Broadway's theaters will continue to be dark through at least Sept. 6, the Broadway League announced on Tuesday.
The announcement did not come as a surprise to locals, considering that New York and New Jersey remain hot spots of coronavirus infections and deaths in the U.S., and because New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already announced that the arts and entertainment sectors will be among the very last sectors to reopen. But it confirms that the summer of 2020 will be, at least economically, a very hard season for many New Yorkers — including out-of-work casts, crews and others whose jobs depend on Broadway and tourism.
The 2018-19 Broadway season brought in nearly 15 million audience members and some $1.8 billion in gross revenue. Of those audiences, 65% came from beyond the tristate area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In all, according to the League, Broadway contributed $14.7 billion to the city's economy in 2018-19 and supported nearly 100,000 jobs.
The closed productions will offer refunds or exchanges to ticket holders through Labor Day.
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