Broadway Rising

Directed by Emmy-nominated director AmyRice (HBO’s By the People: The Election of BarackObama, The Newsroom), the feature-length documentary chronicles the Broadway community’s harrowing and inspiring journey back to the stage following the COVID-19 shutdown on March 12, 2020. Over 96,000 people lost their jobs when The Great White Way went dark decimating an entire ecosystem of businesses supporting the industry. From actors to artisans, directors to doormen, producers to prop masters, not one aspect of the business was left untouched. But the show must go on!

I remember vividly the moment that the reality of the COVID pandemic sunk in for me.

I was working up in the San Gabriel Valley, having moved back to California a few months prior, practicing the daily grind of a job I had already lost my heart for. The social worker I met with quickly shifted the conversation toward COVID and whether or not we should be wearing a mask. After I left, a bit numb, I grabbed lunch at a burger spot nearby. I stood in line with more maskless people, being served food provided by a staff with no masks or gloves, and it hit me. “I don’t think I should be here.”

I don’t recall anything from that weekend, but on Monday the world shut down.

Included in that world was Broadway.

Much of the COVID pandemic has reminded me of the aftermath of 9/11. I had recently moved to NYC with big dreams of being a Broadway star. I was rehearsing a play, Pirandello’s Henery IV when the tragedy happened. As we learn in Broadway Rising, Broadway had only shut down a handful of times over the years, and after 9/11, Broadway reopened mere days later, although the after effects were swift, with many shows closing due to diminishing ticket sales.

Beginning in March of 2022, Broadway shut down for 18 months.

As some people were able to transition to working from home, many industries were unable to do that. I personally saw many of my friends who had made a living as actors, finding themselves out of work and traveling back to their home states, unemployed and unsure. As a Broadway outsider, with inside connections, I found myself trying to support as best I could. I attended and supported the Actors Fund Benefit of the Rosie O’Donnell show, Sondheim’s virtual birthday, the SMASH concert…and yet, I continued on with my life.

Broadway Rising, directed and produced by Amy Ryan, “chronicles the Broadway community’s harrowing and inspiring journey back to the stage following the COVID-19 shutdown on March 12,2020.”

Focusing on a variety of inspiring subjects, from Jagged Little Pill stagedoorman Ernie Frost Paylor (who lost his leg due to complications to the virus) to the press dubbed “Broadway Patient Zero” Peter McIntosh, Broadway Rising puts a very human face on an industry that might often seem untouchable to those looking in.

Always compelling, we see in the documentary almost every element of Broadway figuring out how to survive, not only financially, but also emotionally. A most tragic story belongs to Waitress actor Nick Cordero, who lost his battle with COVID. In the film we see Nick’s wife - Amanda Kloots - become a very public face of the real life devastation the virus had on the theatre and NYC community.

A story I found most interesting, and I think many others will as well, particularly those of us who may have taken a different path from our dreams of Broadway (whether permanent or temporary) is the story of Frozen dancer Adam Perry. Prior to the shutdown, Adam suffers an injury that makes him question whether or not he will be able to perform again. Contracting COVID and stepping away from Broadway, Adam moves forward with a new dream that is very beautiful to watch.

The pandemic brought even more attention to racial discrepancies in the work we see produced in all media, and Broadway Rising shines a very important light on how those disparities infiltrate Broadway. We see the opportunity coming out of the pandemic provided marginalized, BIPOC creators and shows, but we don’t really see the unfortunate fate of the closures. The recent early closing announcement of Aint No Mo’, a play praised by critics and yet unattended by audiences shows that Broadway has more work to do in keeping these shows front of mind and available to the public.

In 2022, I made my way back to NYC and saw my first Broadway show since I had moved from the city back in 2013. I, along with many others, wept as the overture to The Music Man played. By intermission, I heard many a tourist praise the show’s stars, while many a New Yorker critiqued the show as if they were the NY Times. Broadway seemed back.

Many shows, like The Music Man, The Lion King, Funny Girl, Hamilton are doing very well, but others like the already closed Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away and upcoming closures of Tony Winner A Strange Loop and longest running Broadway show Phantom of the Opera, certainly bring to question the long term effects of the pandemic and continued surges. Perhaps this is Broadway being Broadway. Shows close, even great ones. Time will tell. Or it won’t.

What I do know, is that Broadway will survive. It must. It must, indeed go on.

More info on Broadway Rising can be found here:

The film will be available On VOD December 27, 2022