Open for business (again)
‘Winter Outing’ program aims to bring NYC tourists back
BY DEAN MOSES
Mayor Eric Adams joined
Broadway Stars on Jan.
18 inside the Empire
State Building to encourage
tourists to fl ock back to the
Big Apple.
Adams, Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney, and a gaggle
of stage show stars literally
threw the switch on a
new tourist program Jan. 18.
Dubbed the NYC Winter Outing
Program, this initiative
looks to bolster the business
of a variety of New York City
staples from restaurants and
museums to hotels, Broadway
shows, tours, and more
through sales and exclusive
deals that are commencing now
through February.
“Of Brooklyn and New York
and Queens and Manhattan
and Staten Island. We have it
all, and we are going to sell
this good product that we have
in our city,” Mayor Adams
said,“The launching today of
the winter outing program. It is
cost effective. It’s a way of energizing
New Yorkers to come
back out to the New York City
Restaurant Week, New York
LOCAL NEWS
Broadway stars join in the fun at the Empire State Building on Jan. 18, 2022.
City and Broadway week, New
York City must see week, New
York City Hotel week—all of
them together combined. It’s
just sending one message: Why
the heck are you going to Paris?
Be here in New York City!”
The mayor underscored
the importance of creating a
motivation to bring travelers
back to the city now after COVID
19 decimated many businesses.
Pledging to not allow
the deadly virus to defi ne the
city’s future, Adams promised
to support the city. Additionally,
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
while the infection rates
continue to remain high, Adams
shared that the numbers
have deceased thanks to what
he believes are high vaccination
rates and booster shots.
It is hoped that by combining
NYC Restaurant Week,
NYC Broadway week, NYC
Must see week, and NYC hotel
week into one-month, native
New Yorkers and domestic
and international travelers will
have great fi nancial impact
on businesses large and small
throughout the fi ve boroughs.
Sales from competitively
priced meals to Broadway offering
two-for-one tickets, the
initiative’s creators,NYC &
Company, are looking to make
the third annual affair a major
draw for tourists. However, a
black cloud of crime continues
to hover over the very heart
of the city they are looking to
encourage visitors to frequent.
With the fatal shooting of a
fast-food restaurant employee
and the senseless killing of a
woman who was pushed into
the path of an oncoming Times
Square Q train taking place
last week alone, in addition to
the mayor admitting that he
himself feels unsafe commuting
underground, it may take
a lot more than cheap hotel
rooms to entice families back
to the big city.
Nevertheless, Mayor Adams
and Congresswoman Maloney
cemented their support for the
program by fl ipping a switch
in the Empire State Building’s
lobby before traveling to the
very top where the pair overlooked
the majestic city skyline.
In order to celebrate the
NYC Winter Outing Program,
the Empire State Building will
be lit up in light blue and white.
Broadway tense as shows go on ‘hiatus’
BY MATT WINDMAN
As Broadway producers
contemplate the steps
they can take in order
to keep their shows solvent in
spite of the challenges and uncertainties
posed by the Omicron
variant and the sparsely
attended winter months,
tensions between producers
and Broadway’s unionized
performers, backstage technicians,
and front-of-stage employees
are spilling into view.
It began last month when
the highly-contagious Omicron
variant took Broadway by surprise
and created havoc during
the normally lucrative holiday
weeks. As performers and others
tested positive and had to be
quarantined, shows were forced
to cancel performances due to
having insuffi cient coverage.
In a now infamous interview
with the Hollywood Reporter,
Charlotte St. Martin, president
of the Broadway League (the
trade group which represents
Broadway producers and theater
owners), appeared to place
the blame for performance cancellations
on some understudies
being too inexperienced, which
prompted a strong rebuke on
social media.
As performance cancellations
continued, some shows closed
on short notice or announced
they would close imminently,
including “Jagged Little Pill,”
“Thoughts of a Colored Man,”
“Ain’t Too Proud,” and “Flying
Over Sunset.” Meanwhile, the
new musical “Paradise Square”
and many Off-Broadway shows
have delayed their start dates.
But rather than simply close or
postpone a show, some producers
are now putting their shows
on “hiatus.”
In early January, the producers
of “Mrs. Doubtfi re” announced
that the show would
go on a nine-week hiatus from
Jan. 10 to March 14 in order to
limit expected losses in Jan. and
Feb. and prevent the show from
having to permanently close.
During the hiatus, the show’s
employees are not getting paid,
and there is no guarantee that
the show will in fact return or
that they will be rehired.
Last week, two more shows,
“To Kill a Mockingbird” and
“Girl from the North Country,”
announced that they will also
go on hiatus. “To Kill a Mockingbird”
plans to reopen at the
smaller Belasco Theatre (which
was home to “Girl from the
North Country”) in June, and
“Girl from the North Country”
The cast of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” one of the shows going
on hiatus amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
is hoping to reopen at another
theater in the spring.
In an interview with CNBC,
Mary McColl, executive director
of Actors’ Equity Association,
expressed concern
that the hiatus mechanism
is being viewed as “a layoff
that’s necessary in the winter.
I don’t think it’s just exclusive
in their mind to the COVID
PHOTO BY EMILIO MADRID
situation we’re in…”
Historically, before the introduction
of air conditioning,
Broadway shows would shut
down over the summer. Based
on recent events, we may be
looking at a future where many
Broadway shows shut down (or
at least reduce their weekly performance
schedules) during the
winter in order to cut losses.
Schneps Media January 20, 2022 3