Hi All,

Today’s newsletter is about theater in the time of COVID. I’ve been in NYC for six weeks, to launch the musical of Between the Lines. We were supposed to premiere in 2020, but COVID hit two weeks before we started rehearsals. Miraculously, we got our theater back, and this year we got to launch our show. 

Kind of.

When I tell you that everything that can go wrong has, I’m not exaggerating. We’ve had delays loading our set into the theater, so we lost days of tech rehearsal that we needed. We have newbies working jobs that they are still learning – because so many production folks left the industry during COVID. We had a washer and dryer break in the theater, so all the costumes were dripping wet. An actor tested positive for COVID, and an understudy took over his track. We cancelled two previews, and then, finally, debuted to a packed audience – having never actually run the entire show onstage.  

A miracle happened. We were a hit. The audience gave us a standing ovation. We were so excited! After two years, it felt like our dreams were coming true.

The next day two more of our actors tested positive for COVID. Since both of these actors were covered by a single male understudy, we had to cancel more previews. Over the next few days, more than half our cast tested positive, and some of our production staff too. We cancelled more previews. We pushed the date of opening night. To date, while I’m writing this – we have only had one show in front of an audience. We’re in a hell loop of COVID, waiting for our actors to test negative, so that we can perform. Every day I get a notification on my phone from our COVID safety manager…and every day I’m afraid to look.

Anyone who has an inkling of theater during the time of COVID knows that many, many shows have been plagued by COVID in the cast and that understudies and swings are what is keeping the whole industry alive right now. So what’s the big deal with cancelling previews? Beyond the lost income of ticket sales, previews are meant for the writers. We sit in the back, listen to audiences respond, and tweak jokes or songs or dialogue based on what we learn from the reaction of theater-goers. As our delays have continued, we haven’t had a chance to hear multiple audiences react to what we’ve written. And since most of the writing team is from out of town, we’ll have to leave while previews are still ongoing.

I keep telling myself how LUCKY we are to have a theater, to have had that one preview that drew raves, to have had two extra years to work on Between the Lines so that it is such a solid show. But right now, working in the theater world feels like a series of Herculean tasks that just get more and more difficult. It’s dissonant to get a New York Times news alert about masks becoming optional in theaters as of July 1…when half of my cast is out sick with COVID. It’s hard to watch the unmasked audience at the Tonys, knowing that behind the scenes of all those Broadway shows, companies and staff are scrambling to keep their actors safe while also putting on a production. 

So – please support theater now. Not just Broadway and Off-Broadway, but also regional and local shows. It’s one of the businesses hardest hit by COVID, and it’s still being ravaged by it. Be gracious and kind if you find out your tickets aren’t valid anymore because a show had to be cancelled. I promise you, the company and staff of that show are even more heartbroken than you are to not be able to perform that night. 

By the time opening night arrives for Between the Lines – a little later than expected or wished – this may be a distant memory, one of those stories we drag up over drinks (“Remember how insane that time was!!?”) Right now, I just want to see that stage come to life again in front of an excited audience. The show must go on -- but because this pandemic is still very much alive – I hope you’ll all take a moment to think about all the stars that had to align for that curtain to rise.

XO,

Jodi