Bringing the Theater Back to Life

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Three months into Broadway’s shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, Michael Paulson, a theater reporter for The New York Times, got a call from a theater in western Massachusetts — they planned to put on “Godspell,” a well-loved and much-performed musical from 1971, in the summer. Today, we explore how, in the face of huge complications and potentially crushing risks, a regional production attempted to bring theater back to life. Guest: Michael Paulson, a theater reporter for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: Masks, partitions and a contactless crucifixion — the Berkshire Theater Group’s production of Godspell, labeled one of the “huggiest musicals ever created,” is also a kind of public health experiment.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From New York Times, I'm Michael Bavaro. This is The Daily.
0:09.2	Today, when the pandemic struck, the multi-billion dollar theatre industry
0:16.4	went dark, shutting down shows mid-production, and preventing new shows from ever opening.
0:23.0	But this summer, a small group of actors tried to bring the theatre back to life.
0:31.4	My colleague, Michael Paulson, tracked their journey.
0:43.7	It's Friday, September 4.
0:46.0	The Daily.
0:51.6	So before the pandemic, I was seeing theatre five or six times a week.
0:55.9	My whole life revolved around Times Square and the theatre district.
1:00.1	And of course, that came abruptly to a halt in early March.
1:04.4	And the lights have dimmed on New York's famed Broadway.
1:07.3	Broadway theatres today extended their shutdown.
1:10.5	Shows will now remain dark. And then about three months into the Broadway shutdown,
1:18.8	I get a call from this theatre in Western Massachusetts telling me
1:23.3	they have some news, they have a plan.
1:28.1	They're gonna put on a show that summer in the Berkshires.
1:32.8	And it's gonna be God's bell.
1:38.8	Or under a curse.
1:42.8	Your life is bad.
1:46.8	Your prospects are worse.
1:50.8	It is a show from 1971.
1:52.8	It's about Jesus.
	...

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