Lin-Manuel Miranda and his Hamilton collaborators are working to bring Broadway back with a bang on Independence Day (July 4, 2021) holiday by making it the first show to reopen following the COVID-19 shutdown.
New York’s famed theatre district has been dark since the coronavirus pandemic began in mid-March (2020), but Governor Andrew Cuomo is said to be ready to allow the reopening of Broadway shows with a limited in-person audience from June – when the current order ends – and Hamilton could be the first to be back in action.
Although many productions would be operating at a loss with reduced audience capacities, Hamilton is one of the rare hits with healthy cash reserves, meaning the show could very well go on – and potentially make money – even with a socially-distanced crowd, according to the New York Post’s Page Six.
As such, officials are hoping to reopen the doors to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on July 4 – a fitting relaunch date as the historical hip-hop musical revolves around the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“In their heads, it’s all about being leaders in the theatre community and blazing a trail (for their fellow Broadway colleagues),” an insider tells Page Six. “But the PR wouldn’t hurt, either. It’d be on the front pages of the paper.”
Prior to the coronavirus crisis, Hamilton had been raking in an average of $600,000 in profit each week, reports Business Insider.
Representatives for creator and former star Miranda and his fellow Hamilton bosses have yet to comment on the news, which emerges as people around the world await the forthcoming rollout of three potential new coronavirus vaccines in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.
