How will theatre function when the lockdown ends?

Hopefully work on a vaccine etc will get some positive results soon as until then it seems very unlikely that venues such as cinemas, theatres and concert halls can open with social distancing in place. But I am not a scientist! All this speculation is probably not doing anyone any favours really so hope it won't be too long until we have a basic idea how the next 6 months will pan out.

longinthetooth...really sorry to hear that you are struggling...sending my best thoughts and good wishes to you at this very difficult time.

Entertainment places like Museums and Zoo's allowed to reopen in Switzerland provisionally allowed to re - open on June 8th. Not sure if it includes cinemas or theatres through.

Some key quotes from a new interview with the Broadway League president:

So bring me as up to date as you possibly can.

I mean, every couple of days our guesstimates go further out. As late as two weeks ago we were thinking that with any luck we might be up by July and that a worst case scenario might be September. Now, the best guesses are that unless there’s serious testing and information that we don’t have now, we’re probably looking at September or later. It really depends on the elected officials, and we know very well that Governor Cuomo will be the one to tell us when we can come back.

We have said that when we’re told that we can come back, it will probably be six weeks before we can actually get back.

What will need to happen in those six weeks? There will be a million details that will need to be decided. Will theaters have concessions? Will audiences wear masks?

I wouldn’t be surprised if before you enter a theater someone took your temperature. I wouldn’t be surprised that if we do have significant testing, that people will be given badges or some kind of certificate reflecting [antibody status] or that they’re coronavirus-free. We’re hearing of cleaning products that may actually clean a theater and make it safe for 70 days, but do we know that yet? We’re hearing about it, and theater owners and others are looking into it, but there are some who believe that it will take medicine or an [effective] treatment…or a vaccine, which is the scariest because you hear anywhere from a year to two on vaccines, depending on who’s talking and when.

If there is a virus rebound next fall or winter…

We’re not going to come back until we feel relatively comfortable that if the virus decides to come back, we’ll have better testing and better medicine.

What are you doing to stay on top of everything, as things change daily?

We’ve got 15 different task forces working on different aspects of what we need to do to come back. One of those is a research task force to survey and talk to theatergoers to determine what it will take for them to come back, but we’re not starting that until the apex [of the pandemic] has been topped and it’s clear that we’re going down dramatically. We’re not going to do that in this period of shock and panic – it makes no sense. Some people are doing that, and I think they just need something to do but let them do it if it helps them feel better. Everything I read has a different outcome, so we’ve been advised by serious research folks that now is not the time so now is not when we’re doing it.

What are the other task forces focusing on?

One of the key things is that Broadway and the road cannot come back with social distancing. There’s no way the economic model works for a theater that has a 50% house due to social distancing. It won’t work. Broadway has the best theatrical employees in the world, but they’re also the most expensive. So we have to find ways to ensure that when we open, we have the ability to have audiences similar to what we’ve had in the past.

When do you expect the various task forces to make recommendations?

We’ve got producer groups and theater owner groups and general managers and presenter groups, and they’re each talking to one another in a group format so that everybody can stay on top of things. So I’d look forward to one great report that says we’re going to open on this day and this is what we’re going to do and this is how we’re going to do it and this is how we’re going to communicate it, but we’re not there yet.

Do you have any sense of how many shows will come back, how many will close? What are we looking at here really?

We know for sure that two shows that were to open are not coming back. Two Roundabout shows have been postponed to the fall. There were 16 shows [that hadn’t opened yet], and so far 14 of those shows are trying to stay together, to keep there investors together, using advances to pay for expenses during this time period. But so far we’ve had no other announcements that we’re aware of.

There’s certainly some shows that weren’t doing extraordinarily well before the shutdown, but that’s not uncommon coming out of January and February. We had one of our two best seasonal periods coming up and there was lots of hope, so I’m guessing that their advances were strong enough that they could keep from announcing a shutdown. But as I said, every day brings something new.

The mayor of Los Angeles has floated the idea of no sports or concerts until 2021. Is that a possibility for Broadway?

We haven’t talked about that. As I understand it, 2021 is not an absolute, but is something that’s being discussed there.

Which brings us to live streaming. Would that work for Broadway?

Well, aside from the creative discussion relating to it, the financial model doesn’t work. Even for my little organization that represents our industry, I can’t live stream anything without paying all the same fees that a [Broadway] show does. So when I have a concert in Times Square with 50,000 people coming to watch performers from 21 shows, I can’t live stream it. I can’t put it on my website because the financial implications are just too harsh…And I also have producers saying Broadway has to be felt with people in the room, it’s about the escape of being there. Broadway just doesn’t look the same on TV. It is not as magical. It is not as transformative.

Full interview: deadline.com/2020/04/reopening-broadway-charlotte-st-martin-broadway-league-candid-conversation-1202910054/

There's is no way there is going to be one big opening date where 100 productions open at once.

It'll be phased back in slowly at first production by production and then expanded if there isn't another outbreak.

Either way it is a very long way off yet.

^totally
People won’t buy if they can’t get refunds or exchanges because they won’t be able to go if showing any symptoms. I can also see sickness rates going up for other things in the workplace. Whilst I may have previously gone to work with a mild cold, I won’t be able to now.

Problem is, I along with many others come into contact with hundreds of people at work on a daily basis. Am I meant to isolate every time that happens? Absolutely not possible as we'd never be allowed out of the house.

It will be unlikely people will be able to enter the USA for a holiday this year.

Yes, it will. And that is why testing for asymptomatic cases becomes all the more important

And RE entry into USA, thats down to Trump. I can't see him keeping everyone out all year.

More than happy to be tested each time I come home from work. But quite frankly right now, I'm coming home after being in contact with over 300 people and getting no test, no temp check and no quarantine or extra restrictions because it is not deemed to be a big enough risk. If everyone who worked in a supermarket/pharmacy/police etc had to isolate for 14 days after contact with someone who eventually tested positive, you'd have nobody at work.

I can - he doesn't like global tourism much and will simply encourage mass domestic tourism.