Covid-19 has caused the performances of all summer Broadway shows to be postponed. According to Broadway.com, all performances have been canceled through September 6, 2020 until further notice. Because many live performances have a short period of time where the public can see them, that means that many shows have been canceled. 

This affected me on a personal level because I was extremely thrilled to go see a few musicals this summer. Broadway in Chicago had a great lineup of musicals that I have been looking forward to finally seeing with my family. In particular, the cancelation of Dear Evan Hansen really bothered me because I have been wanting to see that musical for years now. I have read the book and I regularly listen to the soundtrack, so my parents surprised me with tickets for the upcoming July. Unfortunately, the musical was only going to be in Chicago from July through the end of September. 

On a positive note, there is more Broadway available online for the public to watch from the comfort of their home. PBS has offered a lot of shows to watch for free, and there are a lot of other platforms that broadcast shows for free or with the purchase of a subscription. 

The casts of many different shows have posted zoom videos of different songs that are featured in that particular musical. Both the musical Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen have done a few zooms singing some of their most popular songs. This has been a great way to engage their fans and stay connected during these hard times. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber, a famous broadway composer has positively influenced the theater community during this time. Every week he broadcasts a different musical on youtube. Some of these musicals include Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera. He has also been active on other social media platforms during quarantine. His role throughout this time has helped keep the theater community connected and positive. 

On another thrilling note, Disney has recently announced that the musical Hamilton will soon be available to watch on the Disney plus app. The version on the app will be of a filmed stage production that was filmed previously. The stream will also be of the original broadway cast, so that news brings much excitement to the fans of Hamilton.