Lin-Manuel Miranda is promoting his movie In the Heights. It is a movie that never would have been had it not started out as a Broadway musical.
For the first time, Broadway needs him more than he needs it. Therefore, yesterday when he was on The Tonight Show, he and Jimmy Fallon paid tribute to the Great White Way returning in September.
So, the two men called their famous friends up, reworked Hamilton’s You’ll Be Back, and performed a song and dance number that is worthy, of well, Broadway. September can’t come soon enough.
The lights have been dim on the Great White Way for almost 14 months, and today Governor Andrew Cuomo finally announced when they will turn them on again. The curtains will go up on Broadway on September 14th.
“We are thrilled that Governor Cuomo clearly recognizes the impact of Broadway’s return on the city and state’s economy and the complexity of restarting an entire industry that has been dormant for over a year,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. “Nothing beats Broadway. The theatre owners, producers, and other League members will continue to work with the NY State Department of Health and the Governor to coordinate the industry’s return and the related health and safety protocols required to do so. We remain cautiously optimistic about Broadway’s ability to resume performances this fall and are happy that fans can start buying tickets again.”
Tickets go on sale tomorrow. However, we don’t know what shows will be back when. According to Broadway World, they are expecting to announce their returns in the coming weeks.
The theaters will be able to be at 100% capacity when they open. However, there will be safety protocols to keep them in business and safe. They are “face coverings, health screening, enhanced air filtration and ventilation, and rigorous cleaning and disinfection,” per the website. I can’t wait to see all the fancy masks that the audience will be wearing.
Actually, I can’t wait to see Broadway open again. Even though I have not been back in NYC since the pandemic started. I can’t imagine Manhattan without the lullaby of Broadway. So come and meet those dancing feet on 42nd Street in the Fall.
The lights on Broadway have been dark for over a year now, and the whole community wants to get back to work. The fastest way they can do that is if they all get vaccinated. Therefore, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Lin-Manuel Miranda opened up a location just for them to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the Theater District.
When Stephen Colbert heard this, he and the Late Show writers reworked Hamilton’s song My Shot for the occasion. I am normally not a fan of Colbert’s work, but this is f*cking brilliant. It is enough to make King George III go mad. And not in the angry sense.
BTW My Shot was on my vaccination playlist when I got the first injection. Now, I am going to add this song to it for when I get the second shot in 11 days. It is not like I am counting or anything.
James Corden has done a few musical numbers on his Late Late Show throughout the years, but yesterday’s might be his most perfect one yet. That is because he reworked Les Misérables’ One Day More in honor of Donald Trump’s one more day in the White House.
Since he cannot do such a big group number by himself, he was joined by Broadway stars: Joshua Grosso, Jillian Butler, Emily Bautista, Kyle Scatliffe, Shuler Hensley, Patti LuPone, and Matt Lucas. Three of which star/red in the musical.
Broadway is one of the hardest-hit industries because of the pandemic. Therefore, the CBS talk show donated money to Broadway Cares as a thank you to the actors who took part in this song.
As we get closer to the curtains going up on Broadway again (hopefully) on May 30th, we find out which shows will not be back. Mean Girls is the latest production to announce that the lights will stay off for them at the August Wilson Theatre.
The musical based on Tina Fey’s 2004 movie started previews on March 12, 2018. Then one day short of their second anniversary, the Great White Way went silent because of COVID-19.
Even though it will not be returning to the stage, Broadway.com reports a movie version of the musical is in the works.
