WEBVTT - Broadway to Remain Shut Down Through May 2021

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser from Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Our next guest that we last checked in with her

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<v Speaker 1>back in July, Paul, and this was on the heels

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<v Speaker 1>of the news that there would be no Broadway theater

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<v Speaker 1>this year. We got an update on that last week,

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<v Speaker 1>no lights along the Great White Way until at least

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<v Speaker 1>June of one. Let's get into it with Charlotte st. Martin.

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<v Speaker 1>She's president of the Broadway League. She joins us once

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<v Speaker 1>again on the phone in New York City. Charlotte, So

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<v Speaker 1>glad to have you back with us. How are you

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<v Speaker 1>well hanging in there? This is certainly not great news

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<v Speaker 1>for all of the fantastic people that work on Broadway,

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<v Speaker 1>but we're in the same situation as most everyone else

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<v Speaker 1>these days. Yeah, my, I gotta say, my heart kind

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<v Speaker 1>of broke when I saw that headline and we reported

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<v Speaker 1>it last week, thinking, you know, I think we're all

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<v Speaker 1>hoping just to hope, you know, just trying to get

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<v Speaker 1>back to some sense of normalcy, but especially when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to you know, entertainment or live theater. Um, how

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<v Speaker 1>did you guys kind of come up with the latest projection?

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<v Speaker 1>Thinking June is this just all around a vaccine, you

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<v Speaker 1>or what's the thinking behind it. Well, it's around all

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<v Speaker 1>of the things relating to the protocols, uh, the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that there hasn't been uh a verified rapid test that

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<v Speaker 1>is secure, which we have to have for the cast

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<v Speaker 1>and crew until the virus is gone. And that doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>even address the audience, which we also have to get

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<v Speaker 1>the right products for the audience. And with no news

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<v Speaker 1>about that now, we just felt that we had to

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<v Speaker 1>be as open and transparent as possible with the people

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<v Speaker 1>that work for Broadway, work on Broadway, and our theater goers.

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<v Speaker 1>So many of those nine thousand employees that depend on

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<v Speaker 1>Broadway to work need to have as much advanced notice

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<v Speaker 1>now as possible so that they can try to find

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<v Speaker 1>other work. Since the extension is so far out, Charlotte,

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<v Speaker 1>what do we know about the economic impact to date

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<v Speaker 1>on those employees on the theater owners? I think about

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<v Speaker 1>these beautiful theaters in Midtown Manhattan on the West Side,

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<v Speaker 1>just sitting idle. Talk to us about some of the

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<v Speaker 1>economic impacts you're hearing about. Well, for our last full season,

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<v Speaker 1>the loss in ticket sales was almost two billion dollars

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<v Speaker 1>and the loss to the city of New York was

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<v Speaker 1>almost fifteen billion dollars. It's, uh, everyone loses with this,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's hard when you're talking billions to put a

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<v Speaker 1>face to it, but in fact, you know, the face

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<v Speaker 1>has ninety seven thousand faces that are unable to collect

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<v Speaker 1>a paycheck. And you know, most of the organizations I

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<v Speaker 1>know have reduced their staff as much as they can

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<v Speaker 1>so that they can reopen when we have the opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>to reopen. So it's it's not good news anyway you

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<v Speaker 1>look at it. I know I was thinking about and

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<v Speaker 1>I guess I was reading something too, you know, just

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, if you think about people who go to theater,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean they're all ages, but there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>older theater goers, you know, lack of tours that are

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<v Speaker 1>coming into the country now, and then you've got old

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<v Speaker 1>theaters where the idea of trying to do social distancing

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<v Speaker 1>it's just you can't do it, you guys have It's

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<v Speaker 1>just really difficult on so many different angles. That's absolutely right.

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<v Speaker 1>And while you know the average age of our audience

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<v Speaker 1>is forty two point three, I think there's still certainly

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<v Speaker 1>a large percentage over that age and a large percentage

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<v Speaker 1>under that age. And these are hundred year old grandams

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<v Speaker 1>in many cases our theaters. And you know, as someone

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<v Speaker 1>said to me, have you ever watched a one minute

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<v Speaker 1>costume change with three people making that change in the

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<v Speaker 1>in the space the size of a phone booth? So

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<v Speaker 1>you know that social distancing just does at work, Charlotte.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there any parts of the world where live theater

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<v Speaker 1>has come back? I'm thinking about you know, London or

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<v Speaker 1>other Paris or other major markets where it's come back.

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<v Speaker 1>Or is this kind of a universal thing? Now? This

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<v Speaker 1>is universal? You have Korea is the only location that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm aware of that has reopened without social distancing. And

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<v Speaker 1>it's a brand new theater with giant lobbies and giant

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<v Speaker 1>stages and big spaces, and uh, they have a culture

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<v Speaker 1>of wearing masks and and behave much better than a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of our lovely Americans who can't seem to put

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<v Speaker 1>those masks on. So UM, for the most part, you

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<v Speaker 1>have a few venues that are trying social distancing, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's just you can't financially make it work. In New

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<v Speaker 1>York City, we have seventeen union contracts that UM require

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<v Speaker 1>our theaters to be over nine full just to return

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<v Speaker 1>on investment for the people who make theater, and if

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<v Speaker 1>we don't return, we don't get theater. So uh, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's still we have not found a solution to socially

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<v Speaker 1>distanced in a safe way. Did you say they have

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<v Speaker 1>to be ninety full? No, I said ninety Okay, yeah, no,

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<v Speaker 1>because I remember us talking in the past, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was this whole idea of you know, could you do

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<v Speaker 1>something virtual or could you do something partial? But it's

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<v Speaker 1>just the mathematics just don't exist, Charlotte. They don't, and

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<v Speaker 1>we wish it did. But you know, everybody, the besides

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<v Speaker 1>the people working, I mean the creatives, the theater owners,

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<v Speaker 1>the producers, everything, the model would have to change, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think we're not ready to do that just yet,

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<v Speaker 1>because we certainly haven't. And when you talk to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>when you talk to theatergoers, part of what the joy

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<v Speaker 1>of going to theater is the shared emotion that people

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<v Speaker 1>have when they're sitting next to people and laughing and crying,

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<v Speaker 1>and you pick up the energy. And even the casts

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<v Speaker 1>say they pick up their energy from the audience. How

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<v Speaker 1>are those workers doing, um, Charlotte, I mean, it's such

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<v Speaker 1>a big ecosystem. It's certainly the people we see on stage,

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<v Speaker 1>but there's so many people behind it. There's so much support,

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<v Speaker 1>people who build sets. Um, what are those working workers

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<v Speaker 1>doing at this point? Well, many of them are not

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<v Speaker 1>able to do anything because there's so few jobs available

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<v Speaker 1>out there. Some have gone back home if home isn't

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<v Speaker 1>New York, and you know, are working in different communities,

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<v Speaker 1>and uh, some are not working at all. I think

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<v Speaker 1>many were aided with the extended Unemployment Insurance and the

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<v Speaker 1>Enhanced Employment Insurance, but of course that's uh not assured

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<v Speaker 1>any longer. So it's you know, it's really tragic for everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean they have rent and food to put on

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<v Speaker 1>the table, and health insurance and all of those things

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<v Speaker 1>are at risk. Charlotte talk to us about the economics

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<v Speaker 1>of staging at Broadway production. How is it typically done,

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<v Speaker 1>how's the money raised, where does it come from? And

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<v Speaker 1>is that whole process? Is that going to change now? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I suspect there will be a lot of changes as

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<v Speaker 1>we move forward, but uh, there's not a set way

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<v Speaker 1>it happens. There are some producers who get a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of other producers and they financed the whole show. Many

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<v Speaker 1>do it with many producers I mean, when you see

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<v Speaker 1>a playbill and you see all that fine print above

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<v Speaker 1>the title, all of those are the primary investors in

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<v Speaker 1>the show. And with an average cost of fifteen to

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<v Speaker 1>eight million dollars for a musical these days and three

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<v Speaker 1>to five million dollars for a play, it takes a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people to uh to get a Broadway show up,

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<v Speaker 1>and it often takes five to seven or eight years

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<v Speaker 1>to get that show up. So they're you know, investing

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<v Speaker 1>for all of that time and working in the hopes

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<v Speaker 1>of getting a hit. So what is it? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know forgive me for doing this, but I

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<v Speaker 1>just do you have any like thoughts about what it

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<v Speaker 1>does look like when we finally get back to normal.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it that you bring back, you know, a show

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<v Speaker 1>slowly to see how it goes or or or is

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<v Speaker 1>it too early to even think about that. Well, no,

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<v Speaker 1>we're certainly talking about those things. First of all, there

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<v Speaker 1>were over thirty five shows playing or about to play

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<v Speaker 1>when we had to shut down on March twelve, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's no way we could open thirty five shows all

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<v Speaker 1>at once, if for no other reason, in that there

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<v Speaker 1>will be extensive re rehearsals for all of those shows

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<v Speaker 1>plus the new shows, and you know, many of them

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<v Speaker 1>share the same director or the choreographer, are set designers.

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<v Speaker 1>So I mean, we hope that will have enough of

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<v Speaker 1>critical mass to open and have some excitement. But I

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<v Speaker 1>think you could look at a period of a month

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<v Speaker 1>to six weeks as shows come on board. At least

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<v Speaker 1>that's what we're hoping. I mean, I wish I had

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<v Speaker 1>a giant crystal ball that was accurate, but I don't, Charlotte.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's kind of your working assumption within the community

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<v Speaker 1>that Broadway really doesn't have the opportunity to come back

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<v Speaker 1>until there really is a widely available vaccine. We're not

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<v Speaker 1>saying that because if we said that, we might not

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<v Speaker 1>come back from even longer. We're saying until the scientists

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<v Speaker 1>and the medical uh products that are brought out are ready.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, if we have rapid testing for the casting crew,

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<v Speaker 1>we could do that. I mean, you just saw the

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<v Speaker 1>n b A who had almost no cases because they

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<v Speaker 1>did it in there, you know, in a bubble, so

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<v Speaker 1>to speak. Um, rapid testing is what we think it

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<v Speaker 1>will take for the cast and crew. There are many

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<v Speaker 1>products being tested that have um, what I would call

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<v Speaker 1>cautiously optimistic promises that it will help make the auditorium safe.

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<v Speaker 1>And then and then you have the advent of a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of contact list services and products, whether it's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>how we change the ingress and regress to the theater,

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<v Speaker 1>contactless faucets and toilets, UH, play bills that are online,

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<v Speaker 1>things like that. I mean, every single touch point is

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<v Speaker 1>being analyzed by the forty two task forces working on

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<v Speaker 1>various aspects of of getting back safely. So there's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>there's much we still don't know yet, because just when

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<v Speaker 1>we think we have good information, you learn new information.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes it feels like you're going three steps spoward

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<v Speaker 1>and two steps back. But at least we since that

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<v Speaker 1>we're moving forward at this point. Yeah, the whole idea

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<v Speaker 1>of touch points, um, I mean, are there's things like

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<v Speaker 1>playbills online probably going to stay around forever? Is it

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<v Speaker 1>just just to kind of get your way back potentially?

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<v Speaker 1>I have no idea what will happen. I will say

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<v Speaker 1>I know people collect their playbills, and I know people

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<v Speaker 1>that have forty years of playbills, fifty years of playbills

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<v Speaker 1>because it's it's part of their heart and part of

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<v Speaker 1>their being. I can't imagine playbill going away. Maybe we

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<v Speaker 1>will have to have uh the virtually for a while.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, there's the thought that you have the vendor

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<v Speaker 1>puts the playbills down, let the theater go or pick

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<v Speaker 1>it up. But then, as you've know, when you go

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<v Speaker 1>to the theater, if there's a substitution, they have two

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<v Speaker 1>stuff the playbills with whose substitute? And you know that

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<v Speaker 1>requires manual labor. So there's just so many things that

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<v Speaker 1>are still up in the air, and we're looking at

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<v Speaker 1>it all. Yeah, all right, well, listen, we wish you well,

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<v Speaker 1>and we wish you know, we hope that things start

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<v Speaker 1>to get back to normal sooner rather than maybe that

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<v Speaker 1>June date. Um, so our fingers across. Charlotte sat Martin,

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<v Speaker 1>she's president of the Broadway League. On the phone in

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<v Speaker 1>New York City,