What the Broadway Shutdown Means to Someone Whose Escape is the Theatre
(Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)
Erica Abbott
When I had a health scare last year, the first thing I did upon returning home from the hospital was buy a ticket to the Jonathan Groff-led revival of Little Shop of Horrors. All I could think about at that moment was escaping to my home away from home—the theatre.
I count myself very lucky that I live less than two hours away from New York City by train and can plan a little getaway when I’m feeling particularly down. When I’m not able to get to the city, I have an incredible local theatre scene as well. These theatres have welcomed me with open arms when it felt like the world was crashing down around me, and I am so grateful to be part of such a loving community.
Just weeks after I had surgery (unrelated to the aforementioned health scare), I went to see Beetlejuice with my boyfriend. I’m not sure I can adequately describe how absolutely needed that previously-planned day trip to the city was. Not only did I get to laugh hysterically alongside fellow audience members, but I also got to stage door, where leading man Alex Brightman remembered me from the previous two times I had seen the show. I was elated and, from just one little interaction, my worries were the furthest thing from my mind for a moment.
When things felt particularly dark, I wouldn’t think twice about buying a ticket to the Tony Award-winning Once On This Island revival, which quickly became my favorite show during its run at the Circle in the Square Theatre. I saw that show seven times (once during its national tour) and it was an exhilarating experience getting to dip my toes in the sand when I was close enough and become totally immersed in the story being told. For 90 minutes, my biggest concerns were getting sand kicked onto me during “We Dance” and trying to not let the actors see me getting overly emotional during the curtain call.
The final show I saw before the shutdown was the national tour of Hello Dolly! at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Carolee Carmello, John Bolton, and the rest of the cast had me smiling from ear to ear throughout each musical number. I put on my Sunday clothes that afternoon not knowing that it would be the last show I’d be seeing for quite some time.
Since then, I’ve been thinking back on all the other amazing memories I’ve since made at my local theatres—seeing Wicked, the first musical my boyfriend and I ever saw together; attending the Something Rotten! tour and getting the chance to meet Adam Pascal at the stage door afterward; having the opportunity to go backstage after seeing Miss Saigon; having heart-to-hearts with the cast of Hamilton at the stage door when the tour made its way to Philly.
I’ve also never forgotten that those experiences saw me through some of the most difficult moments of my life—the death of my dog, the hospitalization of a family member, my mom’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent chemo treatments. Theatre has been there for me through it all.
So where I would normally be running full force to a show to escape reality for a few hours, I now can’t because the very thing I want to run away from has caused the theatre world to shut down until at least January 2021. There is no such thing as “working from home” in this industry and with social distancing being near impossible at shows, I know it will be quite some time until I can return to one of my favorite places.
But I know that when I do, it will not be to escape. It will be to celebrate the triumphant return of a place so many call home and count on to bring a little light into their lives.