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Agence France-Presse

Broadway stars who once lit up New York’s most bankable stages now face a reckoning over the future of the performing arts, in an industry that has bled money since the coronavirus pandemic began.
New York’s famed musical theatre district shut down as the city became the US epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in the spring.
When the crisis took hold, performer Derrick Davis was set to play Martin Luther King Jnr in I Dream in North Carolina.
Suddenly, Davis – who has played major parts in The Lion King, and was the first black person in the title role on a national tour of The Phantom Of The Opera – was unemployed.

As the weeks dragged on, “depression started to set in; the money started to fall through the sieve,” the 41-year-old says.
With every postponement – New York actors are now hoping for a summer 2021 reopening – he pondered a return to an earlier career in real estate.
New York cheered by orchestra’s pop-up concerts in the streets
“I can’t sit and survive on hope,” Davis says. “Many of my friends have got on planes and gone home … saying that they may never come back.”
For now, Davis is holding on, taking virtual university teaching gigs and honing his craft. “There’s still that fire inside,” he says. “I’ve worked my life to get to this level. I can’t throw in the towel just yet.”
In its 2018-2019 season, Broadway grossed US$1.83 billion, according to the Broadway League, a trade organisation that says in normal times the industry supports nearly 97,000 local jobs.

The pandemic financial hit absorbed by the theatre district is severe, and industry leaders say they would lose money operating at a limited capacity – unlike museums, which have started opening in New York – meaning live theatre is likely to be among the last sectors to return.
Chondra Profit, a leading Lion King actor for a decade, says that while she feared burning through savings waiting to get back onstage, over the past few months she has gone into “full mother mode,” caring for her energetic two-year-old.
But even using the time for her family felt like a risk, the 36-year-old says, as pressure grew to use the period of isolation as fuel for new work.

“You have to create the next best play, and you have to create all this music … artists are putting out videos every other day,” Profit says. “It was starting to suffocate me.”
Taking a step back, Profit began reading new scripts, and considering how she could feel out new pathways, such as directing or casting.
Their professional creative outlets stifled, Profit and Davis have found solidarity with performers they have collaborated with for Lights Out On Broadway, an open-mic event which has been kept up online.
Our culture and our people are going through a metamorphosis … our responsibility is going to be different in terms of our output
Performer Angela Birchett talks about Black Lives Matter
The show started as an avenue for actors to let loose on nights when they were not performing in regular shows.
Profit and Davis, along with the show’s hosts Angela Birchett and Taharqa Patterson, reflect how theatre’s return might evolve post-pandemic – in terms of health precautions, but also given the sharp rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in recent months.
“Our culture and our people are going through a metamorphosis … our responsibility is going to be different in terms of our output,” Birchett, 41, says. “Art and music are going to be a vehicle that will continue to move things forward. We have to make that a part of our absolute obligation.”

Patterson, 38, agrees, saying the performing arts would be key to “healing” for audiences and performers, who have been deprived of creative release for many stressful months.
Though none of the performers could predict how live shows would evolve, Patterson is positive of one thing: “There is no going back to business as usual. There will be a new normal, because we’re rocking with a different consciousness, a different awareness and different skills that have been sharpened and honed while we’ve been home,” he says.
Davis says he is “motivated” to keep pushing boundaries and find new ways to create, but cautions that the pandemic has taken its toll on artists just like everyone else.
At times, the depression runs deep. He recalls a moment when “I didn’t even have the energy to call somebody and say hello … because of the uncertainty and because of the lack of ability to just be around people that you’re normally around in a normal way. It’s a challenge. But as performers, we rise to that challenge, and we persevere. Hopefully we will get to the other side.”


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Coronavirus pandemic

Broadway stars talk about their uncertain futures, with musicals one of the hardest hit entertainment sectors

New York’s Broadway has been hit hard by coronavirus restrictions and thousands of actors are coping with a loss of income and an uncertain future. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP

Performers Derrick Davis (L) and Chondra Profit speak during an interview with AFP on September 8, 2020 in Teaneck, New Jersey. - Broadway stars who once lit up New York's most bankable stages are now facing a reckoning over the state of their art, in an industry that's bled money since the pandemic began. Like essentially all other cultural institutions, the city's famed musical theater district shut down as New York became the epicenter of Covid-19's grip on the United States in the spring. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

Artists Taharqa Patterson (L) and Angela Birchett perform during an interview with AFP on September 8, 2020 in Teaneck, New Jersey. - Broadway stars who once lit up New York's most bankable stages are now facing a reckoning over the state of their art, in an industry that's bled money since the pandemic began. Like essentially all other cultural institutions, the city's famed musical theater district shut down as New York became the epicenter of Covid-19's grip on the United States in the spring. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

Performer Angela Birchett reacts during an interview with AFP on September 8, 2020 in Teaneck, New Jersey. - Broadway stars who once lit up New York's most bankable stages are now facing a reckoning over the state of their art, in an industry that's bled money since the pandemic began. Like essentially all other cultural institutions, the city's famed musical theater district shut down as New York became the epicenter of Covid-19's grip on the United States in the spring. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

Performer Derrick Davis speaks during an interview with AFP on September 8, 2020 in Teaneck, New Jersey. - Broadway stars who once lit up New York's most bankable stages are now facing a reckoning over the state of their art, in an industry that's bled money since the pandemic began. Like essentially all other cultural institutions, the city's famed musical theater district shut down as New York became the epicenter of Covid-19's grip on the United States in the spring. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

Musical theatres have stood empty since the spring, when the Covid-19 pandemic closed entertainment venues across the US. Photo: Shutterstock

Universal Music streams Leslie Cheung singing a  Four Seasons version, previously unreleased, to mark what would have been singer-actor’s 64th birthday

Leslie Cheung performs during a stadium concert in Shanghai in 2000. Photo: AFP

Handout image shows Leslie Cheung's Four Seasons A Balloon’s Journey, song cover. [12SEPTEMBER2020 FEATURES] CREDIT: Universal Music Hong Kong

Leslie Cheung during a 1988 concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum. He gave up singing in 1990 to focus on his film career, but launched a comeback to the stage in 1997. Photo: SCMP

Princess Diana musical skips Broadway stage for a Netflix debut amid Covid-19 – will Meghan and Harry tune in?

The tumultuous life of Diana, Princess of Wales, has been turned into a musical which will be shown on Netflix. Photo: Reuters

This image released by O&MDKC shows, from left, Judy Kaye, Erin Davie, Roe Hartrampf and Jeanna de Waal who will appear in the upcoming musical “Diana,” which tells the story of the late Diana Spencer. The production, which started previews on Broadway in early March but never officially opened due to the pandemic, is coming to Netflix. (Gavin Bond/O&MDKC via AP)

FILE PHOTO: Actors Jeanna de Waal and Roe Hartrampf speak at the news conference for the musical Diana about the life of the late Princess of Wales, by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, at the Lotte Hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Gaia Squarci/File Photo

Coronavirus: Broadway actor Nick Cordero, who had leg amputated, dead at 41 from Covid-19 complications

Nick Cordero. File photo: AP

Lifestyle

Arts & Culture


Musical theatres around the world closed earlier this year because of Covid-19 and may be among the last venues to reopen
Broadway actors talk about struggling with depression and a lack of income, while trying to keep the spark alive



Covid-19 led to the closure of musical theatres around the world, and many are unlikely to reopen until next year. We talk to Broadway stars about their lack of income, and the fight to keep their dream alive.


Music

Fame and celebrity

Broadway stars talk about their uncertain futures, with musicals one of the hardest hit entertainment sectors

Musical theatres around the world closed earlier this year because of Covid-19 and may be among the last venues to reopen Broadway actors talk about struggling with depression and a lack of income, while trying to keep the spark alive

Musical theatres around the world closed earlier this year because of Covid-19 and may be among the last venues to reopen

Broadway actors talk about struggling with depression and a lack of income, while trying to keep the spark alive