New York (AFP)

"I forgot how to dress, we wear shoes that we haven't worn for a year, we only put on sports or walking shoes, so it's exciting!", Says Caroline Baron, just before attending his first show since the pandemic began in New York City, over a year ago.

This professional filmmaker, accompanied by her companion and her teenage son, entered with a big smile on Friday evening the "Shed", an arts center in West Manhattan, which offered a concert by artist Kelsey Lu The 150 spectators were all provided with either proof of vaccination against Covid or a negative PCR test less than six hours old.

Some hoped that Friday marks the grand reopening of venues in the American cultural capital of New York, which had been closed since March 2020. But the Shed was one of the few major venues to benefit from the authorization given by the governor. New York City to reopen from April 2.

With a capacity limited to 33%, or 150 people maximum.

This place, brand new since it opened in 2019, has advantages that old theaters do not have: it is non-profit, equipped with an ultra-modern ventilation system and its space is completely flexible, which made it possible to set up a program adapted to the pandemic, told AFP its artistic director, Alex Poots.

"The most important thing for us is to keep alive what is called the living theater, even if we have to reduce our capacity from more than 2,000 to 150 people," he added.

Like most other great New York venues, Broadway theaters, on the other hand, remain desperately closed, often because the 33% gauge is not profitable.

The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, nevertheless wanted to welcome this beginning of reopening, very symbolic for a metropolis that is eager to find the millions of tourists and the effervescence that characterized it before the pandemic.

"The arts are making a comeback in New York," he said after attending the New York premiere of "Blindness" in an off-Broadway theater.

A show, based on the eponymous novel by José Saramago, perfect for the pandemic: without actors, all in audio immersion, and dystopian at will.

"The world of theater is so important to our city, to our identity as New Yorkers. And economically, it weighs some 100 billion dollars a year, so it has to come back for many reasons," said the elected official. .

- Soon "waking up"?

While waiting for the reopening of prestigious places, New Yorkers can go and laugh a little in a few rooms dedicated to "stand-up".

Attending these skit shows, with one person on stage and spectators seated at tables, "is as safe as going to a restaurant or store," said Emilio Savona, owner of the New York Comedy Club. having sold all the seats available for this first evening.

Since the closure in March 2020 of its two Manhattan theaters, it compensated as best it could with performances on furnished "rooftops".

No spectacular reopening, therefore, but a resumption of shows that promises to be gradual.

Especially since the rate of positivity for Covid, with the arrival of the British and Brazilian variants, has remained - despite a vaccination campaign which is running at full speed - between 6 and 7% recently in New York, after the loosening of many restrictions, especially in restaurants or stadiums in recent days.

“If we watch until the fall, I think it's going to be the wake-up call” of the show, says Alex Poots.

"But it would be naive to think that there is no risk. If the pandemic resumes noticeably, we will have to take a break."

After more than a year of closure, Emilio Savone, him, a philosopher.

"What's the worst that can happen to us?"

he said.

"Whatever happens now, we're armored."

© 2021 AFP