What Broadway Reopening Means for Marginalized Communities
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Broadway shows have officially started announcing their reopening dates. Theatre is coming back. The world is slowly returning to normal. For many, it’s exciting to see their beloved art form return; but what’s the theatre industry going to do to protect its most vulnerable members?
Starting in September, Broadway shows will slowly begin to reopen. That’s only four short months away and many of these shows begin rehearsals this month. Despite the relatively short timeframe, we don’t have any solid guidance on what COVID-19 safety protocols will look like, other than that theatres will be reopening at 100 percent capacity. Will vaccinations be required (and proof given)? Are masks required? At the very least, will a negative Covid test have to be shown? The lack of concrete safety measures is worrying for many of those who are immunocompromised or otherwise concerned.
Aside from the global pandemic, another topic many are worried about is this: what the industry is going to do to protect its workers against the long-standing issues of abuse and racism. Last month’s March on Broadway outlined many of these concerns. The protest was aimed at Rudin’s removal from the Broadway League (he has since stepped down) and for greater inclusion of underrepresented communities like BIPOC, trans and disabled artists. The full list of demands are as follows:
“The Demands:
1. Scott Rudin to be removed from the Broadway League – If he is not removed from the Broadway League, we want restoration. We want Scott to publicly choose 20 BIPOC run theatres and donate a LARGE SUM of money to them.
2. A full list of organizations that AEA is working with to help Black, Indigenous, and POC feel safer.
3. A full report of how the 2020 Equity dues were spent and what percentage is being spent to help conversations around diversity.
4. Achieve greater inclusion for trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming artists.
5. We want visibility on how the national council votes for policies. We also want efforts to improve diversity within the council.
6. We want to achieve greater inclusion for artists with visible and nonvisible differing abilities.”
Will the industry change? Is it willing to make these changes? I wish we could confidently say so, but only time will tell.
Hopefully, as we get closer to reopening dates, we will have a clearer knowledge that a better Broadway is coming. But in the industry that has brushed Scott Rudin’s abuse under the carpet for years among many other abusers, I am not too sure we will see major changes.
I desperately hope that in reopening, we can begin to see a new Broadway. A more accessible Broadway for everyone. A Broadway that is representative of all communities (and those communities are able to actually enjoy the work as audience members instead of it being only for the elite). A Broadway that, above all, protects its most vulnerable communities.