'Springsteen On Broadway,' Sophisticated Off-Broadway Experiences Kick Off Summer Of Theater In New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- This is the weekend we get Springsteen back on Broadway, and other new shows are debuting for the summer, including some extravagantly staged ones for sophisticated, adult audiences.
Bruce Springsteen is returning with the first full-capacity post-pandemic show on Broadway. The run is June 26 through Sept. 4.
"That's a huge step in the right direction for indoor performances to come back," said T.J. Witham, vice president of communications for the Times Square Alliance.
Along with "Springsteen on Broadway," there are other productions new this week -- elaborate ones designed to knock audiences' socks off.
The new live show "Speakeasy Times Square" gives audiences a mix of burlesque, mixed with circus song and signature cocktails. It's running at the supper club Bond 45 through the end of July.
"Ultra glamour, high-end burlesque, a little bit cheeky," performer Miss Miranda told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
"You feel like you're having this high-class experience, and we need that. Everybody wants to feel fancy. People should be treated like kings and queens. We've been sitting around in sweatpants for the past 16 months," producer Holly-Anne Devlin said.
Thrilled to be working in live theater again are performers Sarah Meahl and Morgan Bryant.
"Camaraderie starts, I believe, in the rehearsals," Meahl said.
"When you're in a cast of people, especially us girls in this cast, we're so close already," Bryant said.
"People are back. They're here, and we're excited for them to start experiencing really great live entertainment, both in the public plazas but now also inside some amazing venues," Witham said.
Serious plays will return on Broadway with reopenings mostly in September, but right now in the Meatpacking District, you get seven creatively staged short plays in a single evening.
"The play is called the 'Seven Deadly Sins,' and each playwright was given one sin to write a play surrounding that sin," director and playwright Moises Kaufman said.
With actors behind glass, the audience members wear headsets and walk from storefront to storefront.
"The great thing is that there are seven amazing American playwrights doing a world premiere," Kaufman said.
New York City stages are now set for a summer of great theater.