With Broadway being officially closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year now, no one has been able to work at or go to a theatre in a very long time. With many false promises–including one that said Broadway would be open right after Memorial Day Weekend–theatregoers have almost lost all hope. However, over the past few weeks it has been revealed that there is now a definite date that the theatres will begin to reopen, starting with the musicals Chicago, Hamilton, Wicked, and The Lion King on September 14th! These musicals along with many others currently have reopening tickets on sale ready to be purchased.

The other musicals selling tickets include Six, with previews starting on September 17th (and with an opening night of October 3rd), The Phantom of the Opera starting on October 22nd, and Diana with previews starting on December 1st (and with an opening night of December 16th). Other shows that have announced return dates but have no current tickets on sale include Company, with previews starting on December 20th and opening on January 9, 2022, The Music Man with previews starting on December 20th as well and an opening of February 10, 2022, and The Minutes, with an opening of March 15th, 2022. 

About 30 Broadway shows are set to reopen before the end of 2021, with about half of them being set to reopen in September, and the rest spread out throughout the final months of 2021. All of this news is updating very fast, and it has just been revealed that the shows with the biggest box-office gain before the pandemic hit, Hamilton, Lion King, and Wicked will all be reopening in mid-september. 

With all of these shows coming back, it seems weird that each show is opening at full capacity. However, there are still many unknown factors still involved, including if masks will be required, if the actors will be coming out the stagedoor to greet fans, and if vaccinations would be required (which as of right now is “prefered” but not mandatory). Also with the pandemic going on, shows are being a lot more flexible with their prior policies, including the possibility of not having 8 performances a week for each show, and pricing fluidity including starting selling prices for tickets at the prices before the pandemic, and fluctuating them based on demand and including refundable tickets up until two hours before the performance. 

Even though a lot is still up in the air about COVID-19, hearing about all of these Broadway reopenings is definitely some well deserved good news. All of the people, from stage hands, to musicians, to actors, who have been out of their jobs will finally be brought back and able to do what they love again. This means that things are finally getting better in the terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are finally getting back to a sense of normalcy.