YAHOO! FINANCE: BROADWAY IS A 'BELLWHETHER,' ITS REOPENING SENDS A POSITIVE SIGN: ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

One year after theaters went dark because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s finally some light at the end of the long dark tunnel for the Broadway industry.

Beginning in April, select Broadway venues will welcome audiences — at reduced capacity — as part of New York state’s NY PopsUp program. The 100-day arts festival is being viewed as Broadway’s own “pilot program” as the industry prepares for a complete reopening — something industry experts believe is still six to nine months away.

“I think it's huge,” Kate Shindle, president of Actors' Equity Association told Yahoo Finance Live. “We represent stage managers and actors who work on stages of all sizes across the country, from storefronts all the way up to Broadway theaters. But it's hard to deny that despite the range of work we represent, Broadway is a bellwether. It was a bellwether when it shut down, and I believe that it sends a really positive sign that we are on a long path back to normal.”

READ MORE