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While we isolate, let’s innovate: How Broadway (and theatre) can come back after this
There is nothing on earth like sitting in an audience waiting for a show to begin. The anticipation shared with those around you when you have no idea what you’re going to feel next. Whether you are laughing or crying or angry or frustrated, you are doing it in real time as part of a shared experience. That’s what I fell in love with and that’s what I miss. But, while we remain in this forced intermission, maybe we could rethink a few things.
We need to bring the theatre to more people digitally.
No, nothing is like seeing it live. And yes, there are ways of filming an experience beautifully. But doing so was always a complicated after thought, not a proactive response. Someone once told me a story of how she and her aging mother would go see a matinee together every month at a different theater until her mother was physically unable to do so. She wished there was a way to keep those matinee dates. And there are other times, when our family of five can’t all afford to see a show, so we pick which two of us will go.
I would pay for “virtual seats” if there were certain performances that would broadcast live but only accessible through a login code. I want to see what Oregon Shakespeare is doing or something in London or the K-Pop musicals we hope will…