The Daily - A Broadway Show Comes Back to Life

Episode Date: September 17, 2021

This episode contains strong language. “Six,” a revisionist feminist British pop musical about the wives of King Henry VIII, was shaping up to be a substantial hit on Broadway after finding success in London.On its opening night, however, in March 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a shutdown of theater that would wind up lasting a year and a half.We speak to the cast and crew of “Six” about the show’s path back to the stage and explore what it tells us about the trials of Broadway during the pandemic.Guest: Michael Paulson, a theater reporter for The New York Times. Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Determined to reopen, Broadway’s crews are dusting off spotlights, dancers are relearning steps, and everyone is testing for the coronavirus as theater seeks to rebound from the devastating pandemic.“Six” is a poignant example of what is at stake as New York theater reopens. Last year, Michael Paulson wrote about the making of the musical. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

I'm a reporter from the New York Times. Do you guys have a second to chat? Sure, can we do it after he comes out? Sure. Cuz I think he's gonna come out in like a minute. Right, it is a minute, you're right. But yes, 100%. Okay, I'll be right here.

Okay. I'm too excited. Broadway is back! Thank you for supporting live theater. It has been a hard year and a half and we wanted to sing a song from one of our secret criminals. It's a song called New York, New York. Now it's time for Take Us Away. One, two, three.

One, two, three, four. You can sing along if you like. Start spreading the news. I'm leaving today. While we chat. Okay, so you all look like dancers. Yes, we are. Can you tell us all your names?

I'm Savannah Ross. Jaden Andriotti. Sophie Wheeler. And how old are you all? I'm 19. I'm 17. I'm 18. What was that like for you just now?

I bawled. To see Lin-Manuel Miranda in person is a huge deal. And then also just the fact that Broadway is reopening. Yeah, the energy is just amazing. Everybody's so excited. I had goosebumps covering my entire body. It was incredible. What's your name?

Jessica. Jessica. And you're here to see... Everything. We're seeing eight shows in six days. Oh my god. Where are you here from? From Colorado. And you're here for see... Everything. We're seeing eight shows in six days. Oh my God, where are you here from? From Colorado. And you're here for Broadway reopening?

Yeah, that's why we're here. We were supposed to be here in May of 20. We come to Broadway two or three times a year. Wow, cool. So this has just been a year and a half of not being able to do that. Yeah, a year and a half of heartbreak. We both cried when the plane landed. It's just amazing. We both cried when the plane landed. It's just amazing.

We were so happy to be here. Hi there. Hi. I'm from the New York Times, just over here talking about people about Broadway reopening. Can I talk to you? Yeah, totally. What's your name? My name's Isabel Beckner.

Isabel Beckner. And where are you from? I'm from Nebraska, but I just moved to New York in June. Whoa, just moved here during the, sort of during the pandemic. Well, it was towards the end of it, but yeah. So the show, you're here in the Wicked line, and you're like kind of close to the front of the line. I know, I'm feeling super excited. Not like the front gets me better seats, but I'm seeing Wicked on opening night.

Yeah. Yeah. Have you seen it before? Not on an opening night. Yeah. On a opening night. It's funny. I don't think I was born yet.

Yeah. No. Probably not. I don't know if I was born yet. But you just got here. So does it feel good to like have arrived right at the moment when everything is... It feels really good. Like, everything feels alive again. I was at home in Nebraska waitressing for a whole year during COVID, just, like, pining after a city that's dead right now.

And then it was alive, and I said, shit, I'm getting an apartment, and I'm moving. So you're happy you're here? Oh, I'm so happy I'm here. I'm so excited. They just went up. The whole press junket. Oh, they did? Yes. Oh, then we better go follow them.

Michael, which way did they go? Okay, so wait, we're supposed to go up here? From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. After the longest and costliest shutdown in its history, Broadway is attempting to reopen this week. But it's returning to a vastly different world. Today, my colleague Michael Paulson

on one show's journey back to the stage. It's Friday, September 17th. Michael, you write about theater for The New York Times. And so I want you to describe the significance of Broadway's attempt to come back to life this week in New York. Yeah, look, you have to understand, this is a shutdown without any historical precedent. Broadway has been closed for a year and a half.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, it was only closed for two days. I've seen labor disruptions and weather events. It has never been closed for anything like this length of time. And no one could have imagined how long it turned out to be. It's been devastating for the industry and for the city. Broadway, of course, is a home for a lot of artists and a good-paying home. It also is a place that creates a lot of economic impact

for restaurants and taxi drivers and hotels. And it's also a symbol of the city. And as long as Broadway has been closed, it has sent a signal that New York is not fully back. Right. So now Broadway is coming back, or at least it's trying to. Just this week, we saw five shows starting or restarting performances, including some of the biggest shows in Broadway history, like The Lion King and Wicked and Hamilton. But there's one show starting performances today, Friday, that's an especially

poignant example of all that's at stake. And it's a new musical called Six. Divorced. Beheaded. Died. And what can you tell me about the show? And what can you tell me about the show? Divorced. Beheaded. Survived. So Six is a British pop musical about the wives of Henry VIII.

You might remember, he was married six times, and none of the marriages worked out all that well. Listen up, let me tell you a story. A story that you think you've heard before. The conceit of the show is that these six wives are presented as contemporary pop stars. Yeah, they sing in the styles of, like, Beyonce and Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Adele. Sitting here all alone on a throne In a palace that I happen to own Bring me some pheasant, keep it on the bone

And they're dressed in these kind of costumes that have elements of Tudor architecture and contemporary nightclub party wear. It's super fun, really poppy, energetic confection, but it's also kind of about something serious. It's a revisionist feminist take on who these women were. Paid for with my own riches When my hounds had released the bitches Woof.

Leading up to March of 2020, this show was shaping up to be a really substantial hit on Broadway. Hmm. And why was that? Look, Six has this amazing backstory. It was dreamed up by these two college students, Toby Marlowe and Lucy Moss. They were at Cambridge together.

You must think that I'm crazy You're one of a play sweet baby There's da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Cambridge together. And they cooked up this show to bring to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and it was almost immediately a sensation there. Hey, you! You must think that I'm crazy. want a replace Maybe listen, no way And they start getting approached by commercial producers who are interested, they have no idea what to do. You must think that I'm crazy You want a replace Ultimately they wind up recording a kind of cast album even before they've had a professional production. No way. No way. There's no way.

There's no way. And that album becomes a tiny bit of a sensation. The show takes on a life on social media. I remember the show winds up in London, and I took a group of middle school kids on a New York Times trip there the summer of 2019, and I was telling the kids that we were going to go see Six, and a couple girls started singing some of the songs for me. And I'm like, how do you know those songs?

You've never seen the show. And they said TikTok. Sorry about, sorry about what I said. And I knew then, like, this has the ingredients to be a hit. So the show is a hit in London. It's touring the UK. It's even playing on some cruise ships. But let's be honest, in the theater world,

Broadway is the gold standard. It's the place that commands the most money, the most attention. And Six is barreling toward what the producers hope is going to be a long and lucrative run here. They get a theater. It's called

the Brooks Atkinson Theater. It's on West 47th Street in the heart of Times Square. And as fate would have it, they schedule an opening night for March 12th of 2020. Can you walk me through your day, March 12th, 2020? I, it's, yes, I can walk you through that day. This week, I went with some of the producers from your show to talk to the cast and crew about what that day

and then that night were like. The day started where I took my change of clothes to work. We talked to the American producer, Kevin McCollum, who's a Broadway veteran. He co-produced Rent and Avenue Q, In the Heights. But I knew there was a lot to do that day, and I had all the gifts waiting for everybody at the office that I was going to distribute at the theater.

And he told us he was getting ready for a big night. Of course, he was going to give gifts to the cast and the crew. You know, I had a lot of people from London here, and I had also people here from L.A. He knew that all these people had come in from out of town to celebrate the opening night of this show. And we had $170,000 of sushi at Tao waiting for us downtown. A ton of sushi and I'm sure some six-themed swag,

which would be like purple and a lot of crowns. It's a magical time to look each other in the eye and say, this is what we made together at this time. And there will never be another time like this in our lives. And it's beautiful. It's really beautiful. So everything was very much in motion. This was going to be a traditional, big opening night. Absolutely. But I got to take you back to that period in March of 2020. There is this pandemic

that is sort of closing in. It has reached America. It is present in New York. Someone had gotten ill in another show for a matinee the day before. Moulin Rouge, another musical, had canceled its matinee that very day because there were infections in the cast. And I had also heard one of our line ushers had been diagnosed as positive, even though they were not in the theater. At Hadestown, they banned actors from greeting fans for autographs at the stage door. It was a trickle that then turned into a waterfall of, we're going to have to do something. There was a sense that the walls were sort of closing in. that the walls were sort of closing in.

I got a call at around 11 o'clock from the league saying, you need to come to the league. We got some information. And then Kevin gets called to this emergency meeting. It's at the Broadway League, which is a trade association of theater owners and producers. So I got there, and everybody who had a show running was sitting around this table that holds like 40 people, but there were like 60 people.

And they say, the governor is going to have a moratorium on performing, and he's going to close Broadway at 7 p.m. And I raised my hand, and I said, excuse me, I have an opening at 6.30. And I have paparazzi coming at 5, and right now it's 12. We have to get to the governor,

and we have to say it has to be at 5 or earlier, or just close it now. Good afternoon. So that press conference, I think it was about 2.30, 3 o'clock, I think. Broadway theaters in Manhattan. We're going to affect 5 o'clock today. I was watching it, and he did say we're closing Broadway at 5 p.m. We've already been talking to the Broadway theaters, and they are aware that we're going to be doing this. So they have noticed.

These rules don't apply to schools. One of my best friends was coming to see the show that night and we had been texting throughout the course of the day and I got a text from her as I'm like about to hop into the shower to get ready. So now imagine the cast and crew of Six. Their phones start ringing, They're getting texts. I was about to get into the makeup chair

when I started getting all these texts. And the first was from a friend being like, I'm so sorry. And she's like, hey, babe, I don't think your show's happening tonight. And I was like, what? They're agents. They're friends.

Everybody wants to know Have you heard? Are you okay? I went to get my nails done Went to go buy a top for the after party And then I was in Zara And I got a text from one of our agents here Saying, have you seen this? And it was a Playbill article saying

Broadway to go dark As of 5pm today. And I was like, what do I do now? What logistically happens now? Is everyone okay? Am I gonna stop flights? Like what happens next? We'll be right back. So, Michael, on a very practical level, after Broadway shuts down, what does everyone involved in this show do? How do they spend their time? Yeah, first it was, oh, it's going to be a month.

That's fine. I'm sure you remember, like, at that point, March it was, oh, it's going to be a month. That's fine. I'm sure you remember, like at that point, March of 2020, we thought this was going to last a few weeks. And then it was like, it's probably going to be next year. And then I was like, okay, I should probably find a job. But of course, over time, people started to understand that this was going to last a lot longer than a month. And the cast and crew of six,

each of them has to make a decision about what to do. I stayed in New York for about six months before I had to make some decisions financially to try to reduce my expenses, so I ended up... Everyone working on Broadway got pay and health insurance for a few weeks, but then it ended, and... We were completely dependent on unemployment, essentially,

which was a rocky road for some. Some people never got it. Mine took several months. And when it did kick in, it was a lifeline for me. They did what they could to make ends meet. And then aside from that, I was doing a lot of virtual voice lessons. I was teaching virtually, which is not something I ever thought I would ever do. You know, the closing was extended and extended and extended.

Like, I'm sure a bunch of other people, my mental health just plummeted. It was a lot of frustration and depression and anxiety over when are we going to come back? Is it going to be a year? Is it going to be two years? Like, why is it taking forever? to be two years, like, why is it taking forever? I've got really strong memories of questioning all of it, because I think, you know, if you're in any other profession, and like, your place of work, your factory shut down for a huge stretch of time, you'd retrain.

There's no way you'd stay in that and be like, no, I'm just going to stick it out. And so I think there was a sort of real sadness about the future of theatre, which was compelling. And, you know, for some of them, it prompts a kind of existential crisis. Is this career, this industry, this art form that I love going to work? My friends who were having to have really serious questions

about whether or not it was worth pursuing this career. And then I actually did consider, I was like, what if I never do go back onto the stage? Like, what will that be like? Should I stay in theatre or is this just too fraught for me? And then... Welcome everyone. In May of this year, they finally get some hope. The shows open September 14th.

Governor Cuomo gives Broadway the green light to reopen in the fall. They have to have a play to put on, and they're in the process of doing that. But the tickets go on sale tomorrow. Yeah, so how did you learn that six was coming back and what was that like? I was going to a doctor's appointment and I was sitting in the parking lot in my car and we all got an email that said the first show back September 17th. This is when tickets are going to go on sale. And we kind of knew about what date it was going to be, but having that official email with an exact, an exact date,

just like put me over the edge. I was just like hot crying mess in my car, then about to walk into the doctor's office. And they're like, are you okay? I was like, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really happy, like full emotional breakdown. But it was just that, that kind of feeling of relief that, okay, I guess we're, we're actually okay enough that we can, we can think about going back. So in August, everybody's back in New York, and they get together for their first rehearsals. What's it been like being back? It's been great. It's been crazy.

It's been jarring. It's been fun. I walked into that session like, guys, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm so scared. It's been emotional. It's been tiring. It's such an emotional moment. And they're having to start over. I was terrified.

I was like, oh, God, can I do this musical again? I don't even know. I haven't danced in so long and haven't sung eight times a week for sure. Can I do it? I don't know. They have to relearn all the dance steps. Like this is a highly choreographed show. So we're going straight into the dance break. You know, your muscle memory retains some of that, but other parts of it just slip away. You know, when we got into the rehearsal room and we were going through choreography, it was, I had a lot of people saying, it's just going to be like riding a bike. And I'm like, you don't know what this show takes.

Relax that wrist. Down. Really? Are these our last poses? Yes. Our team was actually really great. I don't know if the other girls spoke about it. It took time to have moments in rehearsal for everyone to kind of check in with everyone and be like,

okay, how are you feeling? And even that, I think, for me and for some of us, it was like, how am I feeling? I haven't really thought about it. We've all been kind of just keeping our heads above water for a while, so even that brought some things up. But ultimately, ultimately made us more connected and just helped us tune into each other even more and and and that's been really valuable

as we've moved forward just because we feel more more more connected and tuned in with each other which only helps for for this show and of course for life which is most important so is there a groundhog day quality to this i mean you went all the way through previews you've done all this before and here you go again do you know do you know what it really doesn't feel groundhog day there's a groundhog quality to it of like you know like being back in these spaces and but like but it is just like when i got into my apartment and it smelled exactly the same as my old apartment i was like oh my gosh like like full on ground.

I was like, is this going to be a repeat? But getting into the room, everyone's just a new person bringing their new selves to it. And the actors and the writers and everyone involved with Six told us this time away had really changed them. Like getting that cab from JFK to Midtown and like seeing New York in the flesh, in the cement. And I was there just like, gosh, like I've made it to New York. That is a really exciting step. They were back.

Six was finally going to have its big moment on Broadway. And some of that felt familiar. But they all expressed this new sense of appreciation for this moment. And then, like, seeing the queens in rehearsals and being like, wow, so grateful that I'm here. And just, like, being in the theatre now, talking to you, it's like, I'm so grateful we've got this far, and I'm going to be, like, grateful for, like,

every bit of the return of theatre. The word they used over and over, after such a long time away from each other and from theatre, was gratitude. I think it's safe to say that everyone is grateful that Broadway is back, but gratitude is not going to sell out theaters, and it's not going to sell out theaters for very long. And it feels like at the end of the day,

the question is, will enough people show up? Will it be safe? And will this experiment work? Will a show like Six make it in the middle of a pandemic? Yeah, those are hard questions. And the truth is, I don't know the answers yet. But what I can tell you is that I'm going to be at Six tonight. And I've been out all week.

Walking up to 49th Street. Sometimes with producers from the Daily, and we've been talking to a lot of people who love theater. They're so happy to be back, but also they're asking these same sorts of questions you are. There you go, first aisle on the right. Thank you. I guess it's just really important also, though,

to remember that risk and uncertainty and even disappointment, they're all kind of baked into Broadway. What do you mean? I'm in orchestra 112. Well, most shows don't work. Most shows open and then close relatively quickly in a kind of collapse of disappointment and sometimes recrimination. And, you know, just think about all the bumpy journeys told on stage. Think about Simba in The Lion King and his years in the wilderness. Think about Alexander Hamilton and his kind of career and almost marriage-ending personal scandal. kind of career and almost marriage-ending personal scandal.

And think about a chorus line, which is like directly about the kind of hopes and dreams and endless disappointment and unfairness and a grievedness of people desperately yearning to make their way in the theater. You know, the stories that these artists are telling are so often about challenge and danger and disappointment and hurdles. And usually it builds toward a happy ending, but not always.

And you kind of don't get to know when you first settle into your seat. Michael, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Thank you so much. so i am now about to find my seat for the show oh i'm sorry! No worries. Oh my god. Okay, okay, okay. I'll be ready. Christian, I love you!

Ladies and gentlemen, Christian Chanaway! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!

Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!

Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my gosh. Okay, so I have to say it as I hold onto the ladder. There's no place like home. Well, that was something special. Oh, yes, that was amazing. Have you guys seen this before?

Yes, her dog is named Elfie. Oh, my goodness. So, like, we're fans, for sure. I saw this show for the first time when I was seven. And my parents, I listened to the cast album, and I was obsessed with it. And my parents surprised me, and we flew to New York to see the show. And I credit that with why I live in New York City now. Just, like, fell in love with Broadway, theater, New York. So this is just kind of like, I don't't know after the last year of everything that we've

gone through it's just very very full circle full circle for me like it's funny there was a big like musical theater tiktok trend everyone wanted to be at Wicked specifically because the first line of the show is it's good it's good to see me isn't it like you have to respond that was rhetorical so everyone wanted to be in this room because it is it's so good to see this show to see theater be back and have everyone under one roof and in a crowd for the first time in a year and a half. Yeah it's kind of it's weird but also very exciting. It's good to see me! Thank you. We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. On Thursday, France reacted with fury to its exclusion from an agreement between the United States and Britain

to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The agreement, which is intended to counter the military threat of China in the Pacific, undercut a French deal to provide submarines to Australia. In a radio interview, France's foreign minister said the decision to exclude France was, quote, unilateral, brutal, and unpredictable, and compared it to the foreign policy actions carried out by former President Trump. Meanwhile, China's foreign minister issued his own attack on the agreement, calling it, quote, extremely irresponsible. Today's episode was produced by Sydney Harper, Luke Vanderplug, and contains original music by Alishaba Etup,

Dan Powell, Mary Lozano, and Corey Schreppel. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Lansford of Wonderly. Special thanks to Julia Jacobs, Laura Zornosa, and Michael Cooper. Laura Zornosa and Michael Cooper. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you on Monday.