New York (AFP)

It was necessary to stay in shape, to keep the passion intact, for some to find other sources of income: after 18 months of hiatus due to the pandemic, Broadway comedians and dancers are back on stage in New York.

And for the actors of "Come from away", a musical piece linked to September 11, this cover has a special meaning.

"It is in a way the perfect show for this moment. Because it underlines our shared humanity", assures Paul Whitty, one of the actors of this atypical creation.

Performed since 2017 on Broadway, but interrupted since March 2020 due to the health crisis, "Come from away" tells how anonymous residents of Gander, on the Canadian part of Newfoundland, welcomed for several days nearly 7,000 passengers from planes ordered to land on the island because US airspace was closed after the attacks of September 11, 2001, which the United States is celebrating on Saturday the 20th anniversary.

"This is a reminder that kindness, compassion and grace exist, even in difficult times," said James Seol, one of the newcomers to the troop.

On Broadway, New York's cultural lung, which generated some $ 33 million in revenue per week before the pandemic, the shows resumed slowly in September in front of an exclusively vaccinated audience.

Tuesday will be the turn of the "Lion King", "Hamilton", and "Chicago".

The actors of the musical Come from away in rehearsal, before the resumption of the show on Broadway on September 21, 2021 AFP

"Come from Away", written by Canadians Irene Sankoff and David Hein, will be replayed from September 21, near Times Square, but a filmed version will be broadcast from Friday on the Apple TV streaming platform.

- Noise from the lodge -

The rehearsals, in a studio further south of Manhattan, are drawing to a close.

To see the fifteen actors dancing, stamping their feet in rhythm and singing standing, seated or on their knees, the automatisms seem to have returned and it is above all the impatience to find the spectators that dominates.

"I miss the audience. The contact with them, sharing this story with them," says Q. Smith, who has not been on stage since October 2019. "From my dressing room," she continues, "we can hear the noises of spectators settling in and the atmosphere warming up. That's what I prefer ".

The entrance to the Schoenfeld theater in New York, September 8, 2021, where the musical "Come From Away" will be replayed from September 21, after an 18-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic Angela Weiss AFP

The closure, in March 2020, of the Broadway theaters and the 31 shows then playing there - not to mention the off - was one of the symbols of the shutdown of New York, then hard hit. by the Covid-19.

While performance venues were allowed to reopen in the spring of 2021, the gauges were too low for most Broadway League-affiliated theaters.

For the actors, the period was like a leap into the unknown.

"It was really tricky (...) We had enough savings, but it started to decrease towards the end", says Q. Smith, for whom the recovery is a relief, even if it took advantage of the closure to devote himself "365 days a year" to his baby.

"I never thought I would say one day that I would be impatient to do eight shows a week, because it's really, really hard," she adds.

- Domestic tourism -

James Seol, 43, temporarily changed his path by giving private lessons.

But he never thought of stopping his artistic career.

Paul Whitty wondered if theaters would ever reopen.

"Everything was so scary (...) I tried to find ways to stay creative" with the piano or "readings on Zoom".

What "to remain artistically active rather than watching Netflix all day".

The actors of the musical Come from away, in rehearsal, before the resumption of the show on Broadway on September 21, 2021 AFP

For its premiere, the play is sold out.

For the rest, one of the producers, Sue Frost, wants to be optimistic, even if international tourists still cannot return to New York, because of the closure of the American borders to many countries.

"When we look at the postal codes of people who buy tickets, we are encouraged, they come from all over the East Coast," she says, counting on this "domestic tourism" from the United States.

Broadway will be "strong enough to weather this storm," the producer believes.

© 2021 AFP