One year ago this month, our world (literally the entire population on earth) was rocked and not in a good way. COVID-19 brought everything to a screeching halt and New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. Never could we have imagined seeing the streets of our amazing city empty. From Times Square in Manhattan, to Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, every street was deserted. It was like something from the Twilight Zone. But alas, it was not a show we could turn off, it was the beginning of a new reality.

It has been over 100 years since we experienced a pandemic, the last was the Spanish flu of 1918. Thankfully, since that time we have made great strides in technology and medical research. Thankfully, today we have a community that is strong and charitable. Thankfully, our community is made up of individuals who are committed to make a difference, to work, to sacrifice, to help us get through the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of the pandemic has been deep and impactful. Today, we have a new appreciation for those in our community that we didn’t previously realize were essential. Today, we say thank you to cashiers, food delivery, restaurants, servers and countless others. Today, we realize with a greater level of awareness the critical role that our teachers play in educating our children, the critical role that our food banks play in battling food insecurity and hunger, the critical role of our healthcare workers – doctors, nurses, PA’s, custodians, and the rest of the staff that keep our hospitals and medical facilities clean and providing services. We have a new appreciation for each other, for humanity, for family, friends and those in need. At Broadway Stages we are grateful for our community, our staff, clients, business partners and countless others that enable us to provide facilities where art and entertainment is created and our environment nurtured. We are grateful to our vendors and clients who have fed our frontline workers and to local charitable organizations that help those in need in these unprecedented times.

We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The city is reopening, slowly but we are getting there, and with three vaccines being rolled-out across the U.S. we are hopeful that we will be able to get back to ‘normal’ in the next several months. In the meantime, it’s important that we continue to follow health and safety protocols and CDC guidelines. We need to remain vigilant and responsible to ensure we get through this. Together, we can New York! We’ve got this.