NEW YORK (PIX11) — Four of the most iconic musicals in history are making their big return to the Great White Way on Tuesday, 18 months after stages across the world closed at the start of the COVID pandemic. All 41 Broadway theaters are now allowed to open at full capacity, with precautions and safety protocols in place.
That means “Chicago,” “Hamilton,” “The Lion King” and “Wicked” are all lighting up theaters across the theater district Tuesday night. Everyone in the theater, including the performers and theater staff, must be fully vaccinated. Audience members must also mask up, regardless of vaccination status.
If you want to snag last-minute tickets, Broadway’s TKTS discount ticket booth in Times Square opens Tuesday at 3 p.m. Plus, to celebrate the reopening, a three-day, live theater festival called “Curtain Up” is coming to Times Square this Friday through Sunday. The spectacle features live performances and interactive experiences as a sweet taste of what we’ve missed so much.
The Broadway League is also doing something extra special to celebrate the return. Their “This is Broadway” campaign will include a short film and a contest that will award one lucky fan four tickets to every Broadway show in the 2021 to 2022 season. The contest runs until October 15 and you can enter online.
The reopening is a win for theater fans and the nearly 97,000 local jobs the industry supports. Before the pandemic, nearly 250,000 people saw a Broadway show every week in New York, supporting the thousands of jobs and bringing nearly $15 billion into New York’s economy each year.
On Tuesday morning, the cast of “The Lion King” joined MTA employees at the Times Square-42nd Street subway station to encourage people to take mass transit to see a show.