Playhouse Square’s KeyBank Broadway Series is expected to return in Fall 2021.
“Based on what we know today about the state of the virus, the hopeful news regarding a vaccine and the status of the touring industry, we anticipate that Broadway will return to our stages in the fall of 2021.It will take time for tours to get back up and running when mass gatherings become safe again,” explained Playhouse Square President & CEO Gina Vernaci. “They will have to rehearse for a period of time. Routes and logistics have to be planned out all over the country. It will not happen overnight.”
When the ban on mass gatherings in Ohio was enacted on March 13, the run of Jesus Christ Superstar, featuring a live theatrical surround-sound experience that would occur only in Cleveland, had just opened at Playhouse Square. “Not knowing how long the shutdown might continue, we debated whether or not to leave the set on stage. We decided it would best for the show to pack everything up, and it turns out that was the right call,” explained Vernaci.
Since then, Playhouse Square has canceled or postponed 680 performances. Its resident companies – Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland International Film Festival, Cleveland Play House, Cleveland State University Department of Theatre and Dance, Great Lakes Theater, DANCECleveland and Tri-C JazzFest – have either shifted to virtual programming for the 2020-21 season or are examining other ways to serve their audiences.
Playhouse Square is offering some virtual programming as well, but is eager to see live performances and live audiences back in its theaters.
Like many organizations, Playhouse Square enacted workforce and salary reduction measures at the end of May to help control expenses.
“I am incredibly proud of how our remaining staff members have risen to this occasion,” concluded Vernaci. “They have served more than 60,000 households with tickets to canceled or postponed performances; and are staying connected to our season ticket holders, donors and RedCoats; taking care of our historic theaters; keeping our hotel and real estate services going; and finding creative new ways to fulfill our mission. This is the Playhouse Square way; we face challenges head on and keep going. Playhouse Square is embedded in the memories of many people, and we look forward to the time we can start making memories together again.”
