NEW YORK — "They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway!"
Fathom Events is holding more than 400 screenings across the country of "Broadway Rising" on Monday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
Emmy-nominated director Amy Rice's ("By the People: The Election of Barack Obama," "The Newsroom") feature-length documentary looks back on the 554 days Broadway was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We really wanted to tell the story about the people behind the scenes — the crew, the small businesses, the artisans — that are really an integral part of this community, and they were hit very hard," Rice said. "Many of them live paycheck-to-paycheck, so when Broadway shut down, over 90,000 people lost their jobs in one day, and lost all their side jobs, too."
After shutting down March 12, 2020, the Great White Way had its unofficial reopening a year and a half later on Sept. 14, 2021, with "Wicked," "The Lion King" and "Hamilton."
Along with following the lives of people in various industries in the Broadway community, "Broadway Rising" recounts Tony-nominated actor Nick Cordero's death due to COVID-19.
"When we started to develop this documentary, she [Amanda Kloots, Cordero's wife] was at the top of our list, and we felt like it was really important to honor him and his career and his life and her," Rice said.
Tony Award-winner Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Take Me Out," "Modern Family") and his husband, Justin Mikita, worked alongside Rice as producers of the 97-minute documentary.
"They're just so phenomenal to work with, so smart, so talented, so very kind," Rice said. "Jesse was actually in a show that was shut down, 'Take Me Out,' was in rehearsals. It was really wonderful because they were the ones who connected us to everyone in the Broadway community."
And for those who haven't been, Broadway shows don't have to cost an arm and a leg. There are multiple ways to get affordable tickets to nearly all of the shows, including day-of rush tickets, in-person or digital lotteries, standing room-only tickets, TKTS discount booths, and TodayTix.
Click here to purchase tickets to Monday's screening.
"Broadway Rising" will also be available to stream beginning Friday, Dec. 27.
