photo.
Left: Broadway marquees, photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash. Right: "Hadestown" press photo.

Broadway's back, thank god. I’m a true theater girl who, in the before times, tried to get to two shows a month, up for seeing pretty much anything and everything. In March 2020, I had far-too expensive orchestra tickets to see the long-awaited "Company" revival when this "flu-like" illness dominating the news cycle was deemed too contagious to pack thousands of people together in a dark, poorly ventilated auditorium. Initially, the show was postponed for two weeks. Surely, we’d have Covid under control by April! Then, the date was pushed back another two weeks, then a month, then the dreaded email came: "'Company' has been indefinitely postponed. Your card will be credited for a full refund." After that, I spent 18 months glued to YouTube watching old Tony’s performances and virtual specials like "A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration" and "The Rosie O’Donnell Show’s Actors Fund Benefit" to tide me over. I worried about the livelihood of my favorite performers, anxiously following many of them on TikTok and donating to their GoFundMes. Before the pandemic, Broadway was booming. During the last full season before the outbreak, from 2018 to 2019, 14.8 million people attended a show, grossing $1.83 billion. That’s more...

Join our Community
or
REGISTER WITH XP LAND

Password and Confirmation do not match

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Thank you! Welcome to XP Land.

A verification email has been sent to . Please verify your email to continue, and you’ll receive our weekly e-newsletter, full access to our content, and more to come.

Forgot your password?

Enter your email, and we’ll send reset instructions.

Check your inbox

We’ve sent a password reset link to . If you don’t see it in your inbox, check your spam or junk folder.

Reset Your Password