New York (AFP)
The musical "Chicago" was the first to announce, Friday, its return to Broadway on September 14, the date from which the governor of the State of New York authorized the theaters to reopen at full capacity.
A production spokesperson confirmed to AFP the resumption of the show, announced by several American media.
By late morning Friday, two-thirds of tickets for the September 14 performance at the Ambassador Theater had already found a taker, according to data from the official Telecharge reservation site.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Broadway will therefore have spent 552 days without a musical, unprecedented in the history of the most famous theater district in the world, installed around Times Square since the early 1900s.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo had authorized the theaters to reopen as of April 2, but at 33 percent or 100 people maximum (whichever is lower).
For Broadway productions, which each involve millions of dollars in investment, reopening under these conditions was not economically profitable.
To date, only two off-Broadway plays, a circuit of small-capacity theaters, have restarted.
Also on Friday, another musical, "Six," announced its revival on September 17th.
The longest-running musical in Broadway history, "The Phantom of the Opera" (over 13,300 performances since 1988) has set its return for October 22.
Two newcomers, the cover of "The Music Man" with Hugh Jackman and the highly anticipated "Diana", on the story of Lady Di, will not begin until December.
Before the pandemic, Broadway generated around $ 33 million in revenue per week and is often considered the main force in attracting tourism to New York City.
© 2021 AFP