W42ST Daily 5/07/2020
When will Broadway be back?Ā Itās an issue many of us are pondering. But the theater has been hereĀ before. Back inĀ July 1606 āĀ whenĀ Shakespeareās King Lear and Macbeth were in their first season at the London Globe ā the playhouse doors were locked. The plague had returned. Two years earlier, more than 30,000 Londoners had died from another outbreak, and the government decreed that public playing should cease, once weekly deaths roseĀ āabove the number of 30.ā
I read a Canadianās perspective byĀ Steven DāSouza from CBC.Ā Itās a good article that covers the challenges of social distancing ā for the cast as well as the audience.Ā It also updates us on Slave PlayĀ actor Paul Nolan, who isĀ waiting out the pandemic back home in Saskatchewan, working on the family farm.
InĀ Pittsfield, Mass., the Barrington Stage Company is pushing forward.Ā They cancelled their plans for a musical with a large cast, and decided against any production that included kissing or swordplay.Ā Theyāve stripped out 70% of their seats, moved the box office outside, and will work on a one-actor show.
Broadway is the engine room of the Hellās Kitchen economy.Ā The stage hands, ushers, and actors live, eat, and sleep here.Ā The theatergoers make up a huge percentage of our restaurantsā tables.Ā So what areĀ your thoughts on a date for the first show to open?
NEW YORK STORIES #TBT
Hellās Kitchenās piers have always featured in history, the docking of the USNS Comfort being the most recent ship to be in world news. Hereās the story of the S.S. Normandie,Ā whichĀ was welcomed in 1935 as the worldās fastest liner āĀ and within 10 years had sunk inĀ the Hudson. Read more at W42ST.com.
TECH HELP
Weāre working hard to keepĀ ourĀ Hellās Kitchen is OPEN! list up to date. A recent closure is Ollieās, but weāre glad to report that Gossip will be open from today, 12-8pm, for pick up.
Readers asked if we had a map⦠and you know we like to please, so hereās a map of all the places that are open for food.
Weāre having difficulty embedding it on our site. Anyone outĀ there a HTML whizz?Ā Please email me, I need help!
WHAT WEāVE BEEN READING
Feeling stressed? This simple technique may help. And relaxā¦
Hereās the MTAās overnight cleaning team in action on the subway. Clean meā¦
Who knew getting your sleeves wet on purpose when washing those hands (again) was actually a Thing? Scrub upā¦
Awesome photos that capture New York City in lockdown. Snapā¦
Ready to share your COVID-19 story? These NYC institutions are poised to listen. Tell ā¦
Keep safe.Ā Ruth will be with you tomorrow. If you enjoy the newsletter, please forward to friends and ask them to subscribe.