New York’s new reopening guidelines allowing the city’s entertainment venues to operate at a third of their capacity are a show stopper for the $1.8 billion performing arts industry
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced that beginning April 2, arts and entertainment venues could begin reopening at 33% capacity and that, depending on testing procedures, venues could hold up to 100 to 150 people indoors.
Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, responded by saying, “We can’t socially distance. Any show at 33% capacity closes very quickly. The financial model doesn’t work and it will never work.”
The inability of Broadway shows to meet the high cost of staging and labor makes the partial reopening a nonstarter, business folk in the theater industry said.
St. Martin said any Broadway show needs at least 75% of its seats sold throughout the week just to pay back investors and possibly make a profit.
The guidelines also raised questions related to the cost of tickets, such as whether a smaller capacity of tickets can be sold at higher prices in a Covid-19 economy.
“I don’t even know how it is financially viable for any of these entities to take advantage of the opportunity without there being comprehensive subsidy from the city or state,” said Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, executive director of Dance/NYC. “The state is asking them to take a financial loss for the sake of opening.”
Both organization leaders say the governor’s office lacks an understanding of the preparation a live performance requires.
“You can’t have a live performances if you don’t have rehearsals, and you can’t have rehearsals unless dancers and performers can condition their bodies in classes, and you can’t take classes unless studios are open,” Duque Cifuentes said.
Because of the economic devastation, St. Martin emphasized that even if reopening were scheduled for 100% capacity and available by tomorrow, most shows would require six weeks of preparation.
“Some shows have said it will take three to four months to be back and ready,” she said. “There’s rehearsals, cast changes, people may not come back, costumes and sets. There’s so many details that need to be done before they can reopen.”
The industry itself has been decimated by Covid-19 economic restrictions. In 2020 the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society estimated unemployment at 98%.
To stay alive during the downturn, many theaters and performance houses relied on two rounds of Paycheck Protection Program funding, the employee retention tax credit under the Cares Act, and the generosity of donors.
“The donor family for opera has stayed loyal and supportive,” said Marc Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America. His industry is eagerly awaiting activation of the $15 billion Shuttered Venues Operator grant in the congressional relief package from December, he said.
There are other, brick-and-mortar elements unique to the performance industry that make it hard to view a partial reopening on April 2 as the first step toward normalcy.
Unlike sports stadiums, many city theaters are old, with limited entrances and cramped bathrooms and tight seating arrangements, said Mark Conrad, associate professor of law and ethics at Fordham University. Some theaters have landmarks that could make the construction of any Covid-19 era social-distancing improvements hard to add, he said.
“And how do you test people coming in?” Conrad asked. “The entrance and exit are some of the biggest issues involved.”
SOURCE: Section Page News – Crain’s New York Business – Read entire story here.