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Broadway may be dark for several months to come, but the cast of four shuttered shows had the opportunity – rare during the coronavirus pandemic – to don their costumes and perform. The Venue: Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
The term parade is used loosely this year. Helium-filled balloons and star-studded floats won’t make their typical crowded two-and-a-half-mile route from West 77th Street. They will slide down a block on 34th Street, near the flagship department store, and without an audience.
But even though it’s more of a TV show than a crowd pleaser this year, the parade will provide a brief respite from the doldrums of a dark Broadway with performances from the cast of “Hamilton,” “Mean Girls, ”“ Jagged Little Pill, ”and“ Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, ”all of which haven’t been on stage since March.
Parade organizers said the Broadway performances will be filmed over the next few weeks, but aired with the rest of the parade on the morning of November 26. Given the virus and the long layoff since March, the appearances require rigorous and meticulous rehearsals. planning to ensure that the artists are back in the game and that the artists and the production team do not pose a health risk to each other.
Sergio Trujillo, the Tony Award-winning choreographer of “Ain’t Too Proud”, said he choreographed a new number to a mix of two iconic Temptations songs, “My Girl” and “Get Ready”. Last year, all of the show’s cast happened at the start of the parade show, but this time Mr. Trujillo kept the five-star number. He said he choreographed with social distancing in mind, making sure that the formations were staggered and the performers could stay separate while dancing.
“Anything we can do to make sure our Broadway lovers stay engaged and invested,” Mr. Trujillo said.
Anyone involved in the performance is given coronavirus tests and temperature checks before they meet, and everyone will be wearing masks on set, although performers can remove them to sing, he said.
In a typical year, Macy’s and NBC work together to select which Broadway shows will perform live on Thanksgiving Day, typically emphasizing productions with flashy, dancing numbers. This year, some producers have said they won’t be able to make the performance work because their cast members are spending the pandemic shutdown period out of state or country, Wesley Whatley said. , the creative producer of the show. The four performances that ultimately come together are paid for by NBC, giving the performers a welcome paycheck after months of no work.
It’s Macy’s 94th Thanksgiving Parade and it’s been redesigned in just about every way. In a typical year, between 8,000 and 10,000 people work on the road, said Susan Tercero, the event’s executive producer. This year there will be around 1,500. And there will be an in-person audience of zero (the area surrounding the parade route will be closed, even during planning, so there will be no possibility of seeing the street) .
Participants must be at least 18 years old and cannot come from outside the tristate zone. And massive balloons will no longer be flown by smiling, uniformed handlers, but instead driven by utility vehicles to limit the number of people involved.
“We always wanted to deliver what people expect on a Thanksgiving morning,” Ms. Tercero said. “But it’s going to look like a parade during the Covid era: we’re going to have people in masks and we’re going to be socially left behind.
The show, which will air on NBC, will be hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker and will feature a typical roster of celebrities from the music and television world. Line-up includes Lauren Alaina, Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus, Ally Brooke, Sofia Carson, CNCO, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, Karol G, Tori Kelly, Patti LaBelle, Ella Mai, Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier, the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, Leslie Odom Jr., Keke Palmer, Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, Bebe Rexha, Jordin Sparks, Sebastián Yatra and Brett Young.
They will be followed, as usual, by Santa Claus, who is in good health despite the fact that the coronavirus has even arrived in the Arctic.
In New York City, where the worst impact of the virus has diminished but cases are on the rise again, the Macy’s runway planning team aimed to feature artists denied the opportunity to perform in recent months. An appearance will therefore be by a ballerina from the New York City Ballet who will dance like the Sugar Plum fairy from “The Nutcracker” by George Balanchine, which has been canceled entirely this season.
And in a show of empathy for their fellow New York parades, the event incorporates performers whose appearances at various events in recent months have been canceled due to Covid-19. Pre-taped entertainment will include those scheduled to take part in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Pride March, Puerto Rican National Day Parade and West Indian American Day Carnival Association, all of which were canceled this year.
“Why not present New York at a time when a lot of people missed being able to participate and watch these types of cultural shows and exhibits?” Said Ms. Tercero.
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