Since the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was reported on Jan. 20, 2020, the impact on arts and cultural institutions has been significant.
According to the nonprofit Americans for the Arts, based in Washington, D.C., “The coronavirus continues its devastating impact on America’s arts sector. Cancellations have taken place at virtually every arts organization in the country and artists/ creative workers are among the most severely affected segment of the nation’s workforce.”
Financial losses to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations are estimated at $15.2 billion. Approximately 99 percent of producing and presenting organizations, including The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, based on the New River in downtown Ft. Lauderdale’s Riverwalk Arts and Entertainment District, has cancelled events: A loss of 488 million admissions and $15.5 billion in audience spending at local businesses.
The total economic impact of organizational and audience- spending losses is $5.2 billion in lost government revenue and 894,000 jobs no longer being supported.
Pre-pandemic, The Broward Center presented more than 700 performances each year to more than 700,000 patrons and has one of the largest arts-in education programs in the country serving more than 130,000 students annually.
To adapt and cope with these realities, the Broward Center has launched their “Road to Recovery,” a campaign to raise funds for the theatre to compensate for their lack of revenue during the pandemic.
“The Road to Recovery will be long and costly,” they note on their website. “The Broward Center was one of the first businesses to close, and we will be among the last to open.”
“No industry has been hit harder than the performing arts,” says Kelley Shanley, CEO of the Broward Center since 2009. “We’ve been hit harder (except possibly for bars and nightclubs) and it’s important to raise that awareness to the public and hopefully solicit funding for our performing arts venues.”
Shanley credits the Cleveland Clinic, one of their sponsors, for stepping in and providing their medical director as an advisor to the venue, helping to develop proper protocols to keep audiences and staff safe.
“They’ve been a huge resource to us,” Shanley says. “I can’t say enough about them. Their expertise gives everyone the confidence that we’re getting good guidance on how to move forward in this pandemic and gives our audiences confidence.”
One accommodation has been the creation of Backlot Live, an all-new outdoor stage on the Lillian S. Wells Backstage Plaza for entertaining under the stars.
The outdoor venue allows for six feet of physical distance, face coverings are required and tickets are available in pods of 2, 4 or 6 only. Ticket sales benefit the Center’s Road to Recovery initiative.
In January, they hosted comedian, Rob Schneider, In the Light of Led Zeppelin concert, and a musical tribute to The Eagles with Best of the Eagles tribute band (BOTE).
The following month, the Broward Center announced the planned return of their Broadway series by the fall of 2021 featuring “Come From Away,” Disney’s “Frozen,” and “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.”
Just up the road at 707 N.E. 8th St. sits The Parker Playhouse, one of the Broward Center’s affiliated theatres, which has just undergone a $30 million renovation with the installation of its classic red seats in the Lillian S. Wells Hall.
The project was spearheaded by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation.
Built in 1967, the 1,167-seat theatre is one of Fort Lauderdale’s first venues.
With construction on-going during the pandemic, Shanley expects the project to be fully complete by May 2021, offering new features including private donor and premium lounges,
a signature bar area, and upgraded systems and technology delivering advanced acoustics.
“Not being able to go to live theater has helped all of us understand how important the shared experience of live entertainment is,” says Shanley, who received the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts at the 44th annual Carbonell Awards last August.
“To be in a room with others, to enjoy a performance, to feel what the artist is conveying and feel it collectively with friends, this is what live theatre is all about,” he says.
“The collective and shared experience is important to our souls, our beings and our happiness,” says Shanley. “I can’t wait to get everyone back into the theatre, for the day when the doors reopen, the curtain rises and the lights return to the Broward Center Stages and we can all experience live entertainment together.”
Visit playhouse-fl.org. Events in April include singers Jonathan Antoine, Steve Hackett, and Doktor Kaboom Look Out! Science is Coming.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information visit BrowardCenter.org
