Dimming Lights, Shows Reopen

By Blake Green | Staff Writer

Shubert Theater and other theaters dimmed their lights for one minute Thursday night in memory of those lost at the World Trade Center. (Jennifer S. Altman )

Thursday was not a usual day for Broadway. There were bomb threats, rewrites, one postponement, a cancellation and some appropriately dramatic queasiness. But its theaters, dark since Tuesday, reopened to the public Thursday night in the city's attempt to return to normal life.

In deference to victims and rescue workers in the terrorist attacks responsible for this most subnormal of times, glowing marquees of the 23 theaters housing productions were dimmed for one minute at 8 p.m.

This simple but moving gesture, traditionally made for a single personality, represented for the theatrical community, "the first step in putting our lives back together, said Jed Bernstein, director of the League of American Theaters and Producers, which also encouraged individual productions to observe the occasion.

Some had a statement before the show opened, including "Contact, where cast member Danny Mastrogiorgio, who'd spent his offtime volunteering at the Chelsea Piers, read, in part, "our nation goes on, our city goes on and, as tradition has it, our show goes on. Robert Sean Leonard, star of "The Music Man, addressed the audience in similar words on a loudspeaker from backstage.

At others, casts invited audiences to join in singing "God Bless America. Some did both: at "The Producers, producer Rocco Landesman welcomed his capacity audience with: "Boy, am I glad to see you. Each and every one of you is saying I'm not afraid, and the musical's final number, "Goodbye, was replaced by the more patriotic tune.

In spite of this, the normally bustling Broadway area, like much of the city, seemed strangely quiet. The majority of cancellation line hopefuls at "The Producers, usually standing a snowball's chance, were accommodated. The theaters at long-running shows such as "Les Miserables and "The Music Man were about half full.

Earlier in the day, bomb threats forced the evacuation of Broadway-area buildings housing press agents and producers. Friday night's scheduled gala opening of the musical "Urinetown, also about upheaval in a city's life, was postponed for a week.

Dialogue in "The Tale of the Allergist Wife, a comedy in which one character lightly mentions terrorism, were rewritten by the playwright, Charles Busch. "It is a comedy; people are coming to laugh, said producer Lynne Meadow, "and we're being responsive and sensitive to a time of great tragedy.

That also seemed behind the Roundabout Theatre's cancellation of the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical, "Assassins, about the predators of U.S. presidents, a tough subject in the best of times. It was to have opened in November, but, said a ticket booth salesperson, "the nature of the show is not appropriate to what's happened in the area.

Many people had wondered if the shows' cast members were ready to begin the business of entertaining again in the wake of such sorrow.

"It feels a little early to me, to be honest, said Trey Ellett, who portrays Mark in "Rent.

"The first thing I have to do in the show is giggle, said Stephanie Michels, "The Girl in the Swing, in the risque opening segment of "Contact. "And I really don't have a sense of laughter in me right now.

"When that acrid smoke started blowing in the air where we live, I took my children and drove out to Montauk, said Nana Visitor, Velma in "Chicago. "I can't tell you how tempting it was to stay there.

Patrick Wilson, one of the steelworkers-turned-strippers in "The Full Monty, and Terrance Mann, Dr. Frank N' Furter in "The Rocky Horror Show, both wondered if sufficient time had lapsed and whether enough of an audience could be lured from their mesmerizing television sets.

But, acting being their game, all of these performers were also determined to go on. "I feel it would be an act of cowardice not to show up, said Visitor.

"If we can take their minds off it for two-and-a-half hours, said Ellett, "that's what it's all about. And, maybe, we'll take our own minds off it, as well.

Freelance writers Patrick Pacheco and Gordon Cox contributed to this story.