In a wide ranging article in the New York Times their arts editors Michael Paulson, Joshua Barone, Ben Sisario and Zachary Woolfe have spoken with theatre leaders across the states.
The article is headlined "THE FALL OF AUTUMN: LIVE PERFORMANCE PRODUCERS ARE GIVING UP ON 2020" and sub headed "Uncertainty about the coronavirus and the challenge of protecting audiences and artists is prompting many prominent presenters to wait till next year".
You can read the full piece here https://nyti.ms/36rTc65
It doesn't make for pleasant reading for those of us who make theatre for a living this side of the pond as you'll see from this selection of quotes.
“I think 2020 is gone. I’ll be stunned if we’re back in the theatre.” ANNA D. SHAPIRO, Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
“We won’t have programming this fall. Part of it is the uncertainty of when it’s going to be safe to gather, and part of it is economic — we’ve thought about social distancing, but it makes zero economic sense.” CHRIS COLEMAN, The Denver Centre for the Performing Arts.
“It’s very hard right now to see a path to anything which looks like the traditional fall season, absent some material change, from a medical perspective, in the world at large.” HENRY TIMMS, Lincoln Centre, New York.
“It’s going to be a long time before we’re back to something that looks like the new normal.” DEBORAH F. RUTTER, the Kennedy Center, Washington.
“If we go back to work too soon, and a theatre anywhere becomes a hot spot, that is going to set the whole industry back, who knows what miracle might come down the pike, but certainly I don’t think there’s going to be large theatre here in New York City soon and it seems more likely next calendar year.” MARY MCCOLL, Actors’ Equity Association. (This union for performers in the U.S. has “barred its members from in-person auditions, rehearsals, or performances and expects this week to outline conditions it believes must be met before reopening”)
“None of us knows how soon audiences will feel ready to come back. What happens on the first night back when some guy in Row G coughs? Do we have to escort him to an ambulance?” BARRY EDELSTEIN, San Diego’s Old Globe.
“There’s a balancing act, between trying to stay hopeful and being realistic.” CHRISTOPHER ASHLEY, San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse.
Alas, he may be right.
Everyone’s looking for ways to allow gathering in large groups to watch performances, safely, without fear of infection, during the Corona Virus shut down.