Broadway’s Top 10 Moments Of 2021, And What They Mean for 2022
Welcome! If you are new to this space, my name is Megan Ann. My first theatrical experience was playing Mrs. Santa Clause in Kindergarten for a class play. Mrs. Nutting told me I was great, and this shy young girl was hooked.
Fast forward and I have been blessed to work for over 20 years in various aspects of the theatre.
Why does any of that matter?
Because as I look back at 2021 with both rejoicing that Broadway reopened after the longest shut down in history, and also with a heavy heart at the challenges still lingering with the effects of covid-19, I remain optimistic that theatre is one of the most powerful art forms. Theater impacts lives in a way nothing else can.
That’s why I’m excited to share my Top 10 Broadway Moments of 2021 and What They Mean for 2022.
1. Hadestown, First Musical to ReOpen Broadway
My favorite memory of 2021 was sitting in the sold-out house for the first show of the first musical to re-open on Broadway after the covid-19 pandemic brought Broadway to a hard stop. There was a tangible energy in the hall. On both sides of me were New York locals who had waited for this moment for 18 long months. When the cast came onto the stage the audience erupted as we jumped to our feet. We stood applauding for 3 minutes! The masterful Andre De Shields, the consummate performer, held the impassioned audiences in the palm of his hand. We were cheering for him, for the cast, for the show, and for the collective Broadway community. “Welcome Back” we were saying. “We Missed You.” “We Need You.”
2022 Take Away: Theater is a basic need. It comes from our primitive need to connect, communicate, and commune. There may be times of pauses and even shut downs. Theater may even temporarily adjust it’s form to an online space, still we will return to gathering in theater halls across the country and the world. It will be magnificent–just like this Hadestown moment.
Watch the video here. See my happy mug in my Persephone green blouse at timestamp 0:09 & 2:01.
Video via Hadestown Instagram
2. 7 New Broadway Plays Written By Black Playwrights
Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s Lakawanna Blues.
Douglas Lyon’s Chicken & Biscuits.
Keenan Scott II’s Thoughts of a Colored Man.
Alice Childress’ Trouble In Mind.
Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s.
Dominique Morisseay’s Skeleton Crew.
The sheer number of plays written by Black playwrights as Broadway re-opened is a symbol of the change I hope will be just the beginning of seeing more diverse stories, and hearing more diverse voices. To quote Hamitlon, “This is not a moment, It’s the movement.”
2022 Take Away: This is just the beginning! This month I’m proud to produce a reading of a heart-felt new musical, Heaven Come Home, by Justin Payne and Dani Cleveland. Sharing stories and voices that are different than mine is exactly what the world needs now.
3. Adrienne Warren wins Best Leading Actress in a Musical
I saw Adrienne in her performance as Tina Turner in Tina. I marveled at her control, energy, connection to the material and pure stamina. Adrienne is also a founding member of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition along with Jackie Bell, Amber Iman, Cameron J Ross, Britton Smith, and Christian Dante White which also received a special Tony Award Honor.
2022 Take Away: Witnessing Adrienne perform was a reminder that in all the hustle and bustle of show business, we need to carve out time to take in a show and purely enjoy the transcending nature of the art. Let theater change us. That’s how I felt when I left the Lunt-Fotanne Theatre. I hope every show changes us just like this one.
Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
4. With all the amazing stories of Broadway reopening in 2021, the story isn’t complete without also mentioning Broadway closings. IN one example Aladdin exuberantly reopened on Tuesday (September 28), then closed the next day, Wednesday due to covid-19 cases. The show reopened again that Thursday and Friday, but ultimately closed for a 12-day pause, before resuming performances.
The show’s closure is one of may or examples including ‘Ain’t Too Proud, Freestyle Love Supreme, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge, Mrs. Doubtfire, Waitress, Thoughts of a Colored Man, Six, Hadestown, The Lion King, Dear Evan Hansen, the Rockettes’ Christmas Show, Is There Still Sex in the City?, Tina and Skeleton Crew. The good news? Tracking and precautions are working.
2022 Take away- This is also a reminder of how fragile our Broadway ecosystem can be and how much we need to value each element and person that makes any show possible. Questions to consider moving forward include: How does this signal a new way of producing Broadway theater? Will we need more understudies and swings? Smaller casts? More advanced testing or safety procedures? How do we build confidence for our cast, crews, and audiences? These are all great questions I am asking in 2022 and beyond.
5. I traveled six times to Broadway in 8 weeks this Fall. I attended 5 development readings. I saw a number of Broadway and Off Broadway shows, and I watched the streets change each week as more and more industry and people filled the streets.
2022 Take Away- Watching Broadway shows open one after the other in a short timeline was a concentrated experience of what it takes to bring (or resurrect) a show on the biggest stage in the world. Seemingly everyday there were announcements of what shows were coming back. Also, which shows were not. There was work happening in casting, marketing, rehearsals, and a world of artists and practitioners reunited. I dare say (I dare hope) that we will never experience anything like that again. It did leave me with an indelible impression of how impressive the business of show business can be and what an incredible community it is!
Watch reel here.
6. Star Power- As if having Sarah Barellise reprise her role in Waitress for the Re-Opening of Broadway wasn’t enough.
Broadway’s star power came out in force on the day when the “The Big 3” re-opened: Hamilton, The Lion King, and Wicked. Lin Manuel Miranda, Julie Taymor, and Stephen Schwartz gathered to celebrate the return of these long-running shows. Similarly, the Briane Moreland, Ron Simons and the production team of Thoughts of A Colored Man unveiled a welcome banner outside the John Golden Theatre greeting Patti Lupone when Company resumed performances. Not to be forgotten, when Phantom of the Opera re-opened Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber played DJ in the streets.
2022 Take Away- Broadway attracts the best and the brightest. It’s an important consideration when creating any new work. It was also a thrill to watch these artists welcome back audiences to their houses in their own ways reflecting each’s own personality.
7. Big Losses. While death is inevitable, when the curtain falls on Broadway artists it’s important to take a moment to reflect on the legacy of those who have carved the path. This year Broadway lost, among others, Arthur French, Cecily Tyson, Douglas Turner Ward, Ed Bullins, Melvin Van Peebles, and Samuel E. Wright. Also Elizabeth McCann, and the man that starred in my childhood favorite, Sound of Music, Christoper Pulmmer. Still, the impact of the loss of 5x Tony Award recipient Terrance McNally and Stephen Sondheim, whom The New York Times called “Titan of the American Musical” will leave us with big holes.
2022 Take Away- I think of one of my favorite references in Deuteronomy 6:10-12 which is often quoted as, “We have all drunk from wells we did not dig.” In part it is a reminder to remember those who have gone before and to show great gratitude for their work and service. As I look to the future of Broadway and the greater theater community, I honor the wisdom of these elders who have gone before.
Cicely Tyson photo by Terry Tsiolis
8. Technology Gains
While zoom fatigue is real, 2021 saw innovation in how we used technology to develop shows and tell stories. Some of the stories, developed in the physical isolation of the pandemic, found big audiences online, including Ratatouille The Tik ToK Musical and The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical. I talked about the pandemic necessitated new ways of developing theatre in my TEDx talk audition. This is also why I jumped at the opportunity to produce Spells of the Sea a Theater for Young Audiences musical that was also created during the pandemic.
2022 Take Away- We are on the cusp of great innovations in the theatre. Even though Broadway may be traditionally slow to change, there is a new generation of Broadway artists bringing to the Great Colorful Way new mindsets. Those mindsets include an ease with technology and social media platforms, familiarity with self tape auditions and streaming, expertise in editing and design, and the ability to think in the Metasphere with virtual reality, artificial reality, and NFTs. There is a desire to create arts in new ways, and I’m excited to see what advances the theater world will incorporate in 2022.
In a hallmark Broadway moment, I was in Times Square (see back left) when the TikTok “Bridgerton” musical creators Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear saw the headline that the Netflix series topped as the most watched TV series ever with 82 million subscribers tuning in. Their The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical is nominated for a Grammy for best musical theater album.
9. Invention in Theater Form, Delivery, and Reception
Two transcript-based plays, Dana H. written by Lucas Hnath and Is This A Room conceived by Tina Satter, both roughly 90 minutes, shared a stage in an alternating schedule. Both scripts deal with intense subject matter.
Creating TWO Broadway shows from transcripts is innovative. Running two similarly-designed shows in the same space is unique. A closing announcement of a show may not be reason alone to make the Top 10 list of Broadway moments, but how and when the closing happened is worth noting. Producers Matt Ross, Sally Horchow and Dori Berinstein were the first to announce a closing date after Broadway reopened. Then, because of ticket demand following the announcement, (including a ticket purchased by yours truly- me!) extended the run for two weeks.
2022 Take Aways- Post script: The New York Times Critic Pick named both shows in its annual review.. There is so much here to unpack. This makes me think of the type of theater we create, how we produce it, and the critical role of the audience. Without someone to tell a story too, there is on theater. That’s why this is one of Broadways Top 10 moments for me.
10. A Top Broadway moment for me in 2021 was winning Producer of the Year for the TheaterMakers Studio.
2022 Take Away- This is just the beginning! I’m thrilled to have signed on to co-produce my first Broadway musical, Joy on Broadway. While the piece continues in its development, I’m lead producing Heaven Come Home, Spells of the Sea, and The Rocking Boy. This producing journey is a commencement of years in the industry and I’m so excited for 2022 and the years ahead. Who would have ever guess that the shy Mrs. Santa Clause from kindergarten would find her way to Broadway?
BONUS: I would be remiss if I didn’t include in my Top Moments of 2021 a personal tribute to Ken Davenport, two-time Tony award winner, under whose tutelage I have learned so much this past year. Ken is committed, encouraging, and fierce. He is a talented playwright, an inventive producer, and a person with great vision. His willingness to coach me and help me set my path as a broadway producer has laid the foundation for success for years and years to come. Thanks Ken. You are remarkable!
